Driving legends - Gary ‘Gazza’ Songhurst

Gary Songhurst in 2019 with King Tut his regular drive.

Prequel

This article first was published 2019

With the recent passing or Gary, I feel is only fitting to remember his legacy and long service to an industry he was so passionate about. A good natured man of humility and humour, Gary will be missed not only by his family and friends but also those he touched during his outstanding career.  Rest well ole mate.

Just one of the stunning Mainfreight trucks Gary drove durinng his long career. The Mack Ultra-Liner cpolished and loaded for the annual Alexandra Blossum Festival where it took out the Truck of the Show award.

Gary Songhurst fits among a group of drivers that could rightly be called the legends of the highway. Here’s a driver who remains behind the wheel nearly 60 years after first slipping into the driver’s seat. Over his time in the industry Gary has ridden the various waves of a career in the truck industry. Today he has slowed down somewhat, pedalling trucks for Pyramid Trucking but not necessarily undertaking the long runs of his past. Simon Vincent looks back at Gary’s time behind the wheel.

 This is one of those jobs than has slipped through the cracks. It was suggested to me some considerable time ago that I do the story of Gary Songhurst, alternatively known as “Gazza” or “Lolly Legs”, and a start was made some years ago to get Gary’s history down on paper.

Gary’s story is one of successes and, like most of us it includes the odd set back.

I first met Gary back in the early 1990s when I was living in Dunedin. I had seen Mainfreight’s stunning Mack Ultra-Liner only once before, but it had been well publicised through trade media and had made quite the impression. You can imagine my delight finding the Mack at Mainfreight’s yard in Dunedin.

With the annual Alexandra Blossom Festival due the following weekend, Gary arranged to stay on in Dunedin doing local work just so that he might attend the show.

As expected, the immaculately turned out Mack took out the Star of the Show at the Blossom Festival.

‘Star of the Show’ at the Alexandra Blossum Festival in the early 1990s.

So, when the chance to catch up with Gary was arranged it was a great pleasure to remember some of the old times together and learn more about how he got to where he is today over a barbeque lunch and refreshments at Intercity Haulages yard in Auckland. (That will give some indication of just when this project began!)

It is obvious to see that Gary has been working in transport all his life. The plucky gentleman, who should have long since retired, shows all the signs of a hard, labour filled existence. Slightly stooped and walking in a slow measured way Gary has seen plenty of action and now his body is showing the tell-tale results of years of hard graft.

Yet suddenly, when we sit down, this older man transforms as he revels in recalling his first steps into the transport industry. His mind is sharp and there is plenty of wit to go with it.

Born in 1941, Gary started his working life at the Leyland Motors factory in Remuera in Auckland (the old Black and White bus depot) as a 15 year old boy. As an apprentice mechanic Gary learned to mend and maintain all manner of Leyland products and was also involved in the assembly and finishing of newly imported Leyland truck and bus chassis.

For the next three years Gary was employed by Leyland Motors completing his trade as a mechanic, firstly in Remuera and then in Carbine Road when the operation relocated there.

After finishing his apprenticeship, Gary moved to Bitumix as a mechanic come part time driver. This proved to be the start of a long and varied career within the road transport industry. Commers and Thames Traders were Gary’s usual mounts during his time with Bitumix.

Commers continued to feature when he moved to drive for Frank Ross in Panmure.

His next job involved moving scoria in bulk from Puketutu Island to the Mangere Airport for SF Massey. Gary was driving Whites with two axle Domett bottom dumpers and averaged 10 to 12 loads a day, the fill building what is today the Auckland International Airport.

From here, Gary moved south to Rotorua, taking a job with Bill Howell at Timber Transport, Wairoa. Bill ran Leylands at the time with a pair of Super Comets on hand. One of the Super Comets was based in Rotorua and towed a Domett two axle trailer, the other at Wairoa which operated without a trailer.

Gary would head out each morning with the trailer stacked up on top of the truck. Additionally, groceries, bread, and general freight would be neatly stacked in and around the wheels of the trailer for delivery to Murupara and points east. None of this freight was covered and, back then, the roads were still just gravel. Gary would deliver the freight along the way or would swap with the Wairoa driver and bring a truck load of timber back.

Native timber was milled from the Te Urewera forest at Ruatahuna and Te Whaiti with more native coming from the Whirinaki Forest being milled at Minginui. These mills provided the back loads Gary would return to Rotorua with, generally to Fletchers in Ngongotaha. When they towed the trailer Gary would bring home five packs of sawn timber. Otherwise the trailer would be piggy backed because the extra weight added to the traction. Like all “good” carriers of the day, rules were often only considered guidance for enforcement as they really weren’t supposed to take it past Murupara anyway.  

Whilst out doing the deliveries Gary recalled seeing the mighty loggers of the era plying the metal back roads. “Colossi” and “Brutus” from T Doidges are firmly etched into Gary’s memory and were probably the stimulus for his move to logging in the future.   

But his next move was to Goodson, also of Rotorua. Goodson ran a fleet of Bedfords, and when Gary arrived it was J and D models before the venerable TK joined the ranks. Working for Goodsons involved loads to Mt Maunganui, this route was exempt the 30 mile rail restriction as there was no rail service between these two North Island centres.

Much of the work involved bringing loads of fert back from the Mount to service the Lands and Survey blocks around Rotorua. Gary recalls that they would also deliver beer, well they were supposed to be delivering beer, but it just happened that they might have ended up “sampling” some of the load as it was delivered.

The firm also did quite a lot of work associated with the Matahina dam project.

Like most typical operators of the day, the trucks were under spec’d and over worked. One of Gary’s trucks, a TK Bedford semi, had a short deck mounted to the truck’s chassis behind the cab to increase carrying capacity. This facilitated the cartage of bulk loads such as timber on the semi, and small freight items on the truck deck.

Gary’s next move was into logging. He would work with Bob Woolston driving a Comet 90 with a single axle Fruehauf pole trailer belonging to the State Forest.

The poles on these trailers were notorious for slipping out as the wooden pole was only held in by a couple of clasps, it was not unusual for trailers to “let go” from time to time, he said.

Generally, three loads of timber were carted from the Waiotapu Forest to Waipa on the outskirts of Rotorua each day.

He would also drive the firm’s BMC (Austin Loadstar) flat deck truck hauling posts from Rainbow Mount back to Rotorua. The loads were still being hauled out of the bush by draft horses and would be stacked up against stanchions at a loading bank. Gary would back up to the loading bank, cut the stanchion rope and use the momentum of the rolling logs to load as much of the deck as possible. Once this was done, the hard work of stacking the rest by hand began.

Bob also ran an Albion Reiver which was driven by Alan Cockroft, delivering to Forest Products. Another familiar name in the team was Dennis Hassell who drove a Leyland Hippo (ex Charlie Honeycombe) and later an International R190 with a C180 Cummins (ex John Humphries) which was contracted to State Forest.

Charlie Shallcrass’s Hino ZM

After finishing with Bob, Gary started with Charlie Shallcrass who was unfortunately killed in a hunting accident. His first truck was a Commer (ex Europa) that was used to cart for Forest Products from the Rotokawa Forest (on the Broadlands Road) to Fletchers in Ngongotaha. During the summer, the Broadlands Road was a Class II road but in winter it reverted to a Class III which necessitated a longer route home via Taupo and the state highway for the journey back as greater weights could legally be carried.

After the Commer, Gary drove an Albion Reiver doing the same work, then another Commer before slipping behind the wheel of a near new bonneted 190hp Hino ZM (one of the first ones into the country). Charlie’s other driver Lloyd White was given the new Hino for its first month before moving on to a new AEC and making way for Gary on the Hino.

After Charlie died, Gary and Lloyd were kept on. Gary was on a salary of £30 which required that he drive the truck, maintain it, change and maintain the tyres and keep it clean – much like an owner driver might. The Hino did some pretty impressive work, recording the biggest load into Mt Maunganui at one stage – however it did break the chassis clean in half sometime later... Maybe those big loads were just a bit much?

Eventually the Shallcrass operation was sold to Ron Easton and Colin Richardson who traded under the Lumber Haulage banner.

Next Gary started with Stu Spooner who had brought the very first Hino into NZ. The truck was contracted to State Forests. Gary says that on the whole the Hino was good, the basic engine and gearbox package with million miler diffs proved reliable but the injectors let the truck down.

From there it was to the Hunter Bros – Colin, Phil and Elliott. Work was much the same as usual, but Fridays were for fixing up the stock cars for the coming weekends racing events. Gary even became involved in building a stock car from scratch for the brothers.

Gary remembers the Hunters as hard working guys, but like so many operators of the era, they were inclined to bend the rules on occasions to suit their own needs. Running heavy was a common practice but as soon as the weighbridge opened, the Hunters would stop their trucks before they got there. They would then send out a truck from the depot with a stiff bar and would proceed to hook it up to the inbound truck and tow it straight past the weigh station so as not to be weighed.

George Hurst’s International RF195

Gary relocated to the Mount and took up a job with George Hurst driving an International RF195 which had been repowered with a 6V53 Jimmy. George’s truck was contracted to Forest Products and used to tow a two axle spaced Domett trailer. George operated a second truck, an ex Forest Products R190 fitted with a Cummins C180.

Years later, Gary checking out the old George Hurst International he drove at a truck show. The truck, now with a Detroit Diesel, has been beautifully restored by Gerry Storey in Gisborne

Gary’s only accident with logging occurred when working for George. Out at a skid site one day the truck had just been loaded when one of the cables which held up the bolsters snapped and the load shifted, rolling the truck on its side.

Miraculously, Gary was standing by the driver’s door, which was open fortunately, and as the truck gently rolled onto its side, Gary found himself standing in the cab. The very soft ground around the truck allowed the door to just sink into the mud. Once the truck was righted, and reloaded, Gary tied the door shut and headed back with his load of logs.

NZL was the next stop for Gary, and a 130hp two stoke Foden tipper with an epicyclic gearbox was the first truck he drove for them. Gary progressed on to a bonneted White which had been repowered with a 671 straight six Detroit Diesel procured from ex-military Valentine tanks. Later the truck was repowered with a Leyland 680.

NZL would have him taking milk powder from the Mount to Napier with return loads to Rotorua. These trips would be tortuous, taking between 16 to 18 hours in 200hp trucks with poor brakes and no engine brake. The roads were still fairly primitive with the Napier Taupo section still a winding slow grind.

A line up of NZL Mercedes-Benz .

After the White came an ERF with a 250hp Cummins followed by a Mercedes Benz 1924 towing A-Train drop side tipping trailers which were used to carry fert, timber, steel, wool and general freight.

Pan Pac at Whirinaki was due to open at the end of March 1971 and they were looking for the cream of the driving crop to fill their fleet of new Kenworths. Gary was employed as one of the drivers alongside such well-known names as Gary Lord, Cliff Hair, Ross Douglas, George Hurst, Ray Eru, Joe Skudder, Alex Tautau, Brian Glennie, Reg Davis, Bruce Wastick, Rolly Berquist, Bruce Andrews, Brian Kent, Don Logan, Mick Malone, Wayne Bennet, Robbie Caulfield and John Anderson.

The brand new Pan Pac Kenworths delivered to Mills-Tui in Rotorua to have the logging gear fitted.

Gary moved south to the Hawkes Bay and whilst waiting for the trucks to be finished at Domtrac in Palmerston North, he spent time driving for local contractors the McKinne Bros. If there were no driving jobs around he’d find work around the Pan Pac factory as construction and the commissioning work was completed.

Some years later, orange and green LW Kenworths as far as the eye can see parked on the lawn in front of the Pan Pac mill.

Once the Kenworth LWs were finished, all the drivers were sent over to Palmerston North to collect their trucks and deliver them to Mills Tui in Rotorua to have the logging gear fitted. Gary clearly remembers, they took over rental cars from the Hawkes Bay, and there may have been the odd refreshment along the way. Once they arrived at Dalhoff & King he recalls it was like a Le Mans start as the drivers raced to a truck before starting on the trip up the road. It is reputed to have taken the team two days to get home from Rotorua!

Gary started on a 335hp (number 57 - later remumbered to 96) LW Kenworth.

Gary’s first 335hp LW Kenworth was No.57 which was fitted with a load dividing dolly and towed a two axle log trailer. Working alongside the Pan Pac Kenworths was a small team of outside contractors including Alf Walling, John Pulham, Grant Robinson, Jim Brown and Barry Sinton. Together they carted pulp logs from the Ponderosa Block (over the 60/8 weigh bridge) back to the brand new mill.

When the second batch of Kenworths arrived with the more powerful 350hp Cummins, Gary was given fleet number 79.

Gary later moved on to this 350hp Cummins powered Kenworth at Pan Pac.

After eight years of hauling logs, Gary jumped the ditch doing a two year stint in Australia. There he did some town delivery and swaps before returning home.

Back in New Zealand, Ken McLeod at West City Haulage in Auckland was advertising for a driver with Roadranger experience to drive one of his Kenworths. Gary got the job and was soon carting Sea Freighters (early 14’6” folding side containers specifically designed for the Coastal Trader vessel).

Ken McLeod’s West City Haulage contracted Kenworth W900 with a self steering flat deck semi trailer waiting to be loaded.

Initially he was collecting and delivering the Sea Freighters from the wharf for New Zealand Freighters. Then he was carrying them for the fledgling Mainfreight business. To begin with the Sea Freighters were loaded onto pull trailers towed behind the Kenworth. When Ken purchased an old Leyland Mammoth Major (ex United Carriers) eight wheeler truck with a three axle trailer, they could carry two containers at a time.

Mainfreight soon figured out just how much it was costing them to have West City do all this cartage, so they purchased the Leyland and got Gary to move across as part of the deal. This made Gary Mainfreight’s very first employed driver. The Leyland, now known as ‘Wonder Wheels’, was repainted into the striking blue and white livery and a bunch of extras were added to improve the looks of the old truck.

‘Wonder Wheels’ a Leyland Mammoth Major ex West City Haulage improved carrying capacity as it could deliver two Sea Freights at a time. Gary transferred across to Mainfreight at the same time to take over the wharf work.

At that stage, the rail restrictions still applied and, theoretically, Gary should have contained his area of operation to a 150km radius around Auckland. Being founded on the premise of “service”, Mainfreight were not going to be bounded by such minor inconveniences he reckoned. If the rail or the Coastal Trader couldn’t take their freight, Gary would be sent off to make the delivery.

‘Wonder Wheels’ got to see a lot of the New Zealand country side, legally or not. She would slip into Christchurch and immediately be hidden behind the locked doors of the Tuam Street Christchurch depot. Once safely away from prying eyes, Gary would be fed a roast and watered, the truck unloaded and reloaded. Under cover of darkness he would slip back out onto the highway to head home.

Then came what was at the time one of the most stunning rigs on the road, and Gary was slated to be the driver. Mainfreight owners Bruce Plested and Neil Graham purchased their first Mack (an FR model registered JJ2001) at the Duke of Wellington pub in Auckland from Mack salesman John Hollows. This was the first of many and when the third FR Mack arrived, Gary was given this one new too.

These Macks, like ‘Wonder Wheels’ got to see plenty of the country. Gary recalls that in the early days of “unofficially line hauling”, he would only see trucks from Nupins, JD Lyons and some of the vegetable growers away from home.

After de-regulation in 1983 Gary would be seen all over the country regularly hauling to Dunedin Christchurch or Wellington.

After the FR Macks came the famed Ultra-Liner, powered by a straight six, which was only the second or third eight wheeler to go on the road in the country. (Choosing the six cylinder engine always seemed an unusual choice to me and I put it down to being a company truck, especially when everyone else was putting the thumping great V8s under the cabs.)

The Ultra-Liner trekked all over the country and is seen here in Invercargill.

As the driver of the truck, Gary was given the choice of engine prior to it being ordered, and he chose the straight six. This was probably fortuitous as about five years later he purchased the truck and operated as an independent owner driver for Mainfreight. Gary says that Mainfreight certainly looked after the truck, everything that was needed was done without question.

Gary went onto a swap run with Wayne Maskill, this pair were so certain that each would look after the other’s truck that they used to swap trucks at Stag Park, Gary returning to Auckland and Wayne heading south once again. After two years Gary replaced his trailer but things took a turn for the worse with family difficulties forcing him to sell the truck.

Chemcouriers subbie, Mike Ngawati’s stunning Mack CL in an earlier livery.

Gary was fortunate enough to pick up some relief work for a Chemcouriers subbie, Mike Ngawati. This work built and Gary ended up doing two trips a week for Mike in a V8 powered Mack CL. By this time Mike had moved to RFL/Tranzlink Refrigerated.

And the same truck this time contracted to RFL.

Local work beckoned and Gary was back in Auckland, working for Peter Black delivering machinery in an S Line with a two axle trailer combination. Peter did a lot of work for Balle Bros. and soon a three axle trailer was obtained, and later, a T650 Kenworth (ex Ross Johnson) as its prime mover. They delivered a swag of second-hand machinery and, when not shifting machines, Gary would be carting produce or doing farm shifts.

Peter Black’s Kenworth T650 and transporter delivering machinery around the Auckland and surrounding areas.

Unfortunately, Gary suffered an injury to his foot doing this work (he nearly ripped a toe off), and so had to take some time off. To get back into work Gary was odd jobbing, and quietly he started doing a bit of part time work for InterCity Haulage owner Jim Glasgow. At that stage Jim was still subbing to Super Freight, running predominantly Internationals, doing line-haul for them.

Gary found work with Jim Glasgow at InterCity initially driving Internationals.

As time passed Gary became a full time employee. When Jim was pushed out on his own, Gary went too. Gary spent 12 years working for Jim at InterCity, ending up punting one of the company’s Mack Tridents up and down the highway, or doing local deliveries with one of the skeletal trailers.

When InterCity Haulage was sold to Pyramid Trucking around 2010 Gary was officially without a job.

Initially he was a casual with Pyramid, but within about three months he was permanently employed.

Since then Gary has been through five new trucks. The first was a DAF eight wheeler which was followed by a Kenworth T409 in Chappell Carriers colours, Kenworth T408 SAR, a six wheeler Mitsubishi Fuso Fighter and, most recently, a Fuso Canter. 

It’s a laugh a minute in the Pyramid smoko room and the camaraderie between Gary, Mike Lidgard and dispatcher Paul Burgin is not only clearly visible, but also makes for an enjoyable workplace for mates. Thursday night is always a boys’ night out for the trio where more fun and plenty of diesel is burned.

Paul has nothing but praise for Gary, his enthusiasm, work ethic, abilities and his dedication to the job. He did mention that whilst Gary might have the body of an 80 year old, he still thinks he’s 40! Paul ensures Gary is kept busy while making sure he’s given jobs more suited to an elder statesman. 

Gary could have retired back in 2006 aged 65, but at 78 he still relishes the challenge of coming to work every day. While Gary can still hop up into that cab, I see little likelihood of him giving up. Like so many truckers, trucking is like a disease, and once caught, it is hard to shake off.  Gary has given a lot to the industry he loves, and his contribution has helped a lot of other people as they worked toward their own goals.

What will be missed by those who know him when he finally steps away from the industry he loves is Gary’s wicked sense of humour and his ability to laugh, even at his own stuff ups. In the meantime he’ll be in the yard at 5.30am every morning come rain or shine, raring to get going…

Thanks to all those who willingly share the photos for our enjoyment: Simon Vincent, Andrew Geddes, Big Rig Fotos - Ed Mansell, Kerry Hill, Mainfreight Collection, Grant Schofield, Nigel Turner, Trevor Cunningham, The late Stu Barnes Collection, Rufus Carr Collection, Ben Uncles, Gary Songhurst and the Norm Bruce Collection.