One of Australia’s most prominent and high profile produce and logistics transport organisations, Don Watson Group has announced it is closing down after close to 77 yers of operations.
The Don Watson Group this week announced that it is set to close down, citing “current economic conditions” behind the decision to shut down its transport network and sell its coldstores arm.
Don Watson Pty. Ltd has been in business since 1966 but can trace its history back to 1948 when when G.H. ‘Don’ Watson founded a business that carried stock to markets in Melbourne, Ballarat and Dandenong with a handful of surplus army vehicles. However last week the company’s current managing director Lyndon Watson announced that the company would be shutting down after more than six decades.
For all those decades, the easy to spot blue and have rolled across Australia’s highways as a tangible reminder of late privateer race car driver,Don Watson.
They’re the same colours that Watson used on his Holden Commodore VP touring cars, which also sadly took his life in a crash during the lead-up to the 1994 Bathurst 1000.
But this month is the last time you’ll see those colours on our highways.
The move was announced in an all-staff memo last week, with the decision set to impact the company’s 300 employees across its network of trucks and refrigerated distribution centres.
“We understand that this may come as a shock, but we have formed the view that it is simply no longer possible to continue to operate,” the memo from managing director Lyndon Watson said,
As Don’s son eldest son, Lyndon is the third-generation of the Watson family to run the company.
“To be clear, all employees will be impacted by this decision,” Watson said.
“All employees (that are made redundant) will receive all of their entitlements in full in accordance with the terms of relevant legislation and enterprise agreements.”
The decision marks the end of a company that traces its roots back to 1948 with its growth leading to the establishment of Don Watson Pty. Ltd. as a new company in 1966, with the reins handed over to his son Don after the original founder, his father’s passing in 1973.
The company continued to grow amid rapid technological progress in the industry, and its success allowed Don Watson to indulge in a passion for racing.
He competed in Porsche Cup and production cars before stepping up to touring car racing, making his debut as a co-driver in the 1992 Sandown and Bathurst enduros before purchasing a VL Commodore from Larry Perkins during 1993.
A crash in that year’s Australian Grand Prix support races led Don to buy a brand-new VP Commodore from Perkins for 1994.
Resplendent in Don Watson Transport white and blue, he campaigned the car in selected rounds of the Australian Touring Car Championship, before pairing with Western Australian racer Ian Love, the father of current racers Aaron and Jordan Love, for the endurance races.
They finished 14th at the Sandown 500, before a shattered brake rotor caused Don to fatally crash at the Chase during Thursday morning’s qualifying session at Bathurst.
“The 1994 Bathurst accident was an absolute tragedy. Don was a friend and someone I’ll never forget,” Perkins told motor racing website V8 Sleuth for the 2021 book covering the history of his team’s touring cars.
“I’d met Don in the racing world and was delighted that his approach to life was very similar to mine. His word was his bond.
“I allowed him to persuade me to totally look after his car from my workshop, which was the first time in eight years of Perkins Engineering that I’d done so for a customer.
“It had the potential to be a cumbersome arrangement, but it worked because Don was Don, he was a very easy guy to get along with.
“He had no ego, he just loved to drive and the logical way he went about his business meant he had the total respect of all my mechanics.”
Don was just 42 years old, and his sudden passing meant his wife Noelene took over as managing director, before their son Lyndon took over as the group CEO in recent years.
Noelene grew the business considerably over her time as the head of the company before handling over to eldest son Lyndon. Noelene also had leadership roles with the ATA and was a strong advocate for the transport industry.
Across that time, the business grew to service the entire eastern seaboard of Australia, with a network of over 150 refrigerated trucks plus refrigerated distribution centres in Melbourne, Wodonga, Sydney and Brisbane.
While the cold stores side of the business will continue amid preparations for it to be sold, the trucks made their final collections on 9th June.
Their deliveries in the following days will be the last time the Don Watson Transport colours will appear in a working capacity.
