All of us at Drake Trailers are paying our deepest respects following the sad passing of Alan Brown OAM. Alan was a joint founder of The Brown and Hurley Group. He passed away at the age of 94 at the Hope Island Arcare nursing home following a short illness.
Alan was a road transport industry pioneer and a local legend in the NSW town of Kyogle, the home of Brown and Hurley since the company’s inception in 1946.
General Manager of Drake Trailers, Khali Lake, said that he and his team have been reflecting on the valuable contribution made by Alan during his 94 years at the helm of the Australian transport industry.
The start of a life-long friendship and business partnership
At the age of 14, Alan started off his career at Balmain Bros, Cooma where he began his apprenticeship before joining the army where his life-long friendship and partnership began with Jack Hurley. It was also during his time in the army that Alan met and married his sweetheart Lil, and together they went on to have a family of five children. Alan’s beloved wife Lil passed away in 2013.
As their Army duty came to an end in 1946, both Alan and Jack decided to go into business together in Kyogle, opening of the Brown and Hurley business; which over the last 70 years has developed into today’s award-winning supplier of Kenworth and DAF trucks with branches throughout New South Wales and Queensland.
Alan’s values live on
Alan’s son and Joint Managing Director of the Brown and Hurley Group recalled that his dad was very mechanically gifted.
“He could fix pretty much anything and took great pride in making things, like furniture and even solar heating systems.”
“One of Alan’s favourite sayings was, ‘I complained I had no shoes until I met a man with no feet’” Rob remembered.
Alan was a very humble man who treated everyone equally, and he assumed everyone would treat him the same.
This principle, along with others of a similar nature, has been adopted throughout the Brown and Hurley business including the company’s ethos of ‘Principles before Profit’.
Drake Trailers is very proud of its place in the history of Australian transport, with the company’s origins starting in 1958. Our values of quality workmanship and innovation remain the same today which is why we continue to lead the Australian trailer manufacturing industry. If you’re looking for the best quality heavy haulage trailer customised to meet your needs, contact us.