The Twin Town’s Ken Thomas.
A Blue Plaque honouring the legendary Ken Thomas will be installed in the twin towns of Murrumburrah and Harden, as a tribute to his contributions to the Australian transportation industry and road safety.
Thomas, born in Harden-Murrumburrah in 1913, was a visionary transport entrepreneur and road safety innovator who left an indelible mark on trucking, fleet transport, logistics and shipping, opening Australia’s export avenues and saving lives. After founding the freight giant TNT (Thomas Nationwide Transport), he seamlessly connected road and rail transport, creating a nationwide transport and shipping powerhouse.
Thomas was also a vocal advocate for road safety, a staunch pacifist, and an anti-conscriptionist. His pioneering work focused on improving the speed and efficiency of bringing goods to market while prioritising road safety, ultimately opening up markets in regional Australia and boosting exports. Thomas passed away in 1997.
The nomination for the Blue Plaque came from the Harden Murrumburrah Historical Society Inc., in recognition of Thomas’s profound impact on the community where he was born. Blue Plaques NSW celebrates well-known characters many of us are familiar with, but also brings attention to lesser-known stories of people and events that shaped a particular community, town, or field of work or study.
This plaque is one of 14 which will be installed in the second round of the NSW government’s Blue Plaques NSW program. They were chosen from 117 nominations made by the public and assessed by independent historians. They will be installed in the coming months, joining the 35 already in place.
Heritage NSW is working with experts and potential property owners to finalise the location of the plaques and once installed they will be listed on the Blue Plaques NSW website www.blueplaques.nsw.gov.au.
