Big rigs on show to help RFDS

It was his very first truck, bought new and registered in 1984, the day after Anzac Day, and the same day his good mate and fellow logging contractor Ian “Tommy” Evans was killed in a bush accident.
For four years the Kenworth’s cabin was his second home, before he traded it for another Kenworth truck, and life rolled on in the trucking industry, interrupted only by the Vietnam War.
In 2005, more than 17 years later, a friend spotted his original Kenworth in a repossession auction and he knew he wanted to get it back.
“It took me two years to strip it back and rebuild – I pretty well did it all myself except for the paint job,” he said.
“For the past 15 years it’s been a show vehicle, not really doing much work other than carting a few wood logs for my friends.”
The Kenworth has 3,000,000kms on the clock, which is low for its age considering if it had kept working it would be up around 8,000,000 million.
In Bob’s words: “This truck won’t be going anywhere while I’m alive”.
At this Sunday’s truck show at Longford Showgrounds it will not only be ogled by truck fanatics, it will be popular for its $700 load of logs – which will be raffled separate to the mega raffle and auction of more than 300 items.
Bob has been involved with fundraising for charities through the Tasmanian Truck Owners & Operators Association for more than 30 years.
Sunday’s truck show will raise money for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.