community keeps on carrying on

1920 1288 In Good Company | Northern Rivers
OConnors carriers tweed logo

O’Connors Carrying Service
67-69 Quarry Rd, Murwillumbah, NSW 2484

www.oconnorscarrying.com.au

Visit Tweed Northern Rivers -01
community keeps on carrying on

Friday 30 March 2017 is a day Paul and Sue O’Connor won’t forget.

The owners of O’Connors Carrying Service left their depot in Murwillumbah and didn’t think anything of incoming Cyclone Debbie. That evening, Debbie wreaked havoc and consequently an unprecedented 1.5 metres of floodwater destroyed much of their business, decimating freight, wrecking lorries and causing around $4 million of damage.

“It was completely unexpected. It never flooded where we were. We went home that afternoon thinking we’d be back in the morning as usual and that wasn’t what happened at all,” says Sue.

With no preparations for a flood, the Northern Rivers company was severely hit. But it was a moment that brought the best out of the close-knit community and the couple’s loyal business relationships.

By the time the O’Connors made it to the site, friends had already begun the clean-up. Many of the 50 staff and their families volunteered around the clock.

“People did it out of the goodness of their heart,” says Sue. “It’s a very community-minded area and because of that, we’re still surviving. Everyone pitched in and helped and a lot of our customers were very good to us.”

Much of the business is built around moving beer – a happy consequence of being close to holiday hotspots, Byron Bay and the Gold Coast. After that memorable night last March, iconic regional brewery Stone & Wood sent a team of staff to help clean up and replace 600-plus pallets of freight, mainly beer, lost to the flood.

“It’s a very community-minded area and because of that, we’re still surviving”

In 1948, when Bill O’Connor launched his small business with a single truck serving the locale, he could not have known that 70 years later, the business would be many times the size and remain family run. Three of Bill’s four sons are directors of the company that now deals with jobs across NSW and Queensland. Paul’s son and sister, as well as Sue, all work for the business. Three b-doubles lead a fleet of approximately 30 vehicles which together shift 600 tonnes of freight every day.

And while there are always logistical challenges in the transport business – like increasingly pressured motorways and the need to grow whilst remaining true to company values – it’s mother nature that keeps the O’Connors on their toes these days.

“Rain makes us more nervous now,” laughs Sue. “No, our staff have always been good and they just proved it when the Cyclone Debbie hit.”

“The people, the land… there’s nowhere like it.”

OConnors carriers tweed 002

Share this story

Read more stories
meme productions featured image

world class creatives

 1000 750 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Mememe Productions
The piece of advice that dirtgirlworld creator, Cate McQuillen, likes to share with other creative entrepreneurs in the region tells much about her story…

Step back in time for ‘reel’

 2560 1920 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Yamba Cinema
Yamba Cinema is not just a popular venue to see the latest movie in an idyllic Northern Rivers town.

oatten and hoffman kyogle 002

revving up the community engine

 1000 667 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Oaten and Hoffman
In 2015 Tim Hoffman was riding the high on business success, and had no clue about the blow that was awaiting him….

Art of Glass

 541 817 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Tweed Coast Glass
Anyone who lives between the Gold Coast and Ballina with even a passing involvement in the building trade will be familiar with Tweed Coast Glass.

nicholson fine foods yamba

eclectic food innovator shines

 1030 1030 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Nicholson Fine Foods
The small coastal town of Yamba is home to the one of the world’s best eating prawns, the Eastern King Prawn. It’s also home to the highest…

Creativity takes flight

 2560 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Honey Hunt Style
Jules Hunt moved to Byron Bay with her family 15 years ago because she wanted to raise her children with a strong sense of community. It was by chance that this move led to the flourishing of her artistic career – and more recently to her turn as a successful business woman.

Mount Warning Tours Tweed

a natural business adventure

 1920 1080 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Mount Warning Tours
Despite only existing for four years, Mount Warning Tours’ short life has been eventful: from purchasing the ex-Murray River ferry Spirit of Wollumbin…

Community connection runs deep

 1644 848 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Connect Business Solutions
Connect Business Solutions can be thought of as the glue that holds a business community together.

Dance call for Kyogle

 1473 828 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Ascent Dance
Starting a dance school just five weeks before the onset of a pandemic might have dampened the spirits of some new business owners, but Haylee Holliday took it as a sign that Ascent Dance Studio had to succeed.

cooperative success, sweet for 150 years

 1000 627 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Sunshine Sugar
The Northern Rivers is home to generations of cane farming families who have not only built the sugar industry, but also saved the local…

edmonds conveyancing ballina 001

home is where the heart is

 1920 847 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Edmonds Conveyancing
The legal aspects of buying and selling a property are not normally associated with having a laugh and even singing, but the Edmonds Conveyancing…

building a good reputation

 1000 667 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Brett Harley
When the only pub in town burns to the ground, it’s a big responsibility being the one chosen to rebuild it. The success of Uki’s new Mt Warning…

A walk on the wild side

 1245 933 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Vision Walks Eco Tours
Wendy Bithell has built her multi-award-winning eco-tourism business, Vision Walks – Eco Tours, by combining her two areas of expertise: ecology and technology. Her Byron hinterland adventures are as diverse as nature walks with night vision goggles, Indigenous bush tucker tours, and three-day women’s indulgence escapes.

patches kyogle 001

sewing love for a lifetime

 1232 816 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Patches of Kyogle
Jeannine Smith grew up under her mother’s sewing machine in Western Samoa. “My mother was a professional dressmaker,” says Jeannine…

Alstonville quality meats image 1

main street royalty reigns

 2000 1333 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Alstonville Quality Meats
There’s a giggle in the undertone of conversation when Ashley and Tina Thomson share their claim to fame as being the multi-award winning Sausage Kings…

following her art’s desires

 2560 2198 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Bingara Gallery
If she wasn’t painting wild animals and birds, artist Angela Parr, 62, would most likely be rescuing them, healing them, or advocating for them…

Nurtured by nature

 2560 1723 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Greenx7
For the past 10 years GreenX7 has been running workshops and retreats internationally and in the Tweed for clients as diverse as McDonald’s, Deloitte, Six Senses, and the Australian Defence Force, to inspire both individuals and teams to tap into the healing power of nature.

ahead of time on equality and agility

 1000 667 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Hurford Hardwood
When Olive Hurford told the bank manager she’d be looking after the accounts of her husband’s new building company, the story goes…

Farmers in the fields

 2048 1366 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Norco Primex
Bruce Wright has made his career by bringing together and supporting many of the region’s farmers and primary producers.

A planet of business diversity

 2016 1512 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Tropical Fruit World
It’s been almost 50 years since Robert and Valorie Brinsmead bought the 200-acre farm in Murwillumbah.

Start Typing

X