There was the scorching hot 34-degree Saturday, followed by a colder, slightly wet and rainy Sunday morning.
There was also a great mix of live music, camping, hot food, kids’ rides, raffle prizes and trophies handed out to the best of the 300 gleaming trucks of all shapes, sizes and brands.
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Sunday’s truck parade was another highlight, capturing the imagination of locals who braved the drizzle to line the edges of the highway through the city centre to admire the steady stream of gleaming chrome that rolled through with horns honking and hands waving.
While this year marks the 36th time the truck show has been put on at Castlemaine, it was only my second chance to visit on behalf of Deals on Wheels.
Making the two-hour journey from the east of Melbourne out to Castlemaine on the Sunday morning, with the rain pelting down, I’ll admit to being worried that the weather was going to work against the organisers and keep people away.
Turns out country folk don’t really care that much whether it’s raining or not.
As I found a park in the main street and lined up an undercover vantage spot to shoot the truck parade (back seat of the car with the window down), families started to arrive to claim a piece of footpath and prepare to welcome the truckies to town.
The tension built as a few trucks rolled in from 8am, heading to the mustering point for the 9am start to the parade, acknowledging the arm gestures of children with a honking of their horns as they passed.
While the rain kept lightly falling, the crowd remained captivated for at least half an hour as they watched 130 trucks starting the five-kilometre journey back to the grounds at Campbells Creek.
It was my first experience of the parade, and it was great to see the support for the trucking industry firsthand.
Last year, I went straight to Campbells Creek recreation reserve to deliver magazines and organise my day and ended up capturing the parade trucks on camera as they rolled through the main gates to park up for judging.
Having ventured into town this year, I got to experience the show as a local might, including the minor traffic jam trying to get back into the recreation reserve as the trucks returned and the drivers showed off their precision parking skills.
Full credit must go here to the patience of the volunteers directing traffic and the good nature of show-goers who were happy to wait for a while as the traffic cleared and the car park opened for the public for the day.
Without those volunteers, the show would not exist, and there were more than 150 involved this year, tackling a range of tasks from traffic management, setting up stands, taking registrations, cooking food and serving drinks.
Among the volunteer army I caught up with on the day were Marina Scott and Jane Anderson, who were helping out on the registration desk.
When we spoke mid-morning, with the rain still coming down, Marina said she enjoyed meeting the drivers and “getting to say hello” as they arrived at the event. She also joked that the pressure was now off the registration desk and over to the judges to pick the day’s winners.
For Land Transport driver Nathan Krause, Castlemaine was a chance to show off his Melbourne-based truck, a Western Star 4800 FXB that has been kitted out to support overnight transport runs to Adelaide and back.
Nathan said he enjoyed coming to the show to catch up with friends and for the chance to do something a little different.
His normal schedule means he usually spends most of his week on the road, driving at night then sleeping in the cab during the day while the trailers are re-loaded for the return journeys.
Another driver, Trav Carlisle, brought the Wylaz Transport 2010 Kenworth along to this year’s show. The stunning white and red truck scored a Highly Commended in the Best Working Truck (pre-2011) category.
Trav said the truck has clicked over 1.6 million kilometres, with about 400,000 of those on its rebuilt Cummins engine, and it still works locally every day.
For eight-year-old Jedda Lawrence, the show was a chance to take a ride in a 1977 Mercedes-Benz 1418 truck owned by Maryborough Transport Service’s Graeme Lean.
Jedda’s dad, Zac Ansell, who works as the maintenance and workshop manager at MTS, told me the truck had been lovingly restored, inside and out.
When I asked how hard it had been on the mechanical side, Zac said a lot of the parts were still sold by Mercedes, which helped. The biggest challenge had been finding engine mounts to suit.
Another popular attraction was the Truckies’ Challenge tent, where video game consoles were set up with the American Truck Simulator game pre-loaded with a schedule and distribution challenge.
Truckies’ Challenge organiser Ivan Sun said the tent was fully booked over the weekend, with new challengers every 15 minutes and plenty of healthy competition among the next generation of drivers and their experienced colleagues.
“The children are pretty good – they are used to using the gaming controls which helps,” Ivan says.
Trucks aside, the family- friendly event had pony rides for the youngsters, live music from the Sandee Facy Trio and The Davidson Bros, and a range of trucking products and merchandise on sale from trade exhibitors keen to share their wares.
Among the food offerings on site was a Rotary barbecue tent and the Lions hot food caravan, with well over 2000 meals served over the two days helping to raise vital funds for local fundraising.
The rain disappeared after lunch on the Sunday, having settled the dust around the grounds.
By the time the presentations arrived at 3pm it was a little muggy and overcast, but there was nothing to stop the show going on.
Rotary Castlemaine president Terry Murphy took time out at the start of the presentations to thank truck show director Kerry Anderson and the volunteers for their dedication to the cause.
“Kerry and her team have done a magnificent job, and aside from a little bit of moisture falling from the heavens, I think we’ve had a pretty good weekend. So, thank you Kerry and team,” Terry says.
With 250 trucks registered and a total of 300 on the grounds for the event, the judges had their work cut out for them when it came time to adjudicate the trophies.
The quality of trucks was so high that for the first time ever, two trucks scored the top score of 30 points, leading to a count back and the awarding of first, second and third prize in the category.
HHA boss Jon Kelly told the crowd it was tough call.
“This was a difficult one, because we went over the scorecard about 15 times, ratifying it, making sure the scores don’t lie. And the winner again this year for Truck of the Show, is truck number 39, Kenworth SAR Cornwill Transport,” he says.
The Colli Timber and Hardware 1981 White Road Boss was the second truck with a score of 30, and was named runner up, with Moloney Bulk and Transport’s Kenworth T900 coming in third in the Truck of the Show category.
The Best Fleet category was another hotly contested section with 11 companies showing up with three or more trucks, including Patlin Heavy Haulage which had 12 trucks in its line-up.
Tony Whelan’s stunning 1986 Kenworth W-Model was named Best on Ground on Saturday.
All up, more than 20 trophies were handed out on the day across a range of categories, with Daniel Booby’s Peterbilt 379, owned by Spinefex, the most celebrated truck of the day, taking out the People’s Choice category, along with the Best Paint (artwork), Best Interior and Best Custom categories.
There were plenty of smiles from the stage and the usual banter of a community of truck -loving families cheering on their mates, or good-naturedly questioning the judge’s calls.
All in all, another great day out, and the good news is, dates for the 2025 edition of the truck show have already been set – so now’s the time to pencil November 29 and 30 into your 2025 diary!
2024 Castlemaine Truck Show winners:
Best on Ground (Saturday)
#130 Kenworth W model – Tony Whelan
Truck of the Show
1st #39 Kenworth SAR – Cornwill Transport
2nd #13 White Road Boss – Colli Timber & Hardware
3rd #85 Kenworth T900 – Moloney Bulk Transport
Best Fleet (Three or more)
Kreskas
Best Working Rig (2023-24)
1st #19 Kenworth T659 – Woodtrans
2nd #33 Mack Titan – Craig Duren
Best Working Rig (2017-2022)
1st #39 Kenworth SAR – Cornwill Transport
2nd #85 Kenworth T900 – Moloney Bulk Transport
Best Working Rig (2011-2016)
1st #41 Kenworth T409 – Cornwill Transport
2nd #90 Kenworth T409 – Moloney Bulk Transport
Best Working Rig (Pre 2011)
1st #142 Kenworth T950 – TRSS Refrigerated Transport
2nd #106 Kenworth 406 SAR – Wylaz Transport
Historic Truck (pre-1994)
#13 White Road Boss – Colli Timber & Hardware
Restoration / Show Truck (1994-2011)
#9 Mack – Derham Transport
People’s Choice
#124 Peterbilt 379 – Spinefex
Best Custom
#124 Peterbilt 379 – Spinefex
Best Paint (traditional)
#130 Kenworth W – Tony Whelan
Best Paint (artwork)
#124 Peterbilt 379 – Spinefex
Best Interior
#124 Peterbilt 379 – Spinefex
Best Engine Bay
#191 Kenworth K104 – TQ’s Detailing & Repair
Best Tray
#128 Kenworth T909 – Heseltine Haulage
Best Tow Recovery
#113 Kenworth T604 – Parsons Towing
Best Tipper
#171 Kenworth T909 – Dirt Rock Civil
Best Heavy Haulage
#54 Kenworth C509 – Patlin Heavy Haulage
Read more:
- Perth’s Camp Quality Convoy raised $400,000 for sick children
- Former ambulance driver shares 1942 Ford Flathead resto story
- Truck lover discovers Belgium’s Holridge fleet during European holiday
- Rock star lyrics adorn Rasmussen Bulk Haulage’s dazzling Kenworths
- Truckies Toy Run brings Christmas cheer to families
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