Aiomanu Dean Tuliau (Deano) sent us this message about his mate and mentor Bruce ‘Goose‘ Turnbull. We‘ll let Deano tell the story. “I met Goose about three years ago, I was Class 4 and Goose an old school Class 5 trucker, never short of a comment whatever the subject. I was fortunate enough to be given an opportunity by my boss at the time to sit my Class 5, and looking back, it was then Goose took charge, sharing his knowledge and mentoring me behind the wheel. Although Goose and I are same age, he had been taught with old school values; in the transport industry since he was in nappies from what I‘ve heard.

Photo: Bruce ‘Goose‘ Turnbull. Mate and mentor. RIP. 

“ We parted ways about eight months into my Class 5 driving, but over the next three years I‘d get a phone call from Goose every now and then. He would just say, ‘Gidday mate how ya goin‘?‘ We would yarn for a bit, and he would always ask, ‘Everything going ok?‘

“One day I was backing my truck and trailer into a very tight driveway which veered slightly right with small steel poles on both sides. I‘d had my Class 5 licence for 12 months at that stage and my backing skills weren‘t that great, but I remembered Goose always said, ‘Slow and steady‘. As I was backing up I didn‘t know I had caught my toolbox on one of the steel poles, ripping it half off (what a mess ‘LOL‘). At that moment my phone went off, and all I heard was, ‘You ok driver? What ‘s going on there?‘ It was Goose. He had spotted me from a distance and said he could see I had my truck on the wrong angle and knew I was ‘knee deep in it‘. By that stage I was a mess. I was relief driving and had ripped the toolbox half off. It was beyond repair. With it sorted, I carried on with the rest of my shift.

Later that night sitting at home feeling sorry for myself my phone rang, and yep, you guessed it, “Goose! How are ya?” I told him I was thinking of chucking it in. He said to me, ‘Mate, shit happens, you need to learn from it, that ‘s how we become better drivers. Tomorrow you will get out of friggin‘ bed and get your arse back in that seat. Slow and steady. If you start to panic then remember this voice in your head with these words: ‘Calm the **** down.‘

“ Three years after that phone call, and I‘m still turning a wheel. Sadly, in January this year my mentor, the guy who always knew when to ring, the road brother that we all have, the one we ring when we need to know something, sadly passed away.

“Bruce Turnbull a.k.a. Goose. “Forever grateful for his knowledge and mentoring behind the wheel.

“Rest in peace my road brother.”