With the famous landmark called the Pyramid in the background, veteran truckie Lindsay Petrie was parked up and spoke about being in Big Rigs paper not long after it started publishing. That was way back in the early 1990s.
The 62-year-old had stopped at a pull off area beside the Bruce Highway 20km south of Cairns. He was driving a Kenworth T908 for Q-Co Transport, based at Cairns.
“I remember well getting my pic taken for Big Rigs about 30 years ago when I was coming back from Perth. But I never expected to be in it again all these years later,” he said.
Petrie was hauling a generator from Townsville to Cairns which is a 340km trip along the Bruce Highway.
You have to be patient on this run because there are many roadworks being under- taken which cause delays.
“I often carry windmills as far away as Cowra and Melbourne and have been driving since I was 18,” he said.
It was a steamy 33 degrees that day and the sun burned your skin if you were outside for too long.
“We once had our own family company and I enjoy being a driver these days,” he said.
Petrie nominated the worst road he gets along as the Cardwell to Cairns section of the Bruce Highway.
When I asked Petrie if he had any favourite roadhouses he didn’t hesitate in answering with a question of his own.
“What roadhouses? Lots of truckies stop at Maccas or KFC along the way if they can get a park nearby. In the good old days you could find many good roadhouses where you could have a shower and good food at a reasonable price,” he said.
Despite that Petrie did say he enjoyed food and especially his favourite tucker. “I do like a big T-bone steak with salad and chips,” he said.
On the subject of rest areas Petrie said, “They are not too bad on this stretch of the Bruce Highway.”
In the past few years there have been a number of upgraded facilities such as new toilets and shaded areas placed at rest areas – especially on the Ingham to Cardwell stretch and there are several with roofs between Cairns and Tully.
These used to be inspection stations for the papaya fruit fly. Petrie barracks for the high rolling Brisbane Broncos in the NRL and when I spoke to him they were sitting alone at the top of the table with five wins in as many rounds.
Outside work Petrie enjoys drag racing and also has a couple of trusty Harley Davidson motorbikes.