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Easter 1937 decided to go into the transport business in his own account. He purchased a three-tonne capacity Ford
truck and commenced a service from Alice Springs to Tennant Creek that carried general freight and perishables.
In those days the Overland Telegraph Line formed the route of the south-north track. On each side of the line
a strip 20 metres wide was kept clear by regular patrols of linesmen, who also maintained the Line itself. Vehicles
followed this cleared space, weaving between poles where necessary. It was used more as a stock route than as a
vehicle road. Before the track was improved in 1938 it was not possible to fit dual rear tyres to trucks using the
route as the wheel tracks were so deep that they were only suitable for single tyred vehicles. In fact, trucks could
follow them without being steered! From the railhead at Alice Springs the government road train and ancillary
government trucks moved supplies and materials to remote stations off ‘The Track’ and a handful of individuals,
including Baldock, dealt with general freight. In 1937 trucks were relatively small but they frequently carried loads
twice as heavy as their rated capacity. Thus Baldock’s ‘three tonner’ often carried six tonnes along the Overland
Telegraph Line track, through stony and sandy creek crossings and across ant bed flats. In time road gangs with
graders began making improvements to the track and relocated it in many places. This led to Baldock introducing
the first semi-trailer in 1938 carrying 10 tonne loads.
The improvements in truck technology that took place during the Second World War and the availability after
the war of more powerful vehicles resulted in Baldock becoming the first individual to operate road trains as
freight transport in the Territory. At post-war disposal sales of surplus equipment he bought two petrol powered
GMC 6 x 6 vehicles and coupled each to two trailers, hauling 23 tonne payloads with each of these combinations.
Next he purchased a former tank transporter and began hauling up to four trailers with it. He also built a truck
body on it to carry additional payload. But he found it was underpowered so he acquired two Diamond T trucks,
which were larger and more powerful, and with these he found he could pull seven trailers carrying up to 12 tonnes
each. The trailers were also once defence force equipment. The limit on the number of trailers that could be hauled
behind each Diamond T were the steep hills just north of Alice Springs on the old highway and the strength of
towbars and towing hooks. Moreover, as the trailers were not equipped with brakes, they tended to ‘bunch up’ at
creek crossings, causing couplings to snap. In time, of course, regulations were introduced to restrict the number
of units towed by a prime mover and the overall length of any road train.
Baldock’s road train operation became one of the best known in the Territory. His principal haulage activity was
concentrated between Alice Springs and Tennant Creek, moving general freight north and bringing big tonnages
of copper south from the Peko Mine for transfer to rail. He was a foundation member of the Territory Transport
Association and was a shareholder in Co-Ord, the Association’s business arm which coordinated road to rail
services in the Territory.
In 1955 Dave Baldock left the Territory. He had been advised to undergo treatment for problems associated
with his back, which had been affected by the hard working conditions experienced during his early working
days in transport. He moved to South Australia but retained his financial interest in D R Baldock and Company.
In 1966 the company and its fleet of road trains were sold to Fleet Owners, and the Baldock name in road transport
disappeared.
Prior to moving south Baldock took an active interest in various sports. He was Patron of the Alice Springs
Rifle Club and the Rover Football Club. He was President of the Federal Football Club and Vice-President of the
Pioneer Football Club. His association with racing was as a judge for the Barrow Creek Race Club and the Hatches
Creek Race Club, and as Steward and later Chief Steward of the Alice Springs Race Club. For some years from
1936 he was Assistant Starter at the Alice Springs Race Club’s Christmas meetings. From 1947 he was also a
Trustee of the Anzac Hill recreation area.
He married Illma Gregory in 1940 and they had two sons. In 1956 he married Betty Helen Woodhouse
(nee Shipley) and there were three daughters by that marriage. His second wife died in a car accident in 1972.
Baldock was one of 200 ‘Remarkable Territorians’ nominated as part of the Australian bicentenary celebrations
in 1988. In 1990 he was living in retirement at Somerton Park, South Australia.
J Maddock, A History of Road Trains in the Northern Territory 1934–1988, 1988; taped interview with D Baldock; correspondence.
JOHN MADDOCK, Vol 2.
BALLINGALL, ARTHUR (c1910–1920–1991), bush worker, was born on Undoolya Station near Alice Springs.
Some records suggest that he was born in 1910, but it is likely that he was born upwards of a decade later.
His father, George Ballingall, was a prospector and miner at Arltunga in the 1890s, a stockman at various stations
when the gold petered out, and was later involved in mining at Hatches Creek and Harts Range. Arthur’s mother
was a Central Aranda woman named Angelina Ongyamba. Through her he was to learn the Aranda language and
traditions; by the mid 1970s he was to be acknowledged as the senior person of authority over, and knowledge of,
the Ewaninga rock engravings area south of Alice Springs.
As with most Central Australian boys of his era, his childhood was spent in the company of Aborigines, the
children of stockmen and miners, teamsters and cameleers, yard builders and well sinkers, and other bush workers.
Many of his childhood friends had Aboriginal mothers and white fathers. Although they rarely received a formal
education, they were not ignorant. Commonsense and hard work, together with a good sense of humour, made
them part of the pioneering backbone of the Northern Territory.
Arthur’s early work was with the camel teams, at times in association with his older mate, Walter Smith.
He brought the loading from the then railhead at Oodnadatta to Alice Springs, and beyond to Hatches Creek and
Newcastle Waters for many years. However, on occasions he took on other bush jobs, including droving. As with
virtually all drovers with long-term experience, he criss-crossed the Territory and adjoining states on the great