Third-generation truckie Living the dream at just 23

BY ALF WILSON

AGED just 23, William Brecht drives a Volvo from Redlands. Big Rigs saw him at a pull off area near Beaudesert and he was happy to chat.

Brecht said he travels about a 200km radius from his depot, picking up rubbish, recycling, and other items.

“I have been a truck driver for about three years and en- joy it,” he said.

He knows that he is very young to be a driver but was surprised when I told him the average age was in the late fifties. Brecht however does not have any ambitions to move up to drive much bigger trucks.

“I love this job too much and the company is great to work for,” he said.

I asked Brecht if he has to travel along many rough roads in the beautiful part of Queensland he gets to.

“Some of the dirt roads to rural properties can be corrugated,” he said.

His hobbies include riding motorbikes and he has a Royal Enfield which is his pride and joy.

“I also like fishing but haven’t had time to do it for a while,” he said. Brecht said he would recommend truck driving to other young people.

BY ALF WILSON

COOPER Anning has the bloodlines to be a truckie as his dad Ray and grandfather Brian were drivers too.

I saw the 24-year-old near his Kenworth 601 parked up a rest area beside the New England Highway, near Branxton.

Anning lives at Narromine and works for Aaron Pearce Transport which is based at nearby Trangie which is in the Orana region of NSW.

“I cart wheat from farms to Cardiff and can travel 500km. Usually we get a backload of fertiliser,” he said.

Anning said he always wanted to follow his dad and granddad into the road transport industry.

“I love the job and wouldn’t do anything else,” he said.

His favourite stop off is the Sandy Hollow Roadhouse and the most challenging road he travels on is between Branxton and Dunedoo.

The first two trucks he drove were a CH Mack and a Kenworth T400.

“I learnt to drive in the Mack and have fond memories,” he said.

A Parramatta Eels supporter in the NRL, Anning likes fishing when he gets leisure time.

“My best spot is in the Macquarie River,” he said.

Amongst the younger truckies in Australia, Anning urged more people of his age to seek a career in the industry.