From a young age South African-born Alasdair Morton had a longing to cross the Indian Ocean and drive long-haul trucks in Western Australia
As a five year old living in South Africa, Alasdair Morton was captivated by an Australian truck magazine cover which featured a ’70s Kenworth SAR hauling double decker stock crates.
It was an image that stayed with him through to his teenage and later his adult years.
“The SAR made my mind up as a career, just like that,” Alasdair recalls.
“I qualified as a diesel mechanic simply because I needed a trade to get into Australia.
“My wife, Christine is a nurse and together we came across eight years ago.
“We are now Australian citizens and are living the dream.”
That dream is driving a road train along the length of Western Australia. More to the point, Alasdair believes he’s the only South African doing that run.
Working for V & S White Western Stock, Alasdair is behind the wheel of a 4900 Western Star with Stratosphere sleeper, an 18-speed Roadranger, RT46-160 diffs and Hendrickson suspension.
He’s been driving the ’Star for over 18 months and has clocked up over 220,000km.
Alasdair says he treats the rig as if it was his own. “The boss looks after me and I absolutely look after the truck,” he explains. “Anything I need he gets sorted.”
“I go to work in a beautiful truck for a top boss in a beautiful country.
“You’ve still got to do the work obviously, but life is great.”
Photography: Peter and Di Schlenk