The Southland Transport Invercargill Truck Parade 2024 took place as usual at Labour Weekend in Invercargill and attracted as much interest as ever.

In total, 148 trucks paraded the streets of Invercargill to the delight of the public, who lined the street sides and centre plots of the city to watch the procession pass, and 90 trucks were presented for judging for the coveted prizes in various classes and brand awards. The prize-giving function was held at the Newfield Tavern, where event organiser Mark Purdue presented the trophies and prize packs to the winners.

Mark acknowledged the support of the event from the various franchise holders who really got behind their products, and thanked the judges for their continued willingness to volunteer to fill a sometimes controversial and thankless role.

The numbers were down slightly on previous years due to workloads with stock-feed boats and also the constant bad weather, making it difficult to produce a well-presented entry.

This year, Hayden Brookland from Eden Haulage won the King Rig title with a Kenworth K200, which has now 825,000km reading on the odometer.

He was just two points ahead of Nick Young’s Southern Transport Mack Super-Liner.

The Brookland win was almost a case of déjà vu, with Hayden’s grandfather having won it before and Hayden picking up the Best Kenworth Award with the same rig in 2023. Hayden has worked for the Eden Haulage team for two-and-a-half years, driving all across the country from the Invercargill base.

The Best Fleet Award was won by King House Removal, again with a very tight margin.

2024 Southland Transport Invercargill Truck Parade Results