Road Transport Hall of Fame Inductees Named

It was a memorable night in Invercargill as the inaugural Hall of Fame inductees were named at a black-tie event in late September ...

To be a sponsor as well as an attendee at the New Zealand Road Transport Hall of Fame dinner, where the first eight inductees were named, was a great honour, according to Glenn Stapleton, General Manager, Gough Transport and Materials Handling.

Gough TWL and Gough Transpecs were co-sponsors of the event and, along with Gough Cat, they also had three tables for guests and staff.

“Our sponsorship started through our excellent relationship with the HW Richardson Group and our desire to help this event recognise and reward great contributions to the New Zealand Transport Industry. The Gough Group has enjoyed a long association with the transport industry in New Zealand and our sponsorship gives us the opportunity to put something back into an industry that has been good to us over the years. We plan to be back again next year.

“To be there and able to acknowledge some of the greats of the industry such as Bill Richardson and Sir Bob Owens was unforgettable. And that is just to name two of the eight true industry icons who were inducted,” he said.

“As a New Zealand family owned business that has been around for over 80 years, we can relate to many of the stories and challenges shared at this outstanding event.

The Hall of Fame was initiated by Scott and Jocelyn O'Donnell, of HW Richardson Group, after attending a similar awards function in Australia late last year. They returned to New Zealand determined to initiate the concept on this side of the Tasman and just nine months later the concept came to fruition as 450 people attended the inaugural awards gala dinner which also marked the opening of the Hall of Fame.

“It was fitting that the dinner was held in the Bill Richardson Truck Museum in Invercargill and that he was an inductee,” Glenn said.

The inductees were: Bill Richardson and Sir Bob Owens, both posthumously, Jim Barker (Otorohanga), John Emmerson (Hastings), Lackie Griffififi n (Governor’s Bay, Christchurch), Neil Clarke (Mt Maunganui), Ron Carpenter (Palmerston North) and Tony Friedlander (Wellington).

All proceeds for the dinner went to Pro Active Drive, a trust which provides free driver training to secondary school students throughout the South Island.