Young operator pops the question while picking up his first brand new Kenworth

It was a double celebration for livestock owner operator James Papworth, who recently walked away with the keys to his brand new Kenworth T659 – and a new fiancé.

James, 28, proposed to his partner of several years, Laura Beer, at Twin City Truck Centre in Wodonga.

He had a special note planted in the passenger door of the T659 that read: “Will you ‘Keep on Keepin on’ with me.” He then got down on one knee and asked Laura to marry him, to which she said, “Yes!”

As James explained, the note was in reference to the name they had given to the truck. “I had the proposal planned for a fair while, unbeknownst to her. There was only one other person there who knew about it and that was the lady who videoed it for us.

“Laura had no idea, so it was a big surprise. She never expected it at all.”

The go-getting young truckie began his career in transport as a diesel mechanic. “I grew up working on a farm in Holbrook, New South Wales. Dad has his own local transport business and carts cattle. I left school and worked on the farm for a couple of years, then I did my trade,” James said.

He then made the decision to move to the Northern Territory for two years to work and study. During his time there, he built cattle yards, drove trucks and successfully completed his Certificate III in Agriculture.

After deciding to make truck driving his career, James got his MC licence in 2019 and joined Martins Stock Haulage as a driver.

“I moved to Scone and got the job with Martins – and didn’t look back. I was there for about four or five years. I started off transporting cattle for a couple of years and then went on to carting sheep. I was travelling right across the east coast – from the bottom of Victoria all the way up to Central Queensland,” he explained.

And it was during that time that James’ professionalism and dedication to the industry was formally recognised. In 2022, James was named Young Driver of the Year at the annual Livestock and Bulk Rural Carriers Association (LBRCA) conference.

He made the decision to go out on his own in July 2023, when he purchased his first truck – also a Kenworth T659 and a B-double stock crate. With that, his business Papworth Livestock was born.

“Laura and I were going to travel to America and the day before we paid for the trip, this opportunity came up to buy our first truck. We bought the truck and cancelled the trip,” James said.

While it hasn’t always been an easy ride for James, the purchase of his new T659 was an exciting milestone. “My partner and I have been through a fair bit in the last 12 months and she’s always stuck by my side, so I wanted to do something really special for her,” said James.

“Laura says that we’ll never be able to sell this truck because it has a fair bit of sentimental value now,” he said.

Laura works full time as a school teacher, along with assisting James with the business. “We live in Wagga and she works really hard. Along with being a school teacher, she does all the paperwork for the business and organises a fair bit of that sort of stuff. Laura is the brains of the whole show,” added James.

After picking up the new T659 on Saturday, March 29, James took it on its maiden run to the town of Junee, in the Riverina region of New South Wales.

“It’s very similar to the older T659 I had but I’ve dressed it up a bit better, with a nice paint job,” said James. “It’s a great truck to drive. I don’t think I’d change a single thing on it. Twin City Truck Centre were also fantastic to deal with – nothing was a drama.”

James says about 70 per cent of his work involves carting sheep, while the remaining 30 per cent is cattle transport. “I enjoy working with livestock, particularly with sheep. I do a lot of paddock work, carting to meatworks.”

With the new truck now on the road, Big Rigs asked if a date had yet been set for the couple’s big day. “Not yet,” said James. “We’re taking it one step at a time!” he laughed.