engine without everyone knowing about it.
To give me an idea of the volume of noise that
this created I was told a story about a horse, a
sulky, a farmer and his wife, a Mack truck and
the Harwood Ferry. Now the Harwood Ferry
travelled back and forth across the Clarence
River – connecting the Pacific Highway just
above Maclean. The farmer, his wife and
their horse had made this trip many times
but on this day there was a Mack truck on
board. All was peaceful, the ferry crossing
an opportunity for a few moments of quiet
contemplation for all those on board, including
the horse. As the ferry approached the other
side, the farmer and his wife climbed back
into their sulky and the truck driver climbed
up into the cab of the air start Mack truck. It
was at that moment, when the engine roared
into life that all hell broke loose. One can well
imagine the horse’s response and it wasn’t a
positive one. He reared up, he dropped down,
he reared up again, he kicked out, he kicked
back and he kept on kicking. Fortunately, the
farmer and his wife were able to get clear of
the sulky as the horse kicked and kicked and
kicked until there was very little left of that
sulky. It was soon after that that a sign went
up on the Harwood Ferry – “Drivers with air
start Mack’s do not stop your engine on the
ferry”.Four years after the tipper was purchased
John Wearn made a tough decision to sell the
steel float as money was tight. This meant
that the FTK was now operated as a steel tri-
axle tipper only and she worked out of Mogo
Quarry carting hard rock. Several times a day
the FTK boarded the punt at Wiseman’s Ferry.
Putting a heavily laden truck onto a punt over
and over again definitely increases the odds of
“stuff” happening. On one trip, the FTK was
so heavily weighed down that she caused the
ferry to be swamped, even breaking through
some of the timbers. The news quickly got out
and inspectors were on their way. This was
going to create a lot of problems and everyone
knew it. The word spread swiftly amongst
the locals who leapt to the aid of the stricken
vessel and the truck. With shovels in hand
gravel was quickly removed from the truck to
reduce the weight. However, all would have
been lost had one very enterprising lady who
happened to have been in the post office at
the time, not jumped into her car and driven
back to the quarry, explained the situation,
returning with a new weigh ticket. Fines
averted, buoyancy to the punt restored and
the FTK was able to continue on its way.During the 1970’s George Besant drove the
old girl for 5 years. This makes George the
longest regular driver of the FTK. George
operated the FTK both as a tipper and a float
during that time. Although there were faster
trucks on the road by this stage, the FTK
handled herself well. The old girl managedINDUSTRY LEGENDAUSTRALIANEARTHMOVING.COM.AU 26