MOVE showcases local trucking legends

Zurcas, Kreskas, Kalafatis, Rendevski, Sali, Keating, Bertoli, Varapodio, Cootes, Phillips, Leocata.
Apart from the name Cootes, on a national level these names are probably not recognised in the same way as are Ron Finemore and Lindsay Fox.

If however, you live in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley and have the slightest interest in trucks, you would know them all. Hell, those with no interest would know those names as trucks bearing them rumbled through Shepparton/Mooroopna and environs over the decades.

These are the names that made Shepparton a major trucking hub. They are names borne by families that came to the area from far-flung places around the world to forge a better life for their families.

In large part, they are names first associated with the rich earth and orchard growing capabilities of the Goulburn Valley – their trucking identities forged by the need to move product to towns and cities around Australia.

They are also names who are recognised in the Legends Hall at the newly opened Museum of Vehicle Evolution (MOVE) on the Southern outskirts of Shepparton.

Ted Phillips began operations in 1935 from his parents’ farm with a Maple Leaf, building up to six before purchasing eight KS5 Internationals in 1945. Leyland Comets, Mercedes-Benz 1418s, UD, Scania and Volvo also featured in the fleet.

During the war McGrath began production of steel framed semi-trailers, some of their earliest going to Phillips.

Ted was the first to send trucks from Shepparton to the Sydney Fruit Markets and one of the first to send a load of goods to Perth – the return trip then being three weeks.

Phillips was the first regional company to order an Australian-built Kenworth – a 1977 K125CR. Delivered on Christmas Eve, 1978, it was the first Kenworth sold outside Melbourne by the first Kenworth Dealer outside the metropolis. This started an enduring association with Bryan, and then Graham Thompson – Shepparton’s Kenworth dealer.

A 1927 Chevrolet was Lloyd Mawson’s first truck. It used to go out every morning 16 miles from Cohuna – two fellas with a pick and shovel. They would break up gravel, shovel it by hand into the tipper and then bring it back into Cohuna. The only comfort it had was a straw and horsehair seat.

This grey Kenworth T908 was bought by a local in 2008. It is one of the last CATs and has all of 600 km on the odometer.

Gerard Hicks’ 1986 W925 is a beautiful example of what was probably the biggest and best truck on the road in the mid ‘80s. He is very fastidious and has done a great job in bringing it back to its original glory. The paintwork is actually in a Toyota colour. Gerard was driving through Shepparton one day, saw it on a car and thought, ‘I have to have that colour and I’m going to have Kenworth paint my W model in it.’
And so he did – and they did – and this is the result.

Joe Leocata always loved trucks, leading him to purchase his first – an International T-Line in 1982. The next four years was spent hauling back and forth between Shepparton and Adelaide. Today Leocata Transport is truly a family business with wife, Sharon and sons, Marcus and Adrian all involved. Forty trucks and over 100 staff service a wide range of loyal clients.

Ken Keating started in the transport industry in 1955 Bendigo. In 1964 he moved to Shepparton with Streets Ice-cream where his next journey was to begin. This saw Ken play a key role in the formation of the Zurcas Trucking Company.

In 1982 Ken Keating Freightlines began. Today the business has a fleet of 22 vehicles and 28 employees. His four children, and now three grandchildren, are also involved in the business. Ken’s International B200 is proudly displayed at MOVE, along with a model of the truck he reckons cost more than the original.

These Internationals were once the truck of choice in the ‘70s, along with the Mercedes Benz 1418.

The ubiquitous 1418s were everywhere at one time. They were the mainstay of transport. There were plenty of them going up and down the Hume. They were reliable and they were fast.

Bill Zurcas thought so too. Born in Greece and emigrating to Australia in 1938 he spent several years working as a farm labourer and cane cutter before moving to Shepparton and buying an orchard.

Acquiring other orchards over the ensuing years, Bill realised he need a transport business to deliver his product to the Melbourne market and port. Thus began A. Zurcas Trucking Company.

Also quick was the 1986 Kenworth W900 SAR which belongs to the Rendevski family. Vasil and Chris Rendevski immigrated to Australia from Macedonia on 1958, purchasing their first orchard in Shepparton in 1961.

The brother’s first truck was a 1950 Chevrolet tray truck, joined by a brand new ACCO in 1970. The followed a love affair with Kenworth. In 1986 the business won a large contract with a beverage company to cart their soft drinks across the eastern seaboard – an association still continuing thirty seven years later.

Above is Rendevski’s first Butter box bought in 1970. “Once upon a time from every orchard around here, the fruit was carted either on a Butter box or a 1418 Benz. The butter box was built for the Army which is why they were so tough. No thrills though, that’s for sure.”

Angelo Kalafatis arrived from Greece in 1956 with a mere five pounds in his pocket and a dream.

After spending many years working on the orchards from a young age in Greece, he wanted to continue his passion for fruit when he came to Australia. In the first five years he worked towards purchasing his first 16ha farm in Shepparton East.

Today, Kalafatis fresh Produce is one of Australia’s largest suppliers of pears and has around 800ha of productive orchards. Of course those pears have to be moved

Every day, people in Shepparton will see a Kreskas truck go by with a container (or two) aboard. Over the past four generations the family has been serving the area and has built a reputation built on honesty, integrity and reliability.

Commencing operations in 1968, Kreskas connects regional Victoria with the rest of the world, offering services of both end-to-end import and export container handling, specialised container moving equipment and Third Party Logistics Solutions.

LWK 659 was the first bogey-drive prime mover and fourth truck purchased by Ian Cootes. Powered by a V671 GM rated at 220hp, it cost $30,611, a large amount for the period.

In 1996 son, Paul Cootes purchased the truck back from its second owner and secretly restored it to original condition – presenting it to Ian at a celebratory function for Ian achieving 35 years in business.

As a young man, Ian Cootes dreamt of owning his own truck as he watched them pass him by on the Hume Highway. In 1965, with an AB184 International, I.R. Cootes began delivering fuel to BP Servos across Melbourne. The company grew to transport also LPG, bitumen and chemicals Australia wide.

With 800 highly valued and respected employees and 325 superb vehicles, the company was sold in 2000.

Bill Hunter is regarded as a pioneer of the transport industry. Beginning in 1947 Bill commenced trading as WB Hunter, produce merchant. One of his greatest legacies was his commitment to the fight against the monopoly the railways held on the cartage of intrastate freight.

After a 25-year battle ending up in the High Court, Bill finally won, paving the way for the future of transport in the Goulburn valley. Bill was a five-time Mayor of Shepparton and a large employer of indigenous and socially disadvantaged workers. His door was always open to those who needed help.

The Sali family established their orchard in Shepparton in 1937. That produce had to be moved and elder son, Alan, began hauling fruit to the Victoria Market in 1946 and Sam joining him in 1956. Sixty-five years later the company operates a fleet of modern trucks and, together with their sub-contractors, service a loyal customer base across the eastern seaboard.

There are many more trucks and much more on offer at MOVE. At the end of one aisle is a 610 cabin that Kenworth has donated to the Museum. There are images of a truck driving around Shepparton so the kids can jump into the cabin and make out like they’re driving a truck. And you can guarantee there are plenty of dads doing exactly the same thing.

This is great interaction and gives an extremely realistic feeling of what it’s like to be behind the wheel of a truck, surround sound and all.

There’s a play area for the kids too where dad promises: “I’ll be back in just a minute.”

The trucks will be rotated so you can go back three or four months later and see a substantially different exhibition.

Then, when you’ve finished drooling over the trucks, you can wander over to the cars and see an exhibition that is absolutely world class!

To top it off there is a massive collection of motor bikes, as well as push bikes and fashion down through the ages.

As Chief Officer, Peter Hills – who managed Kreskas Transport for some 25 years – puts it: “I’ve gone to heaven! They call this work?”

MOVE Museum is open seven days a week 10.00am to 4.00pm.