My truck driving career started on my father’s lap, from where I would steer his Maple Leaf Chevrolet along the Newell Highway for a few miles.

At the age of 10, I graduated to driving Dad’s 1946 Lend Lease Chevrolet between stacks of hay in a farm paddock, while Dad and his offsider loaded the sheaves onto the tray top. I gained my ‘C’ class truck driving licence while doing National Service in the Army, and I still retain my HR truck licence, at 77 years of age.

My working life commenced with Caltex Oil in Sydney during 1955, as a conse