Camaraderie, memories and stories in abundance … with more than 3500 years of trucking industry experience in one location, it was great to attend the second biennial ‘Last of the Manual Labour Drivers Reunion’ recently in Matamata.

Initiated by Rex Holden and his team of volunteers, the get-together celebrates days gone by and remembers those who have shaped the industry since the 1950s when a whole fleet of trucks would have the equivalent horsepower of just one truck from a current day’s fleet … some would call it ‘the good old days’.

With an impressive 72 years in the industry, Graham Manson contributed to the incredible years of knowledge present, alongside Alan Powell, with 65 years. Add to that at least 30 more blokes with more than 50 years in trucking, and you can’t help but want to tap into all of that knowledge.

The weekend kicked off with a few beers and yarns at the local RSA on the Friday night. The main event got underway on Saturday morning, thanks to the generosity of J Swap Contractors for the venue.

J Swap Contractors tour

First on the agenda for the 100-plus attendees was an informative tour of the J Swap workshop complex showcasing its 6500m 2 undercover workspaces. Designed by Lewis Swap and his son, Andrew, who both have extensive mechanical backgrounds, the new premises opened in March 2020. It’s a busy facility with about 50 truck and heavy machinery mechanics, auto electricians and engineers, including up to six apprentices being trained at any one time.

Andrew explains: “We complete three or four truck services a day. We’re well equipped with 45m-long pits. Twice a week, we have two VTNZ staff come in, carrying out about 80 COFs per month.”

Split into various workshops and open undercover areas for smaller repairs, and a parts department with 1.5km of shelving, the building is also designed to collect rainwater from the extensive roof area to supply the wash-down hoses. Swap’s offices and the very popular café, Pepper Street Kitchen, share the stunning complex.

Across the road is a large shed currently being developed into what will be one of the best collections of model trucks, tractors and machinery you’ve quite possibly ever seen … also including badges, keyrings, posters, magazines, even wallpaper! When finished, it will also include vintage tractors and cars. This magnificent collection will be a must-see.

The quarry

Following on, we were treated to a bus tour to Swap’s Taotaoroa Quarry in the hills behind Karapiro, with 2500 acres of quarry and surrounding farmland producing up to 1,500,000 tonnes of product per year. Michael Swap says the quarry was purchased in the late 1960s as “just an old pit on the side of a hill”.

Despite the wet conditions, we were able to take in the enormity and beauty of the area, including the old but impressive crushing plant that operates seven days a week, and 24 hours a day Monday to Friday. After a delicious barbecue lunch catered by Swap employees, the buses headed to Hautapu, on the outskirts of Cambridge, to enjoy the C&R Developments Museum, incorporating Ross Bros Muscle Car Garage.

Checking out the truck and machinery part of the C&R Developments museum.

C&R Developments Museum

Brothers, Tim, Michael, Tony and Simon have followed their father, Jim Ross, with a passion for collectible cars, trucks and heavy machinery. Their 1950s diner-styled museum, packed with memorabilia, sports a range of car eye-candy from a 1968 Shelby GT500 KR Mustang, a 1972 Aston Martin DBS V8, and a New York taxi, to Scott Dixon’s 2005 G Force Indy car. Tim has a story behind each vehicle on display.

Next door, the truck and machinery area hosts the world’s largest bulldozer, a Komatsu D575A-2 Super Dozer, weighing in at 170 tonnes. Tim tells us “The blade alone weighs 38 tonnes”, then jokes “it’s very economical, running at 230L per hour!”

As Tim demonstrates the 193- tonne Caterpillar 994 loader, it is clear the wheel alone is twice his height. “Each wheel is six and a half tonnes,” he explains, “a new tyre costs $85,000. A tyre can last a minute or 4000 hours, depending on the prick sitting up there,” he laughs.

Some of the vintage truck line-up brought by attendees.

The function and yarn time

The Pepper Street Kitchen was buzzing during the evening with plenty of yesteryear yarns over a few bevvies and delightful food.

Warren ‘Slab‘ Sinton from Ashburton remembers how easy it was to get his truck licence back in 1969. “I turned 18 on the Monday, sat my theory on the Tuesday,” he recalls. “I was booked at 7am on the Saturday to do the driving test. Jack Gordon, the local cop, said he would be at the yard at 7am. My dad said if I got out of bed at 4am, I could do a load of scoria from Seatons Quarry in Taupō, back to Kinleith, Tokoroa, and be back by 7am. However, Jack arrived early and was there waiting when I drove back into the yard! My heart went into my mouth. He said to me, ‘Be honest, where have you been?’ So I told him, and he didn’t bother with the test; he just gave me my licence! It was a small town; everyone knew everyone, and Jack knew my dad.”

Alister ‘Nugget’ Reeves from Mangakino had a similar experience. “When I was 16 years old, I would go for rides with the guys at KA Newcombe, based in Rotorua. The drivers would get me to drive when they were tired. One day, I was at the Ngongotahā sale yards, and one of the drivers broke his ankle. The boss, Mick Newcombe, came and asked me if I could drive this Leyland Hippo. He said, ‘Don’t lie to me because I know you can.’ So I agreed to take a load of cattle to Okere Falls, about a three-hour round trip. When I got back, he asked me to do a couple more loads and I didn’t end up going to school the next day! A couple of months later, after taking a few more loads, he said he had better get me a licence. He organised for a cop to come to the yard, and all I had to do was drive around the yard and back into the workshop and I had a licence to drive for that company only. At 18 years old, I had to sit my licence again.”

Chris Bell from Waiuku recalls when he was a butcher’s apprentice at 17 years old. “The boss had a D-Series 1314 Ford, and we were heading from Waiuku to the Dairy Flat Lime Works. I was driving, and the boss was asleep in the passenger seat. We had to cross the Auckland Harbour Bridge and pay a toll. I didn’t have a licence, so we had to swap drivers before going through the toll booth. We didn’t have to stop; we swapped over while still moving! I loved driving, so two months after I completed my apprenticeship, I started driving trucks.”