At the age of 14, Stan Hamilton drove a truckload of apples approximately 25 kilometres into the Dandenong produce market, in Victoria. The truck was a 1934 British Bedford, the first of the US Chevrolets that were rebadged for the English showrooms. His father sat up beside him to cover the legalities, despite the fact that he didn’t hold a driver’s licence either.

Born in 1935, he grew up on the family orchard/farm at Beaconsfield Upper, and learned to drive at an early age, using both the family Overland car, and the early model Fordson tractor. The Fordson had a two-stage brake pedal; the first stage released the clutch, while the second stage activated the brakes. Young Stan would have to get off the seat to put all his weight on the pedal, and then use his arms to push against the mudguard bracket in order to get the pedal to fully dis-engage, meaning that, during this manoeuvre, no steering could take place. Couple this with a sticking clutch, and things got quite interesting at times!