Gary Radford

Gary ‘Ripper’ Radford inherited both the business sense and strength of character of his grandfather Les Radford, whose Broken Hill building and transport company, Radford & Sons, opened for business in 1911, a time when much of the heavy moving and transportation was done by camel teams. Four generations of the Radford family have since played a significant role in the development of Broken Hill, from mining to transport, earth-moving and pastoral. And always to community-building. 

Gary ‘Ripper’ Radford was brought up by his grandparents after his father was killed in WWII and his mother’s struggle to accept the loss of her husband. Aged 14, Gary started working for his grandfather in the workshop. Later, he found work operating mining equipment. When Les died, Gary started his own business, aged 23, as a sole trader with a 1953 Ford tipper truck and an overhead loader.    

A year later Gary bought a tractor and another truck and went into partnership with his uncle, Peter Radford, as R &R Earthmovers. By 1975 he had bought Peter Radford out and also purchased his grandfather’s original business Radford & Sons. His business names changed to Gary Radford Earthmovers and Silver City Haulage. By 2008 he added Consolidated Cranes, Brimco Cranes, Radco Heavy Haulage. Gary Radford also owned a number of pastoral properties in western New South Wales. The Radford name is still synonymous within the pastoral industry today.  

Whilst he was building his business and raising a family, Gary Radford was also supporting the town’s infrastructure and community through volunteering and donating generously to charities and other social groups, including Lifeline, Legacy, and the St. Patrick’s Race Club. Gary was admitted to the Broken Hill City Council Nydia Edes Volunteer Hall of Fame in 2011. 

In 1986, Gary was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for his service to the community. In 1997 he was awarded the Des Griffith Award in acknowledgement of his contribution to Lifeline Broken Hill. 

In 2011 he was inducted into the National Road Transport Museum Shell Rimula Wall of Fame.  

Integrity and honesty, loyalty and hard work are the qualities that make a community strong, and Gary Radford had them all. When he died on Anzac Day 2020, aged 79, Broken Hill lost a good man. 

Audio transcript available.