Pahīatua business owner inducted into road transport hall of fame

Trevor Jackson, pictured in his office at Jackson Enterprises, is known just as much for his contributions to the community as his work.

By Leanne Warr

Trevor Jackson has built a reputation for innovation.

In 34 years of owning and running Jackson Enterprises, the born-and-bred Pahīatua resident has become known for “standing out in the crowd”.

And it’s that reputation that has earned him a place in the New Zealand Road Transport Hall of Fame.

Trevor says those chosen to be inductees in the hall of fame are done so because of contributions to the road transport industry.

He says many of the innovations he’s come up with have been a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

It was a few years ago when Trevor, while waiting in Christchurch airport for a flight to Palmerston North, came across a man working for Caterpillar.

He says they got to talking and he learned the man was waiting for a flight to Australia to look into a 200-tonne transporter to be built.

“I asked him why he was going to Australia. What was wrong with New Zealand?”

The company had made a few inquiries with other companies, but no one seemed interested in tackling the project.

Following that conversation, Trevor was sent some basic guidelines and went through the specifications.

“I thought I could have a crack at that.”

To make a long story short, Trevor took it on.

The project would eventually cost more than $1 million to make and took about seven months to build.

It’s that kind of innovation and attitude that Trevor has become known for.

Trevor initially went to Palmerston North Boys’ High School, but felt school was taking him nowhere.

However, he was told he wouldn’t be allowed to leave school until he got a job, so he looked into an apprenticeship.

Eventually he got a job as an apprentice diesel mechanic at D P Ryan and Sons, working in their workshop servicing trucks and buses.

When the business was sold, Trevor finished his apprenticeship with Eric Gleeson and Sons and says he spent a few years there “learning all the tricks of the trade”.

He later worked at the dairy company before starting up Jackson Enterprises in 1990.

“I rented a workshop and yard and built up from there.

“Thirty-four years later, I’m still here.”

He was once offered some buildings once owned by the Ministry of Works in Turangi and took a team of workers up with him to get them transported back to Pahīatua.

They were able to resurrect a third of the buildings and the rest were sold. Those buildings made up part of the Pahīatua premises, which were extensively renovated a few years ago.

On the road transport hall of fame website, Trevor’s bio notes that he is heavily involved in the local community, “whether it be sponsoring events, donating to fundraisers or giving up his time to help those in need.

“It’s these little things and his thoughtfulness that makes Trevor, Trevor,” the bio says.

Leanne Warr has been editor of the Bush Telegraph since May 2023 and a journalist since 1996. She re-joined NZME in June 2021.