Bruce has known Brian Taylor through historic truck runs for many years and finally got to Yerong Creek in the NSW Riverina District to record the family history. Brian was joined by his father Geoff as the two of them recalled the early days of Taylor Brothers Transport and the trials that are faced by operators on a daily basis. Brian is still peddling up and down the highway and when he’s not reliving the early days in his original, unrestored, one family owned Cummins powered International and McGrath trailer. 

Pattens Transport had humble beginnings in 1938 as the family moved into trucking following a career in farming. The company steadily grew thanks to the local cannery along with a contract with Ricegrowers which lasted for almost 50 years. This resulted in the end of the transport business but in their wake the Patten family left a legacy in the Leeton district that will remain for many years to come. Bruce caught up with Jack and his son Steve in Leeton to record the history of this well-known transport company.

With many changes in transport we figured it was time to approach the NHVR for another interview and they happily obliged. Bruce and I see a lot of things happen in the industry and get asked many questions. The ramping up of things such as Enforceable Undertakings, Supervisory Intervention Orders and Prosecutions had us wanting to clear up a few stigmas surrounding them all. We were joined by outgoing Director of Prosecutions Belinda Hughes along with recently appointed Director of Investigations Emma Watson to discuss various ways in which companies could prepare themselves in the event of an incident.

After Murray contacted Bruce about some Kenworth Klassic information, a lengthy discussion resulted in him being invited onto the show. Murray has had an extensive career in road transport including being a company driver, Coach Captain and then owner driver. What appealed to us was the humble nature of this passionate truckie especially his selfless dedication to assist people struggling with life in our industry. It was our absolute pleasure to record this and share it with you all.

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Bruce had a chance meeting with Evan Jones while recording up around the Toowoomba area and was so taken with his humour, memory and knowledge of the industry that he approached him for an interview before heading back to Sydney. Evan is now a publican in a little town called Nobby, between Warwick and Toowoomba. Evan kept saying to Bruce “I know you from somewhere” and true to his word, Bruce remembered him once he saw his truck. Hopeless. Evan has been around and shared some great stories of trucks, transport and the fact that even in his mid-70’s, he can’t get away from them and is still running a 904 Kenworth incase he’s wanted for that “odd job”. What a terrific way for us to finish our road trip in the area.

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Ben was part of our compliance team in Sydney and he’s been mentioned on the podcast plenty of times. Now residing back in Oakey out of Toowoomba, Ben looks after the compliance and training for Mort & Co and is an extremely talented operator. But his beginnings stem back to early days as a driver as he worked his way through the field. We have a lot of time for Ben as we learnt to respect his knowledge after the couple of years he worked with us and we truly miss his openness and sense of humour. He also has a natural ability to be as blunt as a ball pein hammer and has a dickhead meter more sensitive than mine and Bruce’s combined. Brace yourselves................

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We were lucky enough to meet some great people at Casino Truck Show last year and amongst them was Barry and Maree Sjerp, a truly delightful couple from Limestone Ridges, South of Ipswich. We learnt of Barry’s introduction to trucks as well as his childhood, being raised without a father after his beloved Dad was taken in a truck accident when Barry was only three years old. His tribute to his family and love of trucks saw Bruce reach out to Barry who graciously parked up his new A-double to sit and relay the story of his family and his father and his passion for transport, something that is evident in his stunning new 909. Thanks Barry for this heartwarming interview.

After conversing with Paul Biagini over social media for some time, Bruce realised how similar they were with their love of trucks, cars, writing. He approached Paul to tell the story and was invited up to Paul’s place in Mulgowie in the high country south of Gatton in Queensland. With a childhood around trucks and a strong history as an owner operator, Paul openly discussed his highs and lows in trucking, love of cars and music, historic trucks and life in journalism. We know you’ll love this raw interview of Paul’s life.

Our first interview for 2024 sees Bruce interview recently retired Greg Williamson who spoke about his career in the livestock game that stemmed back to the late 50’s. Driving an array of trucks – including Bruce’s beloved Commer’s – Greg became a long time operator of the Mercedes Benz brand and ran a small fleet of them for many years. He ended up driving for Mort & Co in Toowoomba and told a terrific story. We hope you enjoy this.

The Wickham fleet is well known on our roads and Graham Keogh has been on our radar since Copy Southbound’s inception to sit with and hear the story. We finally managed to create a time and were not disappointed. The operation in Warwick is a standout with state of the art facilities, servicing and equipment that identifies them as leaders in their field. Yet, the humble beginnings of the company to their current status was met with as many trials and tribulations as the next person and the result is admirable to say the least. 

Jim and Helen Savage sat with Bruce on his recent trip up the New England to capture some of our industries standout operators. After working as independent livestock haulers for some years, Jim and Helen formed Stockmaster, a name well known in Tamworth and surrounding areas. They were both instrumental in improvements and safety standards in transport and initiated a number of firsts in their area of expertise. We must thank Ian Pendered for nominating this amazing couple to share their story.

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