76 AUGUST 2019 ownerdriver.com.au
writing.Bothpick-upsanddeliveriescanbeorganisedvia
tilttrayorlowloader.
Johnsaysnostalgiaisa bigfactorintheantiquetrucks
game, and his favourite type of buyer motivation.
“If someone started driving a truck when they were
18 or 19, they want it in their backyard when they hit
retirement age,” he says. “Another group are farmers’ sons
who remember the truck on the farm when they were
growing up.”
However there’s also a buying segment who just want a
cheap truck in running order to use on their current farm.
I remember seeing an old Bedford “fire tanker” on a farm
which had just enough boards left on the tray to support a
massive water tank, which was so heavy on the poor chassisTop: View from the highway: a
reminder of rural trucking days
long past
Opposite page top right & below:
Out the chute: a slip-on grain bin
which was the norm before the
advent of bigger tippers; Modern
big bangers on the move and
resting in Uranquinty
Above L to R: Vigilant: This 1940s
jalopy keeps an eye out for its
mates; The famous International
brand once dominated global
truck and farm machinery
manufacture – this bonneted
beauty was built in the late 1950s
Right: That old farm truck
looks a bit overloaded in this
Elaine Mortimer-designed tile
mural which is a feature of the
Uranquinty rest area
railsthata clearbowcouldbeseeninthemiddleofthe
ancientunit.Theseatwasanoldmilkcrate.
Onthesupplysideofthings,Johnsaysa lotofolder
farmersmighthaveboughta trucknew 50 yearsagoor
more and can’t part with it, whereas a lot of the younger
generation and corporate farmers are more likely to just
want to clear everything out of the shed.
John describes himself as an “artist at heart”, and enjoys
what he calls these “sculptural” objects. “A truck could be
as ugly as sin but sometimes they’re more beautiful when
they’re ugly,” he reckons.Good place for a spell
Uranquinty sits between Wagga and The Rock on the
Olympic Highway which runs for more than 300 kilometres
from Cowra in mid-western NSW to just short of Albury in
the south. It’s a popular route for trucks doing linehaul
between Melbourne and Brisbane, and Melbourne to Sydney
via Wagga.
During the afternoon of Owner//Driver’s visit, we saw
many B-doubles belonging to big north-south refrigerated
players rumbling through Uranquinty – including Lindsays,
Nolans and Blenners rigs. Trucks from big linehaul players
with yards in Wagga – Crouch’s and Finemores – were also
well represented.
Uranquinty is a nice little town, and not a bad place
for trucks to pull up. The main street parking on the
northbound side opposite the shops is particularly good,
and right next to 24-hour public toilets. Across the road is
a Caltex which serves hot food from 4-8pm on weeknights;
the Uranquinty Hotel which puts on dinner between 6
and 8.30pm Wednesday to Saturday; and the well-known
Quinty Bakehouse which is open Mondays to Saturdays from
7am-4.30pm.