This year, Brown & Hurley not only celebrate their 75th birthday, but also the achievements of PACCAR Australia, whom in March marked 50 years of local manufacturing and the 70,000th Australian-built Kenworth rolling off the Bayswater production line. As Kenworth’s first, longest serving, and largest dealership network, Brown & Hurley are poised to sell their 17,000th new Kenworth truck in the very near future – if not by the time you read this article.

The friendship between two World War Two Army mechanics, Alan Brown and Jack Hurley, is well known, but an anniversary of such significance, a milestone for any friendship or partnership, be it personal or business, deserves a moment of reflection.

A Brief History

Alan Brown and Jack Hurley had both enlisted in the Army, and after initial training and trade testing, met when they were both stationed at Moorebank Training School – going on to form a friendship that lasted over 60 years. The two men trained the Light Aide Detachment (LAD) drivers in the basics of motor mechanics in order for them to be able to carry out repairs and keep vehicles running on the field of battle. The friendship flourished as the men worked and travelled together, visiting their respective young families in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales.

The friends never saw active duty and it was during this time at Moorebank, that they decided to enter a business together after the war. They used the last part of their time in the Army to start collecting anything that may be of use for the planned workshop.

In May 1946, the men were told of a bike shop business for sale in Kyogle, NSW. By 1st June 1946, it was theirs. It had three petrol bowsers on the roadside, a bike shop at the front, and a shed out the back. Brown & Hurley was up and going.

It was a very humble beginning for the new venture, with their first job being to fix a tyre puncture for a schoolboy. Business was slow, with cashflow problems and a bank account that was always in the red. This led to a decision in 1948, that would see one of them go out and work for wages while the other kept going with the business.

It was at this time that the business changed direction, with a local farmer, Charlie Baines, asking the men to obtain a crawler tractor for him. They got Charlie a HG42 Cletrac crawler which earned them £50. Around the same time, a logging truck operator, Bill Barrett, approached the men to find him a White truck – through this effort they earned £153. The die was cast, and a new business plan was made, which saw Jack take on sales while Alan did the servicing.

With a post-war boom, the logging industry was accounting for the majority of Brown & Hurley’s truck sales and White trucks were the truck of choice. The decision by White Trucks in 1957, to continue to only market petrol-driven trucks led to Brown & Hurley looking elsewhere. They became the new dealers for Leyland and, by 1962, their territory spanned across northern New South Wales and as far south as Newcastle. On 15th December 1953, Brown & Hurley opened its new purpose-built premises with an official opening ceremony.

In 1963, Brown & Hurley opened their Rocklea, Queensland, premises, which later relocated to Darra after the 1974 floods. Ted Van Fleet became the manager, while Jack’s eldest son, Jim, who had finished his apprenticeship as a mechanic, was in charge of appraisals and repairs for the traded-in vehicles.

Nearing the mid-1960s, the relationship with Leyland declined. With the release of the new model, it was shown to have a poor cooling system for Australian conditions. Alan Brown designed a front radiator to alleviate the problem, but Donald Stokes, the head of Leyland, found out and reprimanded Brown & Hurley over this. The relationship with Leyland came to an end.

With the Leyland relationship over, Brown & Hurley were approached and offered a Kenworth franchise by Eddie Cameron, and in 1965 they sold their first Kenworth to Doug Wyton of Toowoomba. It was the most powerful truck of that time – a W923 with a 318bhp 8V-71N GM engine.

The break with Leyland had left a space in the market for a smaller truck that the Leyland had once filled. Brown & Hurley filled this void when they were offered a Volvo dealership by Bob Slack. The 196bhp F86 fitted this area well, and Brown & Hurley went on to sell 638 Volvo trucks during their association with the company.

Kenworth made a major commitment to the Australian market when, on 26th November 1970, they opened their manufacturing plant at Bayswater, Victoria.

With a steady growth in sales, a big concern for Brown & Hurley became how to better service their growing customer base in north Queensland. This led to the purchase of another property and, in 1975, the Townsville branch was opened.

Brown & Hurley purchased the Coffs Harbour base from Kenworth when Kenworth decided to sell off their company-owned stores in 1981. At this branch, Rob Brown, the only son of Alan, was in charge of parts and service, while Doug Hurley handled the sales.

With growth came the need for bigger premises in Kyogle. A site was acquired, and a new building constructed in 1986. This branch, in the small northern New South Wales town, was to remain Brown & Hurley’s headquarters until 2008 when the Yatala dealership opened in Queensland.

This same year of 1986 also saw the handing on of the batton, with Alan Brown’s son, Rob, appointed Darra Dealer Principal and Group General Manager for services, while Jim Hurley took over as Kyogle Dealer Principal and Group General Manager for Sales. And together they became joint managing directors of the Brown & Hurley Group.

With a growing need to provide a more efficient parts and service process to customers in more remote locations, the first of their key location parts outlets was opened in Toowoomba in 1987.

In 2000, with expansion on their mind, the Rockhampton Kenworth dealership was purchased in Queensland. The dealership was then relocated to a purpose-built premises on the Bruce Highway in 2005.

Brown & Hurley stepped away from its Volvo franchise in 1998, aligning itself more with PACCAR Australia and the Kenworth brand. This led them to becoming official DAF dealers in February 2000, and selling their first DAF, a FA75CF model, in June that same year.

Jim Hurley decided it was time for retirement in 2012. This step-down saw his younger brothers, Doug and Kevin, become joint managing directors with Rob Brown.

Brown & Hurley has grown to be nine truck dealerships strong along with three ag dealerships. Jim Hurley believes a large part of their success is due to the dedication of their employees, with more than a dozen having served in excess of 30 years with the company. Their ideas have helped lead the direction for Brown & Hurley.

The commitment by Kenworth to the Australian transport industry has been a vital part of the company’s growth. Not only with Kenworth’s custom-built trucks, but their willingness to listen, take on, and implement what their customers were asking for. The, then Managing Director, Andrew Wright, was instrumental in this role.

In Jim’s opinion, the market also played into Kenworth’s hands and, in turn, that of Brown & Hurley. With less stock being carried by retailers, the trucks have become the warehouses, so the requirement for more reliable, faster freight has grown. Brown & Hurley account for 30% of Kenworth’s Australian sales, and 40% of the PACCAR-built DAF, which they have been selling for the past 20 years.

This commitment confirms that Brown & Hurley is in good hands as it heads into its fourth generation of family ownership, alongside many of their long-term customers.

Kyogle Celebrates

The 75th anniversary celebrations for Brown & Hurley kicked off in Kyogle on Saturday, 5th June, with the first of a series of events to be held at a number of their 11 dealerships across New South Wales and Queensland this month.

It was a perfect Winter’s day in Kyogle – the premises was packed and buzzing with people. The event was attended by family, staff, dignitories, and customers past and present, some of whom have had a relationship with Brown & Hurley and Kenworth trucks in excess of 50 years.

It was warming to see the large number of locals present on the day who had come along to show their support for Brown & Hurley. The business has not only provided many local employment opportunities, but also been a part of the local community, supporting many charities and fundraising events - this is their community in which they have not only conducted business for the last 75 years but created many friendships.

Speaking at the event was long-time customer Ross Fraser, of Frasers Livestock Transport. He started off by saying, “respect and appreciation for customers and community is the basis of Brown & Hurley’s story and success. Service, reliability and delivering a product that we as customers have come to respect”. He continued on with a story of a time when Frasers sent a truck down from Warwick to Kyogle as a trade, receiving a phone call from Jim ‘JJ’ Hurley the next morning. After exchanging plesantries, Jim lead with, “Well Ross, we’ve got a problem!”

Ross knew what the problem was – he had sent the truck down with tyres that were lucky to make the trip. Jim continued with, “The tyres are no good”. 

Ross replied, “Jim, I’ve been expecting your call”. Ross ended up taking a ute-load of tyres down to Kyogle. Stories and banter like this show how Ross and Jim have not only grown to respect each other in business but as friends also.

Ross finished his speech with a moving toast, “To the Brown and Hurley families, congratulations. You have done a wonderful job in providing beautiful Kenworths and DAF trucks. We salute you!”

Federal Member Kevin Hogan MP spoke about Brown & Hurley, calling it, “A true Australian success story”. He officially launched the book, The
Brown and Hurley Story - Seventy-Five Years of Service To Road Transport.

All monies made on the sale of the book on the day were donated to the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter.

Among the many Kenworth and DAF trucks on display were two special vehicles.

The first truck of note was the 70,000th Australian-built Kenworth, a T659, which was presented to Jim Hurley on behalf of Brown & Hurley by PACCAR Australia at their Melbourne, Bayswater facility back in March. Jim believes the T659 is the toughest truck built by Kenworth.

The other display was the Kenworth Legend SAR 50th Anniversary Edition. The Legend SAR is the third in Kenworth’s Legend series of special-edition trucks. This edition commemorates 50 years of Kenworth truck manufacturing in Australia, and is based on the W900SAR first released in 1975.

Visitors on the day were treated to a commentary by Jim Hurley and a walk through the Brown & Hurley museum, containing a number of trucks and pieces of agricultural machinery which have been restored. They form part of the visual timeline to the company’s history.

I spoke with, and congratulated Jim on the special occasion. He remarked, “It’s no small achievement for a partnership and business. There is a sense of pride not only for myself and the Brown and Hurley families, but also amongst the Brown & Hurley team”. He then followed on with, “We were the first appointed Kenworth dealership in the country, and we have our 17,000th Kenworth truck sale coming up. We have a great association with PACCAR selling both the Kenworth and DAF brands across northern NSW and Queensland”. 

An auction rounded out the day, raising funds for Jessica Bordin (Millard), a young mother battling Leukemia. Jessica is the daughter of a Brown & Hurley employee.

On behalf of myself and Vintage Trucks & Commercials Magazine, I take this opportunity to congratulate not only the Brown and Hurley families, but also all those who have been, and are a part of the Brown & Hurley team on this momentous milestone. We thank them for the dedication and service that they have brought to, and will continue to bring to Australian road transport.

*Rob Zavone