Owner/Driver #339

going with it anyway. Deppo started work with
Leeson’s … wait, hold on, I’m guessing there are a
few of you thinking, “Is he going to explain the
Deppo nickname or is it far too controversial or
depraved to mention?” Alright, I’ll let you in on the
secret. The truth is, Dan’s nickname is almost a
Chinese whisper’s version of where it started.
The origins trace back to one of Leeson’s
boilermakers who started calling him Deputy
Dan. Remember him, the bumbling Wild West
sheriff? So, through name association, that’s
what Dan got called. Soon it went from Deputy
Dan to just Deputy. Somewhere along the lines it
morphed into Deppo. There you go folks, no torrid
tales of Dan’s misdemeanours within depot-sized
buildings, but purely a harmless nickname. Or so
he’s led me to believe.
Back to the Peterbilt story and where Deppo
fits in. In 2006, the big Pete rocked up to Leeson’s
Rosedale yard. It is also the year a young truck
enthusiast named Dan, who would become Deppo,
started his apprenticeship with Leeson’s. Having
left school at 15, Deppo’s passion for trucks meant
he was never destined to be far from them. He
grew up with his father doing a fair bit of driving
and he was immersed in the industry.
He put in two years of his apprenticeship with
Leeson’s, keeping a close eye on the alluring
Pete. When he got his MR licence at 18 he put his
apprenticeship on hold and took a job driving
a small livestock truck for a friend. When that
finished up he was able to fall back on the tools
and finished up working at another local family
company, Dyers Transport.
“They are a great company to work for,” Deppo
attests.
“I finished my apprenticeship there and then
went driving for them.”
Having already gotten his HC license on his own,
Dyers helped Deppo get his MC and, then, with the
keys to a new T409, they sent him off doing some
local and intrastate work.
Never a man to sit still, in 2014, Deppo had a
go out on his own, purchasing an old T401 and
ownerdriver.com.au
APRIL 2021 47