Covid Convoy to Koroit

For some truck drivers, the ‘workplace’ is something they get into, do the job and get out of at the end of the day. And repeat.

For many though, the ‘workplace’ is much more. It is a part of their being - up there on a pedestal with their partners and children. On the weekend – every weekend – out they come, often with willing kids in tow, armed to the teeth with hoses, sponges and polish to ensure the workplace is a shining example of the best the industry has to offer..

The opportunity for these men and women to show their Pride and Joy to the world is truck shows, but alas 2020 saw their disappearance. 2021 is very much putting a finger in the air and hoping the wind blows in the right direction. The Koroit Truck Show held in Victoria’s Western District on the Australia Day Weekend was an early victim.

Amidst the disappointment, one Brad Walker rang Shirl McCosker, who until 2019 had been the shows chief cook and bottle washer and said it would be nice if someone - “How about you, Shirl? - might organise a bit of a convoy.

Shirl, who now lives in Gippsland, took the suggestion on board and the Covid Convoy to Koroit was born. From Officer in Gippsland, the ever expanding Convoy travelled along the Princes Highway to proceed in tight formation through Koroit where the town was out to greet them.

Retiring to the local showground - this year with the local cricket team on it instead of a sea of trucks - and parked up with no need to repolish the trucks, we were ready to knock the top of a cold one … or three and have a yak…

Phil Garrett drives a 2012 Western Star for Jason Shiell out of Colac, running Bunnings product from Melbourne to Adelaide and returning with timber from Mount Gambier.

“I started out with Neil’s Transport in Colac where my dad worked. I started washing trucks and driving in the yard at 13 and got my HC truck license at 18. You could go straight onto an HC then but there was a 100 KM radius where I was allowed to drive on P plates.

“I did interstate at 24. At 36 I went and bought my own truck, a 604 Kenworth with 1.1 million km on the clock. I had it for four years when I could see the work dropping off, so sold it and went back to ‘employ-ee-ment’. After a number of years with Wettenhall’s I’m now with Jason Shiell and loving it.

“I was keen to help Shirl out just by coming along. I suspect the pub will be rocking tonight.” (You were right there, Phil).

Tony Sheppard was more pleased than most to be able to join in the convoy. Last year at the Truck Show, Tony had a heart attack and was flown to Geelong Hospital.

“Like everyone else I was disappointed with this year’s cancellation. Then Shirl rang me about the Convoy and I said, I’m in mate! Shirl said, ‘Great, but no repeats of last year!’ Luckily a stent took care of the problem.”

Tony is a 4th generation truckie, his Great Grandfather owning the first articulated vehicle in the Western District (was that a horse and cart?). His Grandfather died behind the wheel at Dugiong in 1952, leaving behind Tony’s dad, John, who was three at the time. John however followed in the family tradition and Tony was hooked from a young age.

Tony has been around the traps and these days, like John, he subs for Tasman Logistics. He is on his second Western Star – a long nosed 4964 with a Series 60 under the bonnet – for which he paid the princely sum of $20,000.

“I didn’t know the truck before I bought it but then the owner pulled this out.” Whereupon Tony shows me a logbook.

“Everything that had ever been done is logged into this. When the seller told me it came with a book I said, it’s a 25 old truck, what do you mean? He said everything – and I mean everything that’s ever been done to it. I was gobsmacked and it sealed the deal for me. It earns me $1,000 a day which is a pretty good return on a $20,000 investment.”

Next to Tony’s WS is father John’s magic 1995 Kenworth E cab. Bought from Bruce Dixon at Warrnambool, it has done over five million kilometres. John has owned it for 18 months.

“Bruce did the comet run from Warrnambool to Melbourne to Mount Gambier and back to Warrnambool, covering 1000km daily. It did three million km on the first C15. Then he put a crate motor in it and this motor has now done over 2 million. It has been trouble-free. You can pull the dipstick out of it now and the oil is as clean as a whistle."

“The only other thing I’ve done is rebuild the gearbox. There is not a loose rivet on it anywhere and it steers like a dream. It’s been immaculately looked after both inside and out. For a 25-year-old truck it’s exceptional.”

Now in his 70’s, John still drives. Grandson, Rhys (17) comes with him and does the dogs and chains. The boys are working on the Melbourne metro tunnel at the moment carting steel.

David Rule followed his father into transport. “Dad carted plasterboard for a mob and I got involved with them as well. CSR bought them out and I worked for them in various management roles. Then I was headhunted into a similar business, ended up owning 30% of it but kept getting outvoted by the other three partners. The frustration drove me out in the end.

“I looked at various opportunities but came to the conclusion that running a convenience store 24/7 was not for me. Then, of all things, a Tennis Court business came up for sale. ‘That’s different,’ thought I, and so here we are today.”

David’s business is called Budget Tennis Courts which is a bit of a misnomer when they kick off at around $60,000 a serve.

COVID has been kinder to David than many, with the staying-at-home mandate throwing orders his way. Of course, a truck is required to move things around and David bought a 1990 Kenworth T650 from a mate. “It wasn’t B-double rated so he was happy to part with it. For the job I had in mind I converted it into a rigid, extending the chassis by 1500mm and adding a tautliner to the tray. It keeps company with a 1985 cab over KW tipper in David’s garage.

To look at this truck a novice would never guess its age. Winning the ‘Gold Logie’ Koroit outright a few years back is testament to the work David has put into the old girl. Whilst not a truckie in the strict sense of the word for many years now, truckie blood still runs strong in David’s veins.

Any thoughts of retirement? “Haha. I’ve been married twice… what do you think? Anyway, enough of that. It was great to come here in a convoy, to pull up and pull out a beer? No polishing. No cleaning. How good is this?”

Tony Sheppard summarises the Covid Convoy to Koroit (and truck shows in general) pretty well when he says: “This is all about swapping stories and some of them are even true.

When you talk to young blokes driving nowadays and you tell them some of the stuff you used to get away with, they look at you like you’re on Mars.

"Two-hundred-and-fifty horsepower trucks with 50 ton on them and away you would go. Pull up at night and sleep across the seats. Down the Hume when it was a goat track and do the same Sydney-Melbourne time that the big bangers do today.

"I went to Albury not long ago with a young bloke. He commented on how rough the ride is. This is on the Hume and we’re in a new Scania. No bloody idea!

“When I started driving 30 odd years ago, if you had a flat tire someone would pull up. Not now - it’s all about time. If you get behind you stay behind and if you miss your slot at the dock – well let’s not go there.

“Events like this bring that camaraderie back together and that’s invaluable.”

Postscript: In an effort to catch up to the convoy over one stretch, I timed one old banger at 131kmh. No names, no pack drill. But I will say that that is one of the sweetest GM’s I’ve ever heard.

All being well, the Koroit Truck Show will return in 2022 under the excellent stewardship of Graeme Morris and Richard Allen. But I wouldn’t be surprised if there was another Convoy to Koroit leading into it. Bring it on!