A T900 Kenworth rig proudly owned by Thompson’s Transport Castlemaine operator Keith Thompson is set to be installed in the ‘Kenworth Dealer Hall of Fame’ in Alice Springs.
The rig holds a special place in Kenworth history being the rig driven across the Nullarbor by country music legend Slim Dusty.
Keith told the Mail it was a huge honour to have the truck selected to be part of the prestigious hall of fame.
The Alice Springs attraction comprises almost 4,000sq metres of display space devoted to the history of the Australian designed and built Kenworth. There are more than 30 trucks on permanent display, with many more rotating through from time to time, making this the broadest display of Australian-made Kenworth truck models on the planet. The displays range from the first Australian built chassis, the Grey Ghost, to the most recent additions – the T610 and the limited edition Legend 900.
The 82-year-old said the T900 was purchased by Thompson’s Transport Footscray on September 15, 1997.
“Later that year I was honoured to play the role of instructor for Slim as he drove the road train across the Nullarbor from Eucla to Norseman,” he said.
They were joined on the voyage by the truck’s regular drivers Faye and Jack Norton, Keith’s wife Carol and Slim’s wife Joy.
“Slim was working on a new trucking album and really wanted to experience life behind the wheel and gather ideas,” Keith said.
“Truckies often say “Let’s Make a Mile” and that was the inspiration behind the title Makin’ a Mile,” he said.
The album went gold and Keith has an EMI plaque celebrating the milestone on the wall of his office.
The journey also made the cover of Truck’ Life magazine that year.
“It was an incredible experience. Slim was a great man,” Keith said.
The local trucking identity later sold the truck, trading it in for a newer model.
“You generally trade them in once they have done a million kilometres,” he said.
Keith established the business back in 1961 and over the last 62 years the company expanded to have depots in Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney and Perth and at its peak the family-owned company had 65 trucks and 130 trailers operating across the country.
Around four years ago Keith was approached by a man from Ballarat which had restored the truck and wanted to know if he was keen to buy it back.
“On closer inspection we realised it was the truck Slim drove,” Keith said.
“It was great to be able to buy it back. We have had it on display at the local Rotary Truck Show and other events over the past few years. Locals will have seen it on display in the yard as they pass by,” he said.
The rig is set to be collected by the Kenworth team on Monday to make the long journey north to Alice Springs.
“It will be amazing to see it on display as part of their permanent collection. It’s pretty impressive,” he said.
