Richard Wilken comes from a farming family at Warracknabeal, Victoria. But it was trucks that grabbed his attention and became his life from the day he gained his licence.
Operating commercially in 1982, Richard’s first truck was a Mack, and he still owns it.
“It’s tucked away in a shed and will be reconditioned at some stage,” Richard said.
“We are 270km from the port and it made sense to cart our own produce rather than pay others to do it. That first Mack truck treated me very well and so along came a second and then a third, etcetera.”
These days Richard consistently runs around 16 trucks and calls on others in the busiest times, under the banner of the Wilken Group and Wilken Grain, handling storage, marketing, transport and fuel distribution.
His hard work and business success has also allowed him to indulge in his passion. Surprise, surprise – Mack trucks!
“Well, I’ve now definitely gone too far to turn back, and I don’t wish to. The Mack brand and the Mack organisation have been absolutely sensational to us and we have no reason to change. That would be the last thing on our mind due to the history we have with the brand.
“We are fortunate enough to be very close to them and it has been a wonderful journey with that company.”
Richard’s love of the brand has turned him into a collector of Mack that would be the envy of any truck lover.
“Mack trucks are a little bit like lawn bowls. Once it gets into your system it’s pretty hard to get it out. I’ve been part of the Mack family for 43 years now, since 1982. I now own quite a few of the recognised Mack vehicles that are significant.
“I have the 2000 Centennial, and a 2013 Southern Cross which celebrated 50 years of Mack production in Australia.
“Then there is the 2019 Super-Liner that we also have, which commemorates 100 years of the production of the brand from when Gus and John Mack started Mack trucks in the United States in 1919.”
Now Richard has completed (he hopes) his collection of historical Macks with his recent acquisition in October last year of possibly the most famous of all the limited editions – the classic and rare Bicentennial Limited Edition Mack Super-Liner II, ‘Captain Cook’.
“I was keen to show it, so it was a little bit of a push to be able to pick it up in Perth, transport it back to Warracknabeal and get it through the workshop to make it presentable for the Horsham Truck Show in the first week of November.”
Now Captain Cook has had its second outing at the Koroit Truck Show where this interview took place.
“What you see here, all the paint was done 13 or 14 years ago in Toowoomba and it has been under cover basically since then. It had not seen bitumen for a long time. Coming from Warracknabeal here to Koroit would be its longest trip in many years.
“It has over three million kilometres on the clock, which is not a heck of a lot for a 1988 build. It was partially reconditioned before we got it.
“A guy in Dalby had four of these and he reconditioned three of them, which included painting and all the major things needed for reconditioning. He unfortunately passed away which is very sad, and that led to those three being moved on. The fourth one was in a million pieces but has also found a new home.
“All the Bicentennial’s came out with 500hp and Mack pushed the same engine out to 610hp in later iterations. Mack people will know, and the older generation which I fit into, that they are an extremely torquey motor, but they did get pushed to the limit going out to 610 and you needed a very good mechanic to look after them.
“If you did that then their lifespan was more than acceptable, but if you slipped up on the maintenance at that horsepower, you may have paid the penalty.
“I’m more than happy with the 500 horses under the bonnet of Captain Cook, and as I mentioned, it has fantastic torque. Mack’s development of this engine way back in the ‘80s was at the forefront of engine development at the time in my opinion.
“Captain Cook complements the other classic Macks in my possession. We’d been looking for quite a while and just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I feel very honoured to have this truck in my ownership.”
Like any older truck, parts can be hard to source, but Richard has the perfect connection.
“It isn’t getting any easier for us Mack people to source parts, particularly with older vehicles such this. But we are fortunate to have a contact in Mack spare parts who has been there for over 40 years in Gary Richards. Gary is a household name in Mack circles.
“He was there when this actual vehicle came off the production line in the late ‘80s – and the other 15 along with it. We are privileged to have become very good friends with him over the years.
“Gary’s knowledge is extraordinary with, particularly the older models, right up until and including when Volvo took over and bought Mack. So it is fantastic that there are still some of the old school there.”
The mystique of the Bicentennial Mack Super-Liners is aided and abetted by a superb interior covered in a pale green velour type material which extends through to the bunk area. It looks simply superb and extremely inviting.
With such an array of historical Mack trucks, we asked Richard if/when there may be thoughts of a museum so the public can sample his delights.
“We do in fact have one in Warracknabeal – after a fashion. It is something on the to-do list that I’d like to professionalise a bit more. As my date of birth takes over, our young team and businesses are probably doing a better job than I’ve ever been able to do. One of my ambitions will be to upgrade the housing of these vehicles so that that they’ll be more available for people to come and have a look.”
Captain Cook is indeed a rare and beautiful beast that Richard has managed to obtain, and in doing so – along with the rest of his collection – is keeping alive what has been an integral marque in Australian trucking history.
“It is our honour to be able to do it. We will continue to do our bit for the Mack brand and we are very privileged to be part of the Mack family.”