It was the year of ‘The Dismissal’, Joh still reigned supreme as Premier of Queensland, Darwin was beginning the massive task of rebuilding after Cyclone Tracy, Medibank and Telecom were founded, a young Gina Reinhardt celebrated her 21st birthday at a big shing-ding in Perth, and (for the old punk rockers) 2JJ and 4ZZ first went to air.
1975 was also a Truck Show year with the then annual event held at the Rocklea Wool Stores, adjacent to its original venue at Haulmark Trailers’ premises at Ipswich Road, Rocklea – several years before its relocation to the RNA Showgrounds in 1983.
Among the many trucks on display was this brand-spanking new A6 Leader owned by Brisbane-based transporter Russell Transport.
The company – which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year – had bought the truck on August 19 from Walsh Engineering in Toowoomba for the princely sum of $27,438. The six-wheeler was displayed at the show before it went into service carrying over-dimensional loads.
For history buffs, Leader was a truck manufacturer based in Toowoomba founded by Cyril Anderson and Western Transport Group. It produced nearly 2,000 trucks (a wide variety from four-ton to 250-ton) between 1972 and 1984.
Director and owner Phil Russell, son of founder Roy Russell, says the truck was the first in its fleet to feature an Allison automatic transmission, a new technology at the time. It also featured a robust and durable fibreglass cabin, he notes.
While it was to be Russell Transport’s one and only Leader truck – with the company opting for better options such as International ACCO 3070’s with its superior drive train, it remained in the family’s fleet for 13 years, spurred along by a new engine in 1980, the addition of a cab crane in 1981 and a tilt tray in 1984.
Phil says the family sold the truck to International Harvester Company at Rocklea in January 1988 for $12,000 – not bad for a truck bought for $27,438 almost a decade and a half earlier!
Got any cool old Truck Show pics and/or stories you’d like to share? We’d love to hear them! Contact Editor Graham Gardiner at g.gardiner@hvia.asn.au or on 0411 722 684.