The past came rolling into Dubbo Showground, as vintage trucks, tractors and engines spanning over a century old, turned up for the Golden Oldies Truck Show.
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Maintaining history’s finest trucking treasures, the show’s first ever two-day event was home to an impressive 240 trucks, 40 buses, about 45 tractors and nearly 130 quilts.
With 3,500 attendees keen to soak up the intricate details of each vehicle, they were pleased to see no shortage of head turning rigs and more.
Event organiser and president of the Golden Oldies Club, Jon Mancer says the latest and greatest trucks made their show entrance.
“We had lots of stuff from the 70s and 80s, it was so great!” he says.
“There were Super-Liners, Valueliners, a 70s Atkinson, International C-Lines, AT4 Dodgers and a Ford Louisville,” he says.
“A Citroen came in from the early 1900s with solid steel ties, solid rubber wheels and an open cab.”
W-model Kenworths, K-series cabover Kenworths and S-Lines also livened up Dubbo.
A rich maroon-coloured International C1800 took home the ‘President’s Choice’ award. With its sleek, tidy appearance, it was bound to catch Mancer’s eye.
“The little rigid truck had detailing in the paint. The owner even went to the extreme of making all the flat screw heads line up in the same direction across the tray,” he says.
“It’s the little things that make all the difference.”
Though he was awestruck over the winning rig, Mancer says the new trucks were just as striking.
“Some new trucks had bling all over them, looking nice and polished, like the latest and greatest K200,” he says.
“So that was one extreme, and on the other end, there were little reno trucks that were dragged out of the shed, running in their working clothes, still full of rust.”
But putting a smile on people’s faces through trucks, buses, tractors and more wasn’t the only focus of the day.
Golden Oldies wants to give back to the Dubbo community.
Charities and not-for-profit organisations flooded the show, with appearances from the Royal Flying Doctor Service delivering an interactive air simulator. Raffles were also drawn and food vans provided.
Money was raised for prostate cancer and Tradies in Sight fundraised for tradies’ mental health.
Running events like these aren’t easy, especially with only 12 active members running the club, including some of the original founders who are now in their 80s.
With thousands showing up each year, and hundreds bringing in their shiny or rusty rigs, Mancer is proud of his teams’ efforts.
“We’re a very small club and we do an extremely good job, so I’d give us a pat on the back,” he chuckles.
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