The Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) celebrated its 40th anniversary with a gala dinner and awards night at the weekend.
The event, held on Saturday April 5 in Canberra, was well attended, with over 320 guests gathering to celebrate the occasion.
The Rural Transport Rising Star Award was a tie between the two finalists: 23-year-olf Isaac Davis from Southfork Transport in Scottsdale, Tasmania; and 28-year-old Kyle Nicholas from Edmonds Transport in Naracoorte, SA.
ALRTA said that both of the young operators impressed the judges with their maturity and passion for the industry; demonstrating a clear desire to better their industry knowledge through training and personal development.
Isaac and Kyle, who have built up a great new friendship throughout the lead-up to the announcement, were thrilled to share the award.
The ALRTA and Kenworth also honoured Craig Congram from Finley, NSW as the Icon of the Road for 2025. When presenting the award, Athol Carter of the ALRTA likened Craig to the “modern day Swaggy” – often spending days and weeks on the road for the love of what he does.
Craig was blown away by the recognition. “I simply love carting livestock, and I love driving trucks,” he said.
The Bruce McIver Award for 2025 was presented posthumously in honour of Jack Mitchell from Western Australia, who was the founding Vice President of the ALRTA in 1985 and was a huge advocate for the livestock and rural transport industry in the association’s formative years.
Jack passed away in 1989, aged 57. The award was received by Jack’s son John Mitchell, who acknowledged his father’s hard work and his strong friendship with Bruce McIver.
In collecting his father’s award, John said he wished his dad was there to receive the award himself.
The night culminated with a fireside chat with the founding legends of the ALRTA.
ALRTA Executive Director Anthony Boyle hosted a 40-minute reflection on the creation and journey of the ALRTA and its involvement in the industry.
This included the association’s role in establishing the Australian Trucking Association (ATA).
Legends of the industry included Ross Fraser OAM from Queensland, Gordan Martin from NSW, Peter Berwick from Tasmania, Gavan O’Sullivan from Victoria, Joe Sepos from NSW, and the first Executive Director of the ALRTA Robert Gunning.
The panel described the journey and challenges they overcame to build the association into the respected organisation it is now. The audience sat in silence for the duration and gave the panel a standing ovation at the completion of the event.
Anthony Boyle described the task of hosting the chat as “extremely daunting, but equally rewarding” to be able to honour the people who have established the pathway for the ALRTA’s 40 year existence.
The Rural Transport Woman of the year was awarded to Pauline Kearney from Barooga, NSW. Pauline started her journey in the transport industry at just 15 years of age, washing trucks. Now with her husband Glen and three sons, they operate eight trucks, servicing all aspects of rural transport. Pauline has also had a long-time hands-on role driving trucks all over rural Australia.
To round out the gala event, the Livestock, Bulk & Rural Carriers Association of NSW (LRBCA) presented Joe Sepos a Life Membership. Joe heads up the JS Transport Group of companies which includes Stocktrans and was involved in the earlier fireside chat.