THERE is only one thing better than the sound of an old diesel V8 cruising down the road, and that is a whole convoy of diesel V8 powered monsters cruising down the road.

This is exactly what happened recently at Haulin’ the Hume, a chance for older trucks to get out on the road and show that they can still go the distance.

Haulin’ the Hume is run in honour of all the commercial vehicles that have hauled the Hume, from its initial state as a glorified goat track, right up to the multi-lane freeway it is today.

Starting out from the Hawkesbury showground at Clarendon, the convoy travelled along the Old Northern Rd out to Uncle Leo’s at Yennora, then made its way along the original Hume Hwy route, through backroads and over Razorback, quite possibly one of the most notable spots in Australian trucking history.

The sound of these trucks at speed is something else, with one entrant telling Big Rigs “the muffler shop was never going to make any money out of these trucks, mainly because most of them don’t run mufflers”.

Snaking its way through the Southern Highlands, the convoy stopped at Goulburn for lunch for a well-earned break.

One of the first to arrive was Chad Manning, a Sydney driver who brought out his recently acquired matte black Kenworth K125 for the run.

Packing a GM 692, the old girl “moves a bit quicker than I thought she would” Chad said, as he soaked up the nostalgia of the event.

Fresh from display at the Sydney Bus and Truck Museum, their Mack B61 was being piloted by Ronnie Franks.

Ronnie quite enjoys the event because he gets a chance to blow the cobwebs out of the classic rig.

Regulars at the event, the boys from Jeffsann Excavations in Western Sydney had a few trucks on the run.

The pride of their classic fleet, their own B61 Mack, mixed it up with their R Model and Flintstone model trucks and the final addition, their 1914 fully restored Republic truck, being floated along for the ride.

Laurie Refalo, one of the brothers who runs Jeffsann Excavations, told Big Rigs: “It’s a great day out, to see all these great rigs still being used and shared with the world.”

From Goulburn, the convoy made its way along the old highway, down roads that have long been bypassed in the search for a quicker route to Melbourne.

Through Breadalbane and up over the Cullerin Range, past the site of the old K-mart store and onto the stopover point for the night, Yass.

This included a private 20km section of The Old Hume Hwy, just south of Gunning, that was once again opened by the owners for the trucks to travel through.

The location for this year’s dinner was the Yass Memorial Hall, allowing for the ever increasing numbers attending the event.

This year, the Sunday morning send-off was a massive occasion, with the trucks parked up along “Gasoline Alley”, on the south end of town.

Event organiser Bruce Gunter was pleased with the large turnout of both entrants and spectators.

This year managed to attract more than 260 rigs, up from 143 entrants in 2011.

With a 30-year cut off to ensure only classic machinery turned up, the age range for the commercial dinosaurs ranged from 1922 up until 1985. All along the route there were spots packed with those wanting to see this “good old gear” in motion. “This year has had a lot of thought put into it, to ensure the best possible event we can put together,” Bruce said.

“I took part in the event, running in Pat Vassalo’s freshly painted Transtar, so my dad could have a chance to take my Commer for a run.”

Haulin’ the Hume is an event majorly supported by the trucking community, with big company names backing the event.

The generous names behind the event have allowed for a lot of items to help out, including the Haulin’ the Hume trailer, a mobile stage that was purchased from Electrolux Home Products with the help of Western Filters who are the major sponsor of the event.

Boasting the ability to act as a registration area for entrants and change into a stage, it allows for a more polished look to the event and makes for great advertising along the route.

Best of all, it’s all for a good cause, with the majority of the money raised from the run going to Aspect – Autism Spectrum Australia, as well as a portion going to special needs groups in Goulburn.

Haulin’ the Hume is one event which shows that these old trucks (and old drivers) have a lot of life in them yet.

With more trucks getting dusted off and out there on the Hume, the show gets better every year.

Plus with the numbers of entrants and spectators growing, it won’t be slowing down in a hurry.

Much like these old trucks really.

A teenage boy will appear in court after allegedly riding a motorcycle through a sports field and hitting a young girl today. About 12pm (Thursday 8 May 2015), an 11-year-old girl was playing a football game as part of a sports carnival involving approximately 200 students at Jubilee Park, Wagga Wagga. Police will allege at this time, a teenage boy rode an unregistered Suzuki motorcycle across two fields, when he hit the girl, causing her to fall. The teen fell off the motorcycle and was held by witness as police were called. The girl was treated at the scene by Ambulance Paramedics before being taken to Wagga Base Hospital, where she remains in a stable condition with fractures to her ribs, lower back, pelvis and cuts to her leg. No one else was injured during the incident. The 17-year-old teenage boy was taken to Wagga Wagga Police Station, where he was charged with drive dangerous manner (grievous bodily harm), goods in custody, unlicensed driver, and drive an unregistered and uninsured vehicle. He was refused bail and will appear at children’s court tomorrow (Friday 8 May 2015).

THE notorious McKoy Street intersection at the Hume Highway has been the scene of another crash.

Police are investigating after a trail bike hit a young girl at an oval in Wagga Wagga today.

About 11.55am (Thursday 7 May 2015), emergency services were called to Jubillee Oval, Wagga Wagga, following reports that a trail bike had hit the girl.

The girl, believed to be 11 years old, was treated at the scene by Ambulance Paramedics before being taken to hospital.

The alleged rider of the trial bike, a 17-year-old boy, was arrested at the scene and is currently assisting police with inquiries.

A crime scene has been established and investigations into the incident are continuing.

Police urge anyone who witnessed the incident and has not yet spoken to police to call Wagga Wagga Police on (02) 6922 2599 or via Crime Stoppers.

A woman whose sister was killed by a speeding truck driver is pleading with Canberrans to be more considerate and responsible road users,

At today’s ACT Road Safety Week launch Jess Frazer recalled how her sister Sarah and tow truck driver Geoff Clarke were killed in February 2012.

Sarah’s car had broken down on the Hume Highway and Clarke was helping her in the breakdown lane when they were hit by a speeding truck.

Truck driver Kaine Daniel Barnett was found guilty of two counts of dangerous driving causing death and sentenced to three years’ jail.

Ms Frazer said considerate driving from Barnett could have saved her younger sister.

“All it takes is … one second and you could change somebody’s life forever, you could change your own life,” she said.

“People reach for a water bottle, or they turn on the radio and those little things that we’re doing are so unconscious, they can distract us from the bigger picture.

Ms Frazer said the breakdown lane on the Hume Highway was too narrow and has launched a campaign to make all breakdown lanes a minimum two and a half metres wide.

“You should be having enough room to break down safely, particularly on major roads and highways,” she said.

ACT Police chief Rudi Lammers said all jurisdictions constantly considered the widths of roads and lanes in the ACT were “reasonably wide”.

“Most [breakdown]lanes in Canberra and roads in Canberra have shoulders where you can pull off on, but some of the highways between Canberra and other states and territories have very, very narrow roads and very, very narrow breakdown areas,” he said.

Minister for Justice, Shane Rattenbury, said road safety guidelines are regularly upgraded.

“A lot of our roads do have good space but these are the sorts of issues we are constantly looking at,” he said.

‘Share the roads’ to drive down the ACT road toll

As part of Road Safety Week, Ms Frazer, Mr Rattenbury and Mr Lammers have taken the pledge to share the road, in a bid to reduce the road toll.

In 2014, 10 people died on ACT roads and there were more than 800 injuries.

Mr Rattenbury said the pledge was aimed at all road users.

“Cyclists are particularly vulnerable on our roads and as are car drivers,” he said.

“We need to look out for cyclists but they have also got a responsibility to obey the road rules, to not jump through traffic lights, at this time of year to make sure they’re putting lights on when they’re riding in the dark,” he said.

Mr Lammers said motorists needed to be more considerate of others when taking to the road.

“If you can think for a moment that the person in front of you, or the person behind you in a car was a very close member of your family, would it influence the way that you drove on the road?” he said.

“I suspect that it would.

“It’s around making sure people know that they have a responsibility on the road, but it extends to every other day of the year.”

Road Safety Week ends on Mothers Day and Ms Frazer said she hoped that would provide extra incentive for the drive safe message to sink in.

“As my mother would tell you, she just wants us to come home safe when we leave the house,” she said.

Information is being sought about the theft of firearms, cash and silver bullion from a property near Goulburn.
The items were stolen from a property on Harringtons Lane, Brisbane Grove, between 8.15am and 11am yesterday (Monday 4 May 2015).

The stolen items include eight rifles and four pistols, specifically:

– 1 x .22-calibre Norinco JW-15 rifle;

– 1 x 12-gauge IAC single-barrel shotgun;

– 1 x 12-gauge Springfield side-by-side shotgun;

– 1 x .410-gauge Rossi single-barrel shotgun;

– 1 x 12-gauge Boito side-by-side shotgun;

– 1 x .303-calibre Lee Enfield rifle;

– 1 x .22-calibre Miroku ML22 rifle;

– 1 x .243-calibre Weatherby Vanguard rifle;

– 1 X .357 Magnum Smith & Wesson revolver model 686;

– 1 x 38 super Rock Island Arsenal/19 pistol;

– 1 x .22-calibre GSG 1911 pistol with pearl grips; and

– 1 x .22-calibre Walther P22 pistol.

The guns were all registered and stored according to legislation.

About 200 rounds of varying calibres of ammunition are also missing, along with several hunting knives. The offenders also took silver bullion worth $8000 and cash.

Police from The Hume Local Area Command are investigating the incident.

They are appealing for anyone who may have information about the theft, or who may be offered the bullion or one of the guns for sale, to come forward.