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Sydney Haulage Terminal remembered

Many transport operators ran their businesses from the Sydney Haulage Terminal.

 

The old Sydney Haulage Terminal was the topic of conversation when former haulage terminal manager Brian James recently caught up with Ray Cant from Allalong Tasmanian Searoads.

Brian was keen to see the 1978 White Road Commander, which has been painted in Allalong livery. The Cant family purchased the White from Bob Dever and it will travel between Melbourne and Albury on April 12 as part of the Crawlin’ the Hume classic truck convoy.

Brian’s father Jack James opened the Sydney Haulage Terminal at St Peters in 1955. In the wake of the Hughes & Vale decision, the terminal was utilised by a rapidly expanding transport industry.

The terminal featured a 63-bed dormitory, showers, secure parking, a service station, a tyre shop, warehousing, container storage, a public weighbridge, a Chep pallet depot and every service needed to maintain and repair trucks. The Long Distance Road Transport Association (LDRTA) had a loading pool at the terminal.

Many transport operators ran their businesses from the terminal. Ray was among them, establishing Allalong there in the 1970s.

The terminal could be muddy in winter and it occasionally flooded. The roar of jets taking off from nearby Sydney Airport drowned out the rumble of trucks coming and going. But it was a home away from home where truckies were welcome and their trucks and cargo were safe.

Ray enjoyed his years at the haulage terminal and was determined to keep the Allalong depot there as long as he could. He was the last transport operator to leave when the terminal closed in 1999.

Grab the April issue of Owner//Driver to read the full article about the Sydney Haulage Terminal, illustrated with photographs from the James and Cant family archives. Click here to secure your copy now.

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Photography: John Cant

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