Hard-working rigs on show

The 2018 Penrith Working Truck Show, held at the Museum of Fire on Sunday, was as spectacular as ever with sensational weather, an enormous range of flash rigs and smiles as far as the eye could see. Cobey Bartels writes

 

Back for its 31st year and more popular than ever, the Penrith Working Truck Show attracted a crowd close to 20,000 from around the country and more than 250 shiny trucks were parked up looking their best.

Kids went nuts with unlimited rides on the 22 amusements, while family fun on offer included street performers, food trucks and a stellar country music line-up … that’s if you could take your eyes off the trucks on show!

Four- time ARIA-award winning country music icon Troy Cassar-Daley took to the stage at 3pm, drawing a large crowd of devoted fans and amping up patrons before the trophy presentation began.

Among the dozens of coveted awards on offer, there was one particularly special trophy this year, dedicated to the late Chris Sultana, founder of Camsons Transport.

The Chris Sultana Memorial Trophy for Best Kenworth Tipper was awarded to Grimtrans for its spectacular 2007 Kenworth K104 tipper.

“It meant a lot to win an award dedicated to such an icon in the industry, and from a company like Camsons that represents themselves so well on the road,” Grimtrans director Damien Grima says.

“This particularly truck is driven by my father Charlie Grima and it carts quarry materials out of the Blue Mountains.

“Charlie founded the company.

“We’ve been going for 37 years ago, back in ’81!

“We’ve been coming to the Penrith Working Truck Show for 20 years now.”

Tribute to a hero

Chief executive of the Museum of Fire and event organiser Mark White says the memorial award was a highlight of the show and paid tribute to a true hero of the transport industry.

“The tribute to Chris Sultana was important and he’s such an iconic figure, family and friends travelled from around Australia,” Mark says.

He says improvements made to the show helped to provide the very best experience for patrons and took the show to another level.

“We made significant improvements this year, covering infrastructure, quality of rides, ticketing process and overall value offered for patrons, and the whole show rose to another level.

“That was reflected in the way the show presented itself and we continue to keep pushing to engage the community.”

Mark explains the event is run solely by volunteers, no small feat when you consider 10s of thousands of people come through the grounds each year and hundreds of trucks roll in!

“I do this voluntarily and so do the other 150 people that helped organise this event.

“Every part of the show is organised by the Museum’s team, and we’re extremely proud of what we’re able to achieve and what we stand for.

“The Penrith Working Truck Show is synonymous with the Museum of Fire and it shows the depth of support we have – the Museum has become such an iconic part of the community.”

The show represents the positive side of the transport industry, Mark says, in an era when we hear a lot about the negative elements of the game.

“It really showcases the very best of the transport industry in a tough climate.

“We’ve got constant media about inspections and defects and it’s nice to see the show highlight the best of an industry.

“Ninety-nine per cent of our support comes from small business and the support of some the families, their philanthropic contribution, it’s just fantastic.”

The Sydney Classic and Antique Truck Show is the next event on the calendar for the Museum of Fire, held on May 27 at its grounds.