They came by virtue of winning at events such as the Brisbane Convoy for Kids, Casino, Matty Hillcoat’s Truckies Day Out, Bathurst, Alexandra, Koroit, Castlemaine and the WA Mack Muster – and Tytan Transport’s KW 610SAR, ‘Dieseline Dreams’ that didn’t state which show it came from, which is maybe why I have 29 trucks instead of the oft-stated 28.

No matter, Little Stanley Street by the Brisbane River was the epicentre for truck fanatics from across the country during Truck Week 25 for the first Silverback Show ‘N’ Shine National Champs held alongside the Brisbane Truck Show.

I’ve been covering truck shows for over 20 years and never in my time have I seen a collection of assembled trucks (or onlookers) like this.

These are trucks that we have all heard or seen photographs of, but never dreamed of seeing them all in one place at the same time and it was heaven!

This sentiment was not only proffered by the public who swarmed to the area for four days and three nights, but also by the owners of the trucks on display.

Ask any owner (and I asked plenty) for their feedback and the answer was the same from all of them: “What a fantastic event. How good are all these other trucks? No, I have no idea who will win. The camaraderie is just unbelievable! I’d hate to be a judge.”

And anyone who walked along that street could absolutely feel it. It was carnival, it was theatre, it was making new friends and it was absolute admiration for everyone else’s truck. Myles Langley on behalf of the three judges of the display described what they were looking for.

“Basically we all know what cleaning is, we know where to clean and a lot of the time we can’t be bothered. So, this is that it ‘can’t be bothered’ part.

So, everything you can’t be bothered doing, such as washing behind the wheels and inside the wheel holes, brake drums, suspension components, undercarriage, inside the chassis rails, inside guards, underneath panels – not just panels but underneath and behind them, inside them, around them. Everywhere you can think of that might gather dirt, we are probably going to look for it.

“You can’t do this at a local show simply due to the number of trucks that attend. The guys selected to come here know the deal. They know they have been invited to a one-of-a-kind show and that there are big criteria to meet and that we will be hard on them.”

And so four days and nights were spent by those attending, washing and polishing, interspersed with hearty conversation about each other’s trucks and drinks and a bite at one of the myriad (and very happy) eateries along the street.

Come 11am Sunday morning and the throng gathered.

The winners were:

People’s Choice: Auswide Transport Solutions (driven by Damian Thoms) – 2021 Kenworth T909 ‘Karma’

3rd Runner Up: Trent Schaeffer – 2023 KW K200 Big Cab Tri-drive ‘Summer Jam’

2nd Runner Up: Andrew Derham – 1989 V8 Mack Value-Liner ‘Stayin Alive’

The Champion of Champions Cup: Cornwill Transport – 2023 Kenworth Legend SAR ‘Dynamite’

All the winners were roundly and warmly applauded by both the general public and particularly the other entrants, so it appears the judges did their job correctly.

On social media one comment on the Cornwills winning was, ‘Why????’ I could point out over five more pages what the boys have done to their truck, but the best illustration of their commitment is that on the Sunday morning when the judging was well done and dusted, Troy, Wayne and Rick, along with the wider Cornwill family were still polishing Dynamite.

After winning they again took up their rags and sponges and continued. I think the right truck won.

Best of the Best Entrants – Winners List

Contestant gallery

For more information and to view each truck in full, click on each thumbnail below: