FEATURE
Big trucks. Big crowd. And a big milestone. By Colin Smith Photos: David Kinch, Mack Trucks and Colin Smith
THE 50 YEARS OF MACK TRUCKS IN NEW ZEALAND CELEBRATION proved to be a very popular Labour weekend holiday attraction in the Manawatu. With 172 trucks and about 1000 registered guests in attendance, the event also filled the car parking at Manfeild Park with venue officials reporting the attendance as their being largest in 20 years. The milestone in question was 50 years since the first Mack truck was assembled in New Zealand by Motor Truck Distributors. The Manawatu region is the New Zealand home of the bulldog 66 | Truck & Driver
marque with assembly starting at its Malden St, Palmerston North facility in 1972. The facility still serves as the New Zealand HQ for the brand, although trucks are now imported from the Wacol plant in Queensland. Mack gathered on a cool and clear Saturday morning to form a convoy from Malden St to Feilding’s Manfeild Park with plenty of waving locals and keen photographers along the route. The Manfeild display was an indoor-outdoor event with trucks from as far north as Kaitaia and from throughout the South Island.
