Truckin’ Life – August 2019

there are truck brokers in the US who

specialize in sourcing specific trucks and

arranging shipping back home here for

Australian collectors.

Moreover, UK collectors are now

coming here to find British trucks that

have survived the wreckers’ yards.

Storyboards at Pommy shows like the

Melford Rally in Suffolk and the All

Wales Truck Transport Show and Road

Run detail where these trucks have

worked and the extreme conditions in

which they were expected to perform.

Australian-built Atkinsons, the plastic

cab models now known as Skippy

Atkinsons, are popular exhibits these

days on the UK circuits.

Road runs like “Haulin’ the Hume”

which have recently become popular

here in Australia have been well attended

in the UK for many years, and often

coincide with their show calendar

events. In Australia, road runs like

Convoy for Kids and special events like

the CQ Old Station Heritage Truck Show

are often fundraisers for the Flying

Doctor or Helicopter Rescue Service and

cancer research. Entry fees for truckie

participation at such events can be quite

substantial too.

Whatever way you look at it, the

growth of the classic truck movement

over the last 15 years has been

nothing short of explosive. Apart

from a plethora of Australian stories,

I’ve written about collectors from the

UK, Dubai, Singapore, New Zealand,

Europe, Canada and the USA. And these

days, with the ease of modern travel,

you can “Trundle Back in Time” to the

NSW “Vintage Rally and Tractor Pull”;

hop across the ditch to “Wheels at

Wanaka” in New Zealand; then jump on

a plane and land at Heathrow within 24

hours, rearing to go on the London to

Brighton Road Run. And if that still isn’t

enough, you could sample the classic

delights of the big, bold and brassy

ATHS (American Truck Historical

Society) National Show in Salem,

Oregon.

There are shows, road runs,

collections and collectors aplenty, all

trying hard to keep the Past alive and

preserve those nostalgic memories. But

I sometimes wonder, along with Barbra

Streisand, “Can it be that it was all so

simple then,

Or has time re-written every line,

Tell me, would we? Could we?”

Much sought-after now by

British collectors.

A minimalistic approach.

< 046 > Truckin’Life

CLASSIC TRUCKS

Truckies^ appreciate^ Canadian,^
Andy^ Zary’s^ restored^ B^61.

Doors^ –^ just^ an^ optional^ extra!