Alex ‘Mac’ McLellan was a colourful, larger-than-life character. He had a big-hearted personality, and always put everyone else’s wellbeing and welfare first. We take this opportunity to celebrate Alex’s life by talking to a few people who worked alongside him, capturing their memories and what Alex’s friendship meant to them.

Jonathan Bhana-Thomson
chief executive, New Zealand Heavy Haulage Association

“Alex was a valued member of our board for around six years, and after one of our board meetings we were chatting about a home game for my team the Hurricanes against his team the Highlanders the next day. In the heat of that conversation I made the misfortune of betting against Alex over the outcome of that game. Well, my team lost, and what that meant was that at our annual awards dinner I had to wear a Highlanders jersey for the entire night.

That was a painful thing for me, and Alex was very humble in the way that he did it, but he gloated all the way. For me it typifies Alex, he always carried through with what he said he was going to do. Some people might not have made you do it, but with his sense of humour and in a funny way he made sure he had a Highlanders shirt there on the night for me to wear. So yeah, I learnt not to bet against Alex after that.

It will continue my pain printing this in the magazine, but Alex will have a wry smile on his face knowing that this episode has not been forgotten.”

Greg Sheehan ‘The Sheriff’
Overdimensional Pilot Extraordinaire

“On a trip to the South Island to deliver a couple of new trucks to Invercargill we dropped in to catch up with Alex at the Balclutha yard. We were welcomed by Alex with a big smile and he proudly gave us a guided tour of the yard. With my history with Mercedes-Benz trucks, Alex made sure I had a drive of a 1418 Merc that he had there.

Later we arrived at the family home, headed into the house and sat down. Alex says ‘would you like a beer?’ ‘Yes please’, and while Alex is getting the refreshments, this big fat cat walks in the back door, I say ‘hello pussy cat’. Alex turns and says ‘that’s SPCA’. ‘What do you mean, SPCA?’ I ask. Alex explained ‘oh, our son Isaiah named him that when he first came in here, because it just arrived as a stray, and Isaiah said to me ‘Dad, some prick’s cat’s arrived’ and that was it, that’s how he got his name’. You can imagine the place erupted with laughter.

Alex and I spent quite a bit of time working on the board of directors of the New Zealand Heavy Haulage Association and eventually I was elected to be chairman. Alex supported me very well in that role, he gave me a tremendous amount of support and that’s something I will never forget. We had a great time there, a lot of hilarity around the boardroom table at times, just from a quick quip that he might have made, because he was that sort of bloke – anything that you could joke about or see the lighter side of Alex was right there front and centre.”

Nigel Hope
Bus Truck Recovery International

“I met Alex through the classic truck runs back in the early 2000s. Alex was very active in the scene; it was a hobby that he really enjoyed. Alex was always good at giving others who did not have a truck one of his so that they could enjoy the rally. That was the measure of the man right there. Yes, it helped keep his trucks moving, but you could clearly see that he really enjoyed seeing others enjoy the hobby as well.

I remember Alex purchased an old tow truck off Huck McCready, and it is fair to say that it really was at the end of its working life. I think Alex purchased it because it was a classic, and it fitted in with his collection. Well, even though it was a classic, Alex still sent it out to do a couple of jobs. We would have to take turns at manhandling and dragging this old wire cable. The guys hated it whenever Alex would suggest they take the old truck out to do a job, because they knew they would end up being the ones who would have to drag the cable out.”

Paul Britton
Britton Housemovers

“I served as a fellow board member with Alex on the New Zealand Heavy Haulage Association board. Alex was a savvy operator who had a very good handle on the transport industry, and he was extremely generous with his time and sharing his knowledge. I cannot stress just how much he assisted me with understanding business acumen at our meetings. We would discuss issues and the like that we might be experiencing, and Alex would offer other perspectives and solutions that you perhaps had not thought of yourself. Alex would really listen to what you had to say, he was genuinely interested in how business was going for you. More than he knew, Alex really assisted me in many areas of our own business.”

Ewan Richmond
Fire and Emergency New Zealand

“In the early days of the business, there were those days that might have started off with a bit of a disagreement, and later in the day he’d always call up on the radio and say ‘where are ya big nose?’ (He always called me ‘big nose’ and I called him ‘conk face’ from out of Monty Python’s Life of Brian – he definitely had a great sense of humour.) I’d be a few minutes away from base, and he’d then say ‘right, I’ll be at the yard, we’ll shoot around to the war office for a debrief’ – and that is what we did, we’d head around to the RSA for a beer, and have a catch up, and put things right. There was no ill feeling.

He was one of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure of working with, sure we worked hard, we played hard, and he always made sure we had the weekends off. He would say ‘we work hard enough during the week, so go and have the couple of days off’.

Alex was a very big part of my life, he believed in me and helped me see my own potential, and even after I had left the area, Alex always made the effort to stay in touch and see how I was getting on. A true mate.”

Shona Robertson
Road Transport Logistics(RTL)

“Mac was a loyal man that was passionate about the industry and the people in it. I will always remember Mac for the support he gave me and my colleagues in our roles within the RTA, he was one of my biggest cheerleaders. His practical, wise, advice was always welcomed. His approach was respectful, he took time to understand the issues, he gathered facts and asked questions when needed. If he didn’t agree with you, he made sure his thoughts were tabled, and respected the outcome whether he agreed with it or not. He recognised the need for our industry to look at the future and make changes that will support our members more, as opposed to keep doing things the way they have always been done. He had our back and for that I will be forever grateful.

My last chat over a few drinks with Mac was at the Kenworth 100-year celebration, he was sharing stories with me about his boys and their passion to over-spec their new KWs. While his tone was making out he was stern and concerned, his eyes sparkled and there was a grin on his face as he made reference to the extra dollars it cost him – he loved it.

He was so proud of Kim and the boys, Mac spoke often about how lucky he was that he got to be back behind the wheel living the dream, and leave them to run the day to day business. Rest easy Mac.”

Wayne Williams
Transport Services Limited (TSL)

“Alex could talk to anyone anytime no matter where he was, even when on a bus trip or plane trip. He would chat to the person on the other side of the isle and get to know them, and by the end of the trip be mates. In a respectful and friendly way he called every woman he met, no matter what their age, ‘girl’. He was caring and loved whanau, he was a great friend to all, and a man who accomplished a lot in his life. He would always do his best to accommodate his clients, he loved his job. He also did his best to help others in the industry, any hour of the day or night, no task was too big or too small for him. He just mucked in and made things happen, that is the calibre of the man.”

James, Tracy and Nelson Yorston
Yorston Transport

“Mac once said to me, ‘If you have good work ethics you provide for your family’. Mac’s work ethic was unbelievable, and he always did it with a smile. He would sort things there and then, not 10 or 20 minutes later.

An example of this was a Saturday morning back in 2022, when we suffered an unfortunate accident with one of the trucks in our fleet. Mac was immediately on the phone to us, saying if we needed anything at all, he will get straight onto it.

Heartfelt, genuine and giving, that was Mac.”