It was 4am when I phoned the BP Black Mountain Roadhouse in NSW to speak to William Nash who has worked the night shift there for more than 36 years.
Day shift staff had told me this was the best time to catch William, who has met tens of thousands of truck drivers over the decades.
William, who turns 60 in December, said on average about 30 trucks would stop there during his shift, which commences at midnight and normally finishes at 8am.
“We get a lot of interstate drivers who pull up doing the run from Brisbane and further north and also from Sydney. But when there is wet weather, a lot come here from Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide. Every morning before I finish the local drivers drop in,” he said.
William added that the big breakfast was popular but was also quick to point out that habits of the long haul drivers had changed.
“Many ring up to order a coffee and sandwich and it is ready when they arrive. The logbook laws have changed it all,” he said.
The roadhouse has clean toilets and showers as well as a sit down area inside for meals off the menu.
“We are undergoing renovations to the toilets and showers and after they are completed, inside will get an upgrade,” William said.
Located 10km south of Guyra on the New England Highway, the roadhouse is privately owned and numerous drivers had told Spy they like stopping there and yarning to William.
I asked William what time he sleeps after his shift.
“Mostly I have a few hours sleep when I get home and then four or five hours in the afternoon,” he said.
On the odd occasion William gets called in to do a day shift if somebody is off sick.
And over the years William has served food to some famous Australians.
“Slim Dusty used to come in here way back and Angry Anderson often stopped here,” he said.
It was around 4.30am when my interesting chat to William came to an end.
“A customer has just walked in,” he said.