and partly because sentiment for the
Past and the desire to preserve it
has awoken amongst even younger
members of society. (Witness the
increased numbers attending ANZAC
Day services and ceremonies!) But let’s
not kid ourselves; money makes the
world go ’round and truck restoration
has also become a multi-million if not
billion dollar industry. Once, Commer
Knockers, Maple Leaf Chevs, AB and
R190 Inters, Diamond Ts and B-model
Macks were easy to find, but then the
law of supply and demand kicked in.
As the numbers decreased, up went
the price and the value of old rigs
sky-rocketed – with a flow-on effect to
restoration-associated industries. Now,
people are even paid to find old relicsand deals are done to get them home to
eager collectors.
Restoring and showing old trucks
is one thing of course, but I’ve found
that if a collector wants to attract
public attention and develop a fan
base, he or she needs a good story
to accompany the restoration. Geoff
Standon, for example, an original
driver for Carpentaria Freighters based
in Atherton, Far North Queensland,
used to carry a small Kodak Box
Brownie camera. His black and white
photographs of the dust, grime and the
cattle that were yarded and transported
certainly captured my imagination when
I met him in Mareeba. He drove down
the Kuranda Range in AEC body trucks,
each pulling two self-steering trailers,to the meatworks at Cairns. You can
only imagine the effect on the motorist
in a Baby Austin or Morris Major when
confronted by these rigs, usually four
travelling together down the narrow
Range road. Some feat in these days!
Of course, many of these pioneering
transport operators have now passed
away, but I always felt privileged to
be asked into homes to look through
family albums. One photo that is burnt
into my memory is of Kingsford Smith’s
Southern Cross parked in a paddock and
a Hayes body truck there with drums
of fuel, while the two famous aviators,
Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm,
pumped fuel into the tanks.
On the boardroom walls of a fifth
generation transport family, theEven room for^ the^ kitchen^ sink.CLASSIC TRUCKS
Truckin’Life < 041 >Mercedes^ proved^ it^ could^ handle^
the^ western^ work.
An early double-decker sheep transport.When Inters were kings of the forest.