The Return of the Truck Show: Castlemaine 2021

It’s been a long time coming! Here in Victoria at any rate. Truck shows represent the fabric of the industry to the wider world, as well as being a great excuse to catch up with like-minded folk. They are also the life blood of many of my stories.

So it was welcome news to hear that Castlemaine, two hours north-west of Melbourne (and the first show I ever attended back in 2004) was back on for 2021, although not quite in its usual form of two days. Given the Rotary Club organisers had only six weeks from whoa to go, the decision was made to run the event on the Sunday only for this year.

However, the famous convoy through town had returned, with the streets lined by families exhorting the trucks to blast their horns as they passed by. And of course they did!

Following the parade back to The Campbell’s Creek Showground it was gratifying to see at least 150 trucks parking around and inside the oval. Just as gratifying were the hundreds of people filing into the ground to admire the metallic works of art and the pristine state in which they were presented.

John Maloney had travelled from Gippsland to attend, as he has done for some 15 years. Two Maloney Transport Kenworths stood in resplendent green – their chrome glittering on this late spring morning.

John has been in the trucking business for 45 years, the single truck now having grown to a fleet of 14 that travel around the State and into Adelaide. John himself though, only owns one truck these days. A case of ‘Back to the Egg’?

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“I have two sons in the business: Paul and David. The two trucks here belong to David. The boys own the prime movers and I own all the tanks. Cement tanks that is.”

This appears to be a pretty savvy decision on John’s behalf - selling the prime movers to the lads. After all, prime movers are bloody useless without something to pull. They are also a damn sight more expensive to run and maintain than are the trailers.

David has been working with John for the past 18 years and Paul for 15. “They drove for the first few years and then they started buying the trucks off me, at the going price I might add. You don’t give anything away. The kids have to work the same as I did. They’ve worked hard for everything they got.”

The two Maloney trucks at the show are a 2016 KW T409 SAR driven by Jim Travis and a 2017 T900 Legend with Bradley McLean behind the wheel.

Now I get a great segue.
In 2014 I interviewed one Troy McLean at Castlemaine. His T908 won rig of the day on the Saturday that year. I happened to take a family photo in front of the 9'Oh and who is there? Young son, Bradley!

The 908 was moved on a couple of years ago, to a home up near Dalby, Qld where it is pulling AB Triples. “I bet it misses me,” quipped Troy, who only ever hauled a single.

Today we’re standing in front of Troy’s 2019 KW T909, bought new. I commented that Kenworth would have rubbed their hands in glee when Troy knocked on their door.

“I pretty much rubbed my hands in glee myself mate, when I worked out I could go and do it. Bradley drove this for me for the first six months. I took bit of a spell because I’d not had a break in like forever. When I got back into it was when he went to Maloney’s.”

Under the bonnet is an X-15 Cummins, continuing the Cummins tradition – the last truck having an ISX-EGR. “This one’s better.”

The last time I interviewed Nick Gattuso was just after his 21st birthday where dad, Charlie had presented the lad with a 2018 Kenworth T 900 Legend. (Close cousin and good mate Jordan, son of Frank, also got a nice 21st present around the same time in a Kenworth T950 Legend).

“It only came out at the end of 2017, when they started to come off the line. Mine is 183/257. I guess that makes it a Wednesday truck. It’s been a great truck to date. It looks old school but with all the new school technology. Rides like a dream, can’t complain.”

There is one thing about the Gattuso’s on both sides of the family: their trucks are always superbly presented - not just at truck shows. “We do take a lot of pride. We see it as a business card and it’s our office as well. We’re lucky enough that all our drivers look after the trucks and take as much pride in them as we do. Without the drivers the trucks sit still.”

Over the years Gattuso trucks have won many truck show awards – no easy feat, given that they are primarily white with bling added by Kaiser Kustom.

Matt Clarke used to drive for Gattuso but has moved on to SRV, the call of interstate work outweighing Gattuso’s mainly Victorian based operations.

Matt’s drive is a 2021 K200. “This truck celebrates Brown and Hurley’s 75th year and is number 75 of 75, so I do feel a bit special. I enjoy driving interstate rather than just Shepparton-Melbourne.”
I suggest that Matt is happy to get away from the kids. “No, they’re happy to get away from me.”

Daimler will be happy because at Castlemaine is a truck with Kreskas Brothers branding and it is a Freightliner Cascadia – possibly the first to appear at a truck show, and a departure for the company which runs mainly Kenworth. The man with the truck is one Jason Buis who is not actually the regular driver of the truck but rather the workshop manager.

“It is a beautiful truck to drive, very comfortable and no rattles. Freightliner has come of age.”
Unable to help themselves though, the business has added a couple of modifications to the truck, primarily in regard to the tanks. “We modified the tanks so it looks like a quad system. We weren’t fussed on the original tanks. Our engineering shop got hold of a couple of old Benz tanks, chopped them up and modified them. It looks like quads and is something totally different, filling the space between the cab and rear axles.”

No 8 inch stacks added behind the cab? “No, but we did modify the existing exhaust.” (Of course you did.)
Jason has been with Kreskas for 11 years, drove for six years and in the workshop for the past five.

Sometimes it’s hard to get people to talk when you shove a microphone in their face. Such was the case when I passed by a great looking Kenworth belonging to J S Haulage. Robbie ‘Skidmarks’ - as he was referred to by someone in the group wasn’t keen, passing the buck to owner, Jye Savage. Jye 26, “and another fella” own the one-truck business between them – Jye being the driver.

“ ‘The other fella’ watched me drive for everyone else when I was younger and always said, buy your own. I said no. Anyway he pushed me into it and we set up the business together. I have a float and shift all his equipment. It’s all heavy haulage.

The truck is a 2008 C 508 day cab Kenworth. “This is the first truck I ever drove when I got my semi license. Five years later we ended up buying it.”

Jye has been in business just over 12 months. His days usually take him to Melbourne plus a lot of time in the bush moving logging equipment. I note the CTI tire inflation kit on the wheels for which Jye is extremely grateful. “It’s the best thing ever because I don’t have airbags under the rear.”

This year there were only three awards handed out – unlike the myriad of trophies usually on offer (I’m assured they will return in ’22). Best Working Truck went to Membrey’s, Best Show Truck to Ian McClure’s R700 and the Trucker’s Choice Award to Chantelle Mattei and her 2008 Kenworth 408 SAR.

Chantelle is a mere 20 years of age, and has only been behind the wheel for a few months. “It was father/daughter project for my 16th birthday. Obviously I got my license as soon as I could!”
Chantelle’s days are spent driving locally, moving asphalt and other raw materials on a float trailer.

I love seeing a P-Plate on a truck because it means that there is a P-Plater out there on the road who is a really, really bloody good driver! You don’t get these for nothing when behind the wheel of something like this.

Castlemaine felt like it was over before it had begun, but we can look forward to a full weekend next year. Meantime feast your eyes on these and I’m sure, that if you can, Y’all Be There!