Transport industry stalwarts inducted into Hall of Fame
Five transport industry stalwarts have been inducted into the New Zealand Road Transport Hall of Fame.
Guests gathered at Bill Richardson Transport World in Invercargill last night to honour the latest inductees at the NZ Road Transport Hall of Fame Awards.
Among the five awards were two given posthumously – one to Te Karaka man Bernie MacDonald and the other to former Ashburton transport operator Robert (Bob) Alexander Burnett.
While no-one was able to attend the ceremony to accept MacDonald’s award, Burnett’s award was accepted by his daughter Adrienne and son-in-law Murray.
The other award recipients – Dave Potter, of Dunedin, Neil Reid, of Nelson, and Ralph Munn, of Greymouth – were present to accept their honours.
The proceeds of a charity auction during the Hall Of Fame function will go to the ProActive Driver Training Trust, which provides free driver training to secondary school students.
The latest five inductees join the inaugural inductees from 2012, Bill Richardson, Sir Robert Owens, Jim Barker, John Emmerson, Lachie Griffin, Neil Clarke, Ron Carpenter and Tony Friedlander, plus the 2013 and 2014 inductees: George Wallis, Jim Ramsay, Sir Russell Pettigrew, Bert Godfrey, George Tyler, Cyril Mahon, Les MacKenzie, John Anderson, Mike Lambert, Melven (Rowdy) Aitken and Les Cleveland.
The Hall of Fame was initiated by Scott and Jocelyn O’Donnell of H W Richardson Group after they attended a similar awards function in Australia in 2011. Four hundred and fifty people attended the inaugural awards gala dinner, which also marked the opening of the Hall of Fame.
2015 inductees BERNIE MacDONALD MBE – TE KARAKA (POSTHUMOUS AWARD)
MacDonald bought his own metal truck in 1952. With brother Angus as a partner they moved to Te Karaka and bought a carrying business from A E Law. More acquisitions were later made to build up MacDonald’s Transport. All the while he was fully involved in his community through many organisations and in 1981 his service to the community was recognised with an MBE. He was a member of the Poverty Bay East Coast Road Transport Association from the beginning and served as a committee member for 25 years including terms as president and vice president. In 1993 he was made a life member of the local association in recognition of his service to the transport industry in the district. He also served on the New Zealand Road Transport Associations Council from 1978 to 1990. He passed away in March 1995 at the age of 67.
ROBERT ALEXANDER (BOB) BURNETT – ASHBURTON (POSTHUMOUS AWARD)
Burnett started business as a mechanic before purchasing a truck to help his farmer clients who were having problems with cartage of their produce. He soon saw the potential of commercial road transport and moved to Ashburton and started his company. His business grew steadily and by the early 1970s his transport operations had progressed from one truck to one of the South Island’s largest companies operating more than 120 truck and trailer units. In 1961 the company went public and was involved in a merger to create Brambles Burnett Ltd. In 1980 Brambles Burnett was taken over by Mogal Corporation, with Burnett remaining on the board as chairman until his retirement in 1981, aged 72. He died in 1983.
DAVE POTTER – DUNEDIN
Dave Potter’s grandfather delivered parcels around Dunedin with a horse and cart, instilling in his grandson a passion for transport. After jobs as a delivery boy and training as a cinema projectionist Potter started driving the Midland Coaches Starliner between Christchurch and Dunedin. Various management opportunities in the industry followed before driving for Dave Newton Transport in Christchurch. In 1990 he returned to Dunedin and became the secretary of the Otago Road Transport Association. In 1994 he became the regional secretary for NZ Road Transport Association Region 5.
NEIL REID – NELSON
The son of a transport business owner, Neil Reid had a variety of jobs in his younger days. Originally from Reefton he moved around the country and in 1974 joined the Road Transport division of the Freightways Group as Invercargill Manager. During his time in Invercargill he served as branch chairman of the Road Transport Association before transferring to Christchurch in 1977 to become operations manager for Guthreys Freightways. In 1980 he moved to Blenheim to start employment with the freighting division of Newmans Group as manager of Marlborough Transport Ltd. The Newmans Group freighting division was sold to Transpac Holdings, which was placed into receivership in 1988. A new company TNL Group was formed and despite difficult times after Hookers took over the shareholding of the late Garth Butler in 2003 the turnover increased from $35 million to $70 million with more than 300 staff and about 180 trucks. Reid disposed of his shares in 2007 and his interest in the industry continues with independent directorships of several companies and chairmanship of the Road Transport Forum.
RALPH MUNN – GREYMOUTH
It was 20 years after leaving school that Ralph Munn moved into the transport industry. His first job was as dealer principal of Farmers and Contractors Supplies Limited, the International Harvester Dealership for the West Coast. Despite only selling when his management role allowed he took the I H Top Truck Sales Award two years in a row. In 1986 he became managing director for Ross Holdings Westland Ltd, the same year he joined the Road Transport Association. He was appointed West Coast vice-president in June 1987 and in 1993 became president, holding the position until he moved to Christchurch in 1999 after which he became the Christchurch president. He held many other roles in the industry and is a life member of the NZ Road Transport Association Region 4. In 2004 he became South Island team leader for Hookers, retiring in 2007 only to be lured back into the industry as North Fuels South Fuels fleet manager from 2008-2012.