SPECIAL REPORT

44 march 2016 pr imemovermag .com.au 45

It’s 1965: Robert Menzies is Prime

Minister of Australia, the Sound

of Music is showing at the cinema

and Elvis is at the height of his

career. For the Australian trucking

industry, the year is equally memorable

– in August, truck sales centre Brown

and Hurley is delivering its first ever

Kenworth truck to Toowoomba-based

operator, Doug Wyton.

“My father, Doug, ordered the truck on

30 April 1965,” recalls Gordon Wyton,

quoting the precise date off a 50-year-

old receipt that sits, framed, in his office

at Queensland transport company,

G&D Partners. “Ed Cameron had only

brought a few Kenworths in to Australia

at that stage, and although dad had been

an International truck fan, he decided

to go for a Kenworth from Brown and

Hurley, paying £15,000 for it and

making history.”

The W923 model boasted a 318hp

engine and a 4x4 Spicer gearbox,

and was initially put to work hauling

oilrig equipment, then later pulling a

water tanker across Queensland. Doug

eventually sold the historic truck for

£18,000 when he was expanding his

business, using the cash flow to acquire

another company and half a dozen

other trucks.

Passing through the hands of several

grateful owners, the historic truck is

now retired, making its home in the

Brown and Hurley showroom in Kyogle,

New South Wales. However, it’s still not

showing its age, having been treated to

an extensive restoration where almost

the entire prime mover was given a

facelift in some way. The mechanics

in the Brown and Hurley workshop at

Kyogle gave it a new paint job, fitted

tyres reminiscent of those that originally

came off the assembly line, and

completely rebuilt the rear axle assembly

and Detroit 8V71N engine.

Looking shiny and new, the deceptively

old vehicle was recently transported

up to Alice Springs for a special 50th

anniversary ceremony at the National

Road Transport Hall of Fame’s JJ Hurley

Pavilion.

With half a century passing since the

momentous sale, Doug’s son Gordon

says the golden anniversary also

called for a new purchase of his own,

prompting the company to invest in

a Limited Edition 50th Anniversary

Kenworth T909 in April last year –

almost 50 years to the day.

“The new truck marks 50 years of

business between the two companies,

which is something that’s really unheard

of these days,” Gordon says. The special

edition 50th Anniversary T909, which

runs as a road train once a week from

Brisbane to Mount Isa, is decked

out with commemorative panelling

paying tribute not only to his father’s

purchase, but to Gordon’s subsequent

introduction to the trucking industry.

“Thanks to my dad, I’ve been around

trucks my whole life. I was doing mail

runs before I even got my licence I

2015 SAW THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST KENWORTH TO BE SOLD BY TRUCK DEALERSHIP BROWN AND HURLEY. AFTER A YEAR OF CELEBRATION, PRIME MOVER TAKES A LOOK BACK AT THE HISTORY OF THE VEHICLE. Story by Bianca Dohnt

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reckon. I’ve always loved trucks and

still try to get in one and go for a drive

when I can,” Gordon says – admitting

that opportunities to drive don’t come

up that often any more, although he

has taken his new 50th Anniversary

Kenworth out a few times, “just doing

the jobs that need to get done”.

The new T909 joined around 40 other

trucks in the G&D Partners fleet that are

working hard hauling general freight

and machinery from the G&D head

office in Carole Park, southwest of

Brisbane, around the Brisbane metro

area and to the Sunshine Coast, Gold

Coast, west to Toowoomba and on to

central western Queensland.

“I’m really passionate about the road

transport industry, even though there

are some parts of it that need a good

overhaul. But the fact that we run

a family-based business helps keep

you positive throughout anything,”

Gordon adds.

Gordon is the Director of G&D, which he

started in 1997 and runs with the help of

his wife Brenda, sons Troy and Michael

and daughter Becky. “Hopefully Troy and

Michael take over the company when

it’s time, they’re just as passionate about

the industry as I am and they do a really

good job,” says Gordon. “I hope they can

continue the strong reputation for service

that we’ve earned every day since dad

bought that first truck all those years ago.”

While a lot has changed since 1965, much

is still the same. Although Elvis has long

left the stage and Parliament has seen 12

new Prime Ministers since Menzies’s time,

the Wyton family fondness for big red

Kenworth trucks still holds true. In fact,

Gordon says that when business growth

demands, he’ll likely be adding another

of the vehicles to the fleet from Brown

and Hurley, keeping the 50-year-old

relationship alive.

“Thanks to my dad, I’ve been around trucks my whole life. I was doing mail runs before I even got my licence I reckon. I’ve always loved trucks and still try to get in one and go for a drive when I can,”Gordon WytonOwner Director of G&D Partners