Passion for transport honoured

Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt listens as long-time Road Transport Association of New Zealand...
Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt listens as long-time Road Transport Association of New Zealand Region 5 regional secretary Dave Potter, of Dunedin, gives a speech after being inducted into the New Zealand Road Transport Hall of Fame in Invercargill on...
More than 500 people attended the New Zealand Transport Hall of Fame function at the Bill...
More than 500 people attended the New Zealand Transport Hall of Fame function at the Bill Richardson Transport World building.

A passion for transport dating back to his boyhood has resulted in Dunedin's Dave Potter being inducted into the New Zealand Transport Hall of Fame.

Mr Potter, a former bus and truck driver, recently retired after 25 years as the face of the Road Transport Association of New Zealand in Otago - four years as secretary of the Otago Road Transport Association and 21 as secretary for the association's Region 5 area.

He was one of five men inducted at a glittering function on Friday night held at the Bill Richardson Transport World building in Invercargill.

The truck museum begun by the late Mr Richardson, patriarch of the HW Richardson Group, is undergoing a multimillion-dollar expansion and transformation and is expected to open to the public at the end of next month.

Contractors raced last week to finish the vast main vehicle display space and commercial kitchen to allow 565 people from all over New Zealand and parts of Australia to sit down to a formal meal at the Hall of Fame function.

Several vehicles were on display, including the collection's centrepiece - a 1939 Dodge Airflow fuel tanker believed to be one of only three left in the world - plus a 1914 Stewart one-ton truck believed to be the sole survivor of its type, and most of the 36 rare vintage Fords the Richardson Group purchased in 2013 from Northern Territory trucking magnate Jim Cooper.

The Hall of Fame was initiated in 2012 by HW Richardson Group managing director Scott O'Donnell and director Jocelyn O'Donnell, Bill Richardson's daughter.

Since then, 20 people have been honoured, including Mr Richardson. As well as Mr Potter, this year's inductees were Neil Reid, of Nelson, Ralph Munn, of Greymouth, and the late Bernie McDonald, of Te Karaka, and Bob Burnett, of Ashburton.

Mr Potter said his passion for transport came from his grandfather, who for 47 years delivered parcels around Dunedin using a horse and cart.

allison.beckham@odt.co.nz

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