Goodaye all, writing this after making it home for a short visit on the Monday morning of the King’s Birthday long weekend, after spending the last few days at Alexandra for the truck show.
OwnerDriver will be covering the show in more detail, but I arrived there Friday night. While I missed the truck run in from Yarck, with about 40 involved starting 11am Saturday, I did attend the dedication ceremony for the Victorian Truck Drivers Memorial on the Saturday afternoon.
I then stayed for the show on Sunday — parked down near the end. I was loaded and stayed hooked up and luckily then got away before many in the main street to get home for this quick break before unloading the following morning in Goondiwindi.
There are now over 200 names on the Alexandra memorial wall, with 13 added this year. I must admit the size of the wall worries me. While it may be beautifully built, maintained and well recognised, I fear there will be many more names to add before it is anywhere near full.
It is a sad indictment on our industry that we need such walls to recognise those who have given their lives for, or after, the job.
There were two speakers this year, then two family members of those added to the wall this year who spoke of their loss. This was followed by the reading of the honour roll of those added this year, a minute’s silence and then the blessing and dedication awards for those involved with the wall since the start.
With the ceremony completed, a laying of wreaths against the wall came next, followed by photos and a cup of tea served with biscuits and cake from the local community supporters.
Both of the family members who spoke struggled to contain their emotion at times and I did watch as a young girl walked over and comforted and hugged her Mum in the crowd, as she too was affected by the speech, the ceremony and the moment.
It is sad in many ways that we need such places. While our industry is often deemed the most dangerous occupation in the Australian workforce, I spoke with a lady as we waited for the wreaths to be laid and she said: “without this wall, no one else would even know my husband existed and or gave his life in this job”. That is all too true of many truckies.
Our families and mates will miss us one day when our time is up and our name adorns the wall, whether it be in Alexandra or one of the other truckie memorials around the country.
I believe all walls will recognise you, allowing your family to provide a plaque whether you died on the job, or after a lifetime surviving it, only to pass on later. But who else will? It was stated during the ceremony that this wall is the only one that does not charge a fee for a name to be included.
The job we do, while recognised for a short time as being important during Covid, has now reverted back to us being a menace, and trucks being in the way. There are many important jobs, but few have all the challenges we and our families face.
While others may have more responsibility for hundreds or more staff, for big corporations and for those who live away from home, many of them earn a lot more and can retire early enough to eventually have some time with the family they might be away from at times.
But as always, I am preaching to the converted – if you are reading this, it is most likely you are a member, or at least involved in the road transport industry. How we get recognition and even some empathy from the public, I don’t really know. Do we need a campaign to educate the public about our job and the life we lead for them to have theirs?
We certainly need more education about sharing the road with trucks, so maybe we could find a way to do both?
Truck shows like the one at Alexandra may be the place to start. The town, its people and its businesses certainly get behind this one. The only other town which closes the main street for trucks, that I know of, is Casino, but it felt like the whole of Alexandra was at this event. From what I saw the show was very well run and organised.
One thing I was told while I was there is that the locals were concerned with the loss of the logging in the area and a future where the logging companies and trucks may also disappear.
Given the number of trucks attending the show, trailers are not the done thing, with only a couple of other single trailers involved for display and merchandise purposes. Despite that, I thank the organisers for finding a spot for me and allowing me to take part, with my trailers on, which is why I was parked down near the end of the trucks, around the corner.
As always, I must also thank Rod Pilon Transport for their support and allowing me to attend such events.
To all who made the effort to get to the Alexandra truck show, well done! To the organisers, bravo! And to all who attended, in whatever capacity, I hope you had as good as time as I did there. Safe travelling,
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