In the quiet rural town of Kilcoy, in south east Queensland, the Kilcoy Konvoy returned on Saturday 27 March in a day that was its biggest yet.
Kilcoy is renowned for its beef industry, and so it was fitting that the convoy began on Winya Road, opposite the meatworks. A procession of 165 trucks travelled through the town’s main strip before converging at the Kilcoy Showgrounds.
In recent years, the Kilcoy Konvoy has had to be cancelled twice. In 2018, it was rain that threw plans into chaos, and then last year COVID put the event on hold. But this year, there was no stopping the Kilcoy Konvoy, which according to organisers, had its largest ever turnout.
“It was a really big day out. The streets were lined pretty well, with kids everywhere. Everybody we spoke to reckons it was a really good day and plans to be back next year. Some even said they plan to bring their friends and tell their bosses to bring more trucks,” said Ian Dawes, who along with his wife Debbie Dawes, is part of a large group (mainly owner operators) that put the event together.
“We had double the amount of trucks we thought we would have with everything going on. The area we used had the capacity for 6000 people, so it all worked really well,” added Debbie.
The Kilcoy Konvoy was held in conjunction with the Kilcoy Rodeo. The two events have been held side by side in recent years. With the huge turnout though, organisers were having to turn some visitors away after reaching COVID capacity limits.
“It’s a great day out for truck drivers and their families. It’s really good to have the Kilcoy Konvoy back. Hopefully more events like this can go ahead and we can all get back into it. We were speaking with a truck driver after the event and he was saying how great it was to be able to get together with his mates again,” said Ian.
Awards were also presented across a range of categories, with Mark Tobin’s Kenworth T900 Legend, which he drove in the convoy, named Rig of the Show.
Other awards included Best Kenworth for B&K Transport, Best Mack for Mack Trans, Best Western Star for Laurie Williams, Best Other Rig for Vanessa Thomas, Best Show Truck for Corbet’s, and Best Fleet for Followmont.