At just 26 years of age, Zac Anthony has seen more of Australia than most people ever do in their lifetime.
Originally from Tamworth, New South Wales, Zac now lives in the Northern Territory. But it was his hometown that instilled his love for trucks and music.
“My grandfather was a truckie and had his own trucks. He used to cart lime from Tamworth to Newcastle, carted bananas out of Cairns and then got into carting asphalt.
“He was a very old school truckie. He passed away in 2016,” said Zac.
“I always used to say I had my own fleet of trucks when I was 10 – and I used to deliver freight from the lounge room to the bathroom,” he laughed.
As with many kids raised in and around trucks, Zac was already honing his skills behind the wheel well before he was legally allowed, taught by none other than his pop. He even admitted, “The first time I drove on the road, I was only 12. I drove from Goondiwindi to Moree, while my grandfather laid in the bunk.
“I reckon half the reason the industry is the way it is now is because of the lack of training. In most major companies, you can’t take passengers anymore. That’s where I learnt to drive, in the passenger seat next to my grandfather.”
Being raised in Australia’s home of country music, Zac’s foray into that field is perhaps not that surprising. Although, as Zac told Big Rigs, “I actually don’t come from a musical family. My old man bought me a guitar for my birthday when I was 8 and I picked it up from there – and away I went. I tried to get lessons and that didn’t work for me, so I was self-taught.
“I guess growing up in Tamworth, with the big music festival there, led me down that path. They reckon there’s something in the water in Tamworth.”
Zac got his start in trucking working for North West Car Carrying, owned by Shane Pendergast. He started there at 17, driving a heavy rigid on his P-plates into Brisbane and Sydney. “That was my first intro into it all,” Zac said. He was there for two years before moving to Brisbane for six months and working for Rugby Transport, where he upgraded to his MC and got his first taste in B-doubles. From there, Zac moved to Cobar, working for Andrew Koschel at GVS Freight, driving road trains.
About 12 months ago, Zac took the plunge and decided to go out on his own as an owner driver, mainly sub-contracting for GVS. “Andrew helped me get set up and I’ve bought both of my trucks through him. I’ve got a 1997 Western Star Heritage. That one has been a really good truck and has done well over 1 million kilometres. I’ve spent a bit on it in preventative maintenance but have never had any dramas with it.
“Now I’ve just bought a 2019 C509 from Andrew. It’s actually the first truck I drove when I went to Cobar and drove for him. So I’ll drive the C509 and the Western Star will become a show truck.
“The C509 is the right tool for the job, it’s specced for the outback. The reason I bought this truck is because I know the history of it and know all the drivers who’ve been in it, so I know it’s been well looked after.”
Zac moved to Darwin permanently three years ago. Asked what sparked the move, he said, “I got sick of the weather to be honest,” so he was lured somewhere warmer. “I travelled into Darwin with a bloke I worked for at the time, and quite simply fell in love with the place.
“I was only with my partner for three months at the time and I told her we were moving to Darwin. Two weeks later, we rolled in with hopes and dreams!”
Zac’s work is wide and diverse. He says his specialty is “going where no-one else wants to go… although once that left me bogged for two days.”
Just as well he keeps a guitar in his truck. “When you’re bogged like that, it’s great to have the guitar with you.”
As Zac added, “I prefer the outback work. I cart livestock, general, oversize and a bit of everything else, except for tippers. I do a lot of the cattle work in the Top End, usually six decks on a triple road train – I’m actually sitting here now waiting to load – and then the rest of the freight is Australia wide, mainly throughout the Northern Territory, into Brisbane and Perth.
“For me, I enjoy the challenge. I can’t do the same mundane thing every day. I need variety or I get bored very quickly. I enjoy being able to do different things and meet different people. I also deliver a lot of building supplies into remote Aboriginal communities, and seeing the smiles on the little kids’ faces as you pull up, you feel like a movie star. It’s that pride in knowing you’ve just delivered their two weeks’ worth of food, so you’re an important part of the puzzle for these communities.
“You also get to know a lot of these people and they get to know you. I’ve had some of the locals take me fishing at remote billabongs. To be able to walk across country that not many people have ventured, I really love that.”
Zac also revealed, “I never had a passion for music, my passion was in trucks, but then I fell into music too. I started singing at about 14. I used to go from pub to pub and follow a local band that used to play at different venues. I got in with them, and gradually they got me to sing a song here and there.
“It does get hard to juggle both – I guess I’m kind of torn between two worlds. I only have four or five main music festivals I perform at.”
Among Zac’s most recent performances was singing at the second annual mental health awareness day for the transport, rural and civil industries on October 11. Organised by Long Road Events, together with Rudd’s Pub, located in the Queensland town of Nobby, the event raised over $23,000 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
“As much as I love music and singing, I also love the driving. Thankfully my work is seasonal, so coming into wet season, I’ll go south and do some of the festivals.”
That of course includes heading back home for the famous Tamworth Country Music Festival, taking place from January 16-25. “I’ve been performing there for years,” Zac said. He’ll also head to the Sunset Boots Music Festival in Toowoomba in March.
Asked what he enjoys most about performing, Zac replied, “I enjoy bringing smiles to people’s faces, as cliché as that sounds. Trucks and music go hand in hand when I’m writing music. I’m also about to go into a studio to record my first album. It’s been about 15 years in the making!”