5 minute read
WA Transport History
By Russell McKinnon
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1982
After the Ash Wednwsday bush fires / Wikipedia
One of the biggest loads shifted in WA happened in Geraldton. Brambles Manford moved a helipad-topped accommodation block built for a production gas rig from its construction site to a barge, which would tow it to its destination on the North West Shelf. The block was 20m high and the overall weight 1454 tonnes. The load was jacked on to towing units totalling 448 wheels, then winched to the barge by two 400hp Mack prime movers. It was technically an off-road move. The record for the biggest load moved in Australia was claimed by Bell Freightlines. It was a deep-sea plough, also destined for the North West Shelf gas field, which was moved two kilometres to a testing area from its construction site at Jervoise Bay, south of Fremantle. The total weight was 555 tonnes. The plough was carried on three trailers totalling 192 wheels, hauled by four Kenworth prime movers and assisted when necessary by two Hough bulldozers.
The inaugural meeting of the Waste Management Association of WA (a division of WARTA) was held in the Association boardroom on August 26 with 12 people attending, including Association Vice-President D N Gilham. W Rees of Western Waste was elected Chairman and Cleanaway’s M Hanlon Vice-Chairman. The committee was elected at the September 21 meeting: D Keen, K Finnimore, L Knight, R Webster, M Young.
Mr Frank Legena stepped down as Chairman of the Transport and Shipping Division at the Annual General Meeting of May 12, being replaced by R Hind. Mr Legena held the position for three years and was Vice-Chairman for two years before that.
The speed limit on Eyre Highway for vehicles in excess of 4.5 tonnes (gross) was lifted to 90km/h for a 12-month trial period.
The West Australian Road Transport Industry Training Committee was attempting to register under the Associations Incorporation Act but the Corporate Affairs Office checked with WARTA for its consent. WARTA objected, saying the name was too closely related to its own name and that people would misconstrue that it was an arm of WARTA. In February 1983, WARTA did agree to the naming of the Road Transport Industry Training Committee, Western Australia.
The road transport industry in WA is responsible for more than 13,000 employees with a wages bill totalling more than $150 million. Its annual operations are worth nearly $750 million.
From $20,000 for a 10-tonne truck in the 1950s, rigs by the 1980s were costing up to $250,000.
1983
By the 1980s, some triple bottoms have convertible multi-deck layouts, enabling them to carry 140 large steers or more than 1000 sheep. With the Meekatharra railhead now a distant memory, the 450hp prime movers haul their loads direct from as far as Broome and Derby to the Midland saleyards, just outside Perth. Driven virtually non-stop by a crew of two, they complete the 2500km journey in 36 hours.
The Association opposed the proposed 20 percent sales tax on retread tyres. Soon after it was reported that due to the efforts of the ARTF and the Tyre Manufacturers’ Association, the proposed tax was withdrawn. However, it reared its ugly head again midyear with the Government deciding to start it on June 1. The Australian Automotive Chamber of Commerce took legal action against the Commissioner of Taxation.
The South West Districts Branch reported that local carriers expressed “strong feelings against the Perth-based companies who were now operating within the district”. With the expected downturn in the export of mineral sands, it was anticipated that more vehicles would be available than the volume of work that existed.
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