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Trucks put on a show at Deniliquin

Deniliquin’s celebrated ute scene gave way to road transport when the town held its first truck show.

 

The southern New South Wales town of Deniliquin is well known for its annual Deni Ute Muster.

On September 12, however, it was time for the trucks to have their day.

Deniliquin relies on road transport to service its produce, public and primary industries. It’s a truck town and this was reflected in the close to 50 rigs turning out for the show.

Gary Newman, who drives for O’Sullivan’s Livestock, was one of the first to arrive at the initial concept for the Deniliquin Truck Show and Industry Expo.

“They do musters here in Deni so why not a truck muster?” Gary says.

He tributes Leesa Muir, the advertising manager at the local Deniliquin Pastoral Times newspaper, as being the driving force behind the event.

“She cracks the whip,” Gary says.

The committee decided on a one-day Saturday show, due to the number of operators heading off to work on Sunday afternoon.

“We believe that if we can pack everything into one day it will work very well,” Gary says.

And so it did, with the day providing kids’ entertainment and live music as well as the truck spectacle. A bike show added further interest.

A Wall of Fame dinner was held on the night before the show, with trucking operator Kel Baxter as guest speaker. Kel, who brought along a mix of newer trucks and some old classics, was inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at Alice Springs in August.

A big supporter of rural shows, he came away impressed with the number of participants at the Deniliquin event.

“For a first time show, it’s looking pretty good,” he says.

“It is well run and has blown me away with the scale of it for a town of Deniliquin’s size.”

 

You can read the full story in the November edition Owner//Driver.

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