Lowood Truck Show celebrates a triumphant comeback

The Lowood Truck Show celebrated a triumphant return on Saturday August 17, with the small Queensland town abuzz for the popular event.

Though it was a nervous few days in the lead-up, with heavy rains threatening to derail plans, the clouds disappeared, making way for clear blue skies.

Organised by veteran truckie Rob Liston, this marked the 14^th edition of the Lowood Truck Show, which was back after a one-year hiatus.

The day began with the popular parade, where hundreds of trucks made their way through a 6-kilometre loop of the town, including through Main Street, before culminating in their entry into the Lowood Showgrounds, where visitors enjoyed a jam-packed program of events and entertainment.

“It was an awesome day with a great atmosphere and a massive turnout of over 6000 people and 422 trucks,” said Rob.

“There was about 40mm of rain in the few days leading up to the show. The rain only stopped on the Thursday morning, so it was a bit iffy as to whether we would be able to use the showgrounds, as it’s all grassed,” he revealed.

“We didn’t want to damage the Showgrounds by having all these trucks driving on there so we assessed it on the Friday morning and were given the thumbs up. Luckily it all dried up really well.

“Ison Haulage from Chinchilla arrived on the Friday afternoon with a whole heap of gear including floats, super tilts and a new set of AB triple side tippers. They had the heaviest equipment at the show and it didn’t do any damage to the grounds, so we knew we were okay for the main event.”

Ison Haulage’s Kenworth C500 was awarded Lead Truck for the parade, after placing the winning bid. Image: Ray Lawrence Photography

Ison Haulage also took out the coveted ‘Lead Truck’ in the parade. The hotly contested spot was awarded to the highest bidder, with Ison Haulage placing the winning bid of $6300, leading the long convoy of trucks with their Kenworth C500.

“The streets were lined with people. Lowood is only a small town. The Lowood Truck Show is even bigger than the Lowood Show. It gets a lot of community support, they love the event,” said Rob.

Each year, the Lowood Truck Show chooses a charity to partner with. This year all proceeds were donated to Dementia Australia.

Though general entry and truck registration is free, people are invited to make donations. Stall holders – of which there were around 50 this time around – aren’t charged a fee either, but instead are asked to make a donation, with many choosing to donate goods for the Truck Show Auction, which again raises money for the chosen charity partner.

As Rob explained, businesses throughout the community get on board to help raise further funds too. “The local coffee shop donated $1 for every coffee sold, so they get right into it. And the hardware store and hotel donate to the show too. The Lowood Truck Show brings so many people into the town, so the community really gets right behind it.”

Another highlight are the awards presented on the day, with the major trophy being Truck of the Show. This year that honour went to Warren Ahern at Ahern Haulage for his immaculately restored 1985 Kenworth W-model.

Warren Ahern’s Kenworth W-Model took the Truck of the Show title. Image: Ray Lawrence Photography

“Warren is from Minden, about 12 kilometres from Lowood. He’s been to the show a few times and not long ago finished restoring this truck,” said Rob.

“Warren has rebuilt it from the ground up and it’s a real credit to him. He’s maintained that ‘old school cool’ look with this truck. Anyone who knows Warren, knows he does a great job when he rebuilds a truck. He also has a 1984 Kenworth SAR ‘Nugget’, which is at the Queensland Transport Museum in Gatton, so he couldn’t get that one out for the show.”

The other major award presented on the day is the Charity’s Choice Award, which was this year presented by Dementia Australia. It went to Steve and Tracey Armstrong at STA Trucking for their striking near new black and pink Kenworth T909. Just a few weeks earlier, that same truck won the award for Best Custom Paint at Casino Truck Show.

Rob explained that some additional awards were introduced for this year. “We did a special award this year, Top Support for 2024. It went to Scott Wilson. He’s a truck owner and has been to every Lowood Truck Show since we started – and he always puts his hand up to help on the day too. He never fails to turn up and show his support so we gave him this award, which really blew him away.”

With the Lowood Truck Show done and dusted for another year, the date has been announced for 2025 – Saturday August 16. “We’re hoping it’s going to be even bigger and better,” said Rob.

Though in the meantime, he has plenty more on his event calendar too. “We were invited to jump on board with Meatstock in Toowoomba next March, so we have a truck show we’ll be organising as part of that event. We’ll also be launching our first Chinchilla Truck Show. That will happen around April/May.”