Hard working young livestock operator celebrated at awards

Growing up in the family business, Rhys Johnson got the trucking bug early on – and his trucking know-how, enthusiasm and commitment to the industry has seen him recognised with a recent award.

Last month, the Livestock and Rural Transporters Association of Queensland (LRTAQ) named Rhys as the winner of its coveted 2025 Young Person in Transport Award.

At just 28 years of age, Rhys has already become part owner of livestock transport business Dulacca Transport, alongside continuing to do the hard yards out on the road as a livestock truckie and spending years finessing his mechanical skills as a diesel mechanic.

“My parents have had trucks since I was a young fella,” he told Big Rigs. “They bought Dulacca Transport in 2004, when I was in about grade 4.”

An eight-year-old Rhys poses with one of the family’s trucks. Image: Dulacca Transport

Originally from Boona, near Ipswich, he and his family then made the move to the small rural town of Dulacca, in Queensland’s Western Downs region – some 5.5 hours away.

As Rhys explained, “My parents had one body truck and one prime mover but were looking to get into something bigger. They wanted to move out west. There were a few companies for sale at the time and this one was the right fit. They always had land and wanted a big block of land around here.

“As a kid, on weekends I’d be over in the shed or going in the truck with the old man all the time. I’d come home from school and help in the shed where I could,” added Rhys.

“I always liked fixing things, so thought I’d do an apprenticeship.”

Dulacca Transport carts cattle right across Queensland. Image: Dulacca Transport

Rhys moved to Roma to complete his apprenticeship as a diesel fitter. “Then I got signed up and did a few more years as a diesel mechanic for another company over there.”

After honing his skills under the hood, the time was right to come home. “I wanted to have a go at driving. I was on the spanners since I left school, then I got my truck licence at 21 and I’ve been driving them for about five or six years,” Rhys explained, adding that in 2019 he bought into the business as a part owner, alongside his parents Gary and Lynda Johnson.

The Dulacca Transport fleet consists of seven prime movers – all Kenworths, including T659, T909 and C509 models, used to transport cattle across Queensland. “We’ve had a good run out of the Kenworths. They’ve been good to us so we’ve always stuck with them,” added Rhys.

You’ll usually find him out on the road five days a week, behind the wheel of his 2022 Kenworth C509, pulling B-doubles and road trains. A true family business, Rhys’ father is also behind the wheel of one of the trucks, while his mother manages the office. More recently his younger siblings joined Dulacca Transport too, with sister Shayla, 25, in the office, and his brother Liam, 23 working as a truck driver, along with being a qualified diesel mechanic.

“All three of our kids are now employed at Dulacca Transport,” said Lynda. “And we’re very proud of them all.”

The company has seven Kenworths in the fleet, including a mix of T659, T909 and C509 models. Image: Dulacca Transport

As Rhys spoke to Big Rigs, he was out on the road. “I’m in Rolleston, heading down empty to the Arcadia Valley to load cattle, which I’ll bring up to Rockhampton.”

Asked what he enjoys most about the work, Rhys answered promptly. “It differs every day. You get to go to all these different places and see new things all the time. Some days it’s the short runs and some it’s the long runs. As the work comes in, we see where everyone is to work out who goes where.

“I enjoy driving the trucks and working on them; and being able to get out there and meet new people too.”

Rhys received the 2025 Young Person in Transport Award at the Bull Carters Ball, held on Friday February 14, as part of the LRTAQ 2025 Annual Conference on the Gold Coast. He was named the winner out of a group of four finalists and says he was thrilled by the win. “It was exciting to know I was nominated but I was surprised to win it – although I was hopeful.”

Rhys got to celebrate the win together with his parents who also attended the event.

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