After losing both parents just three months apart, this transport operator has dedicated his two newest trucks in their honour.
Despite sporting the company’s signature vibrant blue hue, a new Kenworth T659 named ‘Till We Meet Again’ and a Kenworth Legend SAR called ‘The Matriarch’ stand out among the other trucks in M.Camilleri Haulage’s fleet.
Based in the Sydney suburb of Maroota, M.Camilleri Haulage was started in 2015 by Michael ‘Mick’ Camilleri.
As he explained the two special trucks are dedicated to his mother Carmen Camilleri, who passed away on June 6, 2023, at just 71 years of age; and his father Charlie Camilleri, who passed away on September 29 the same year, aged 78.
‘Till we meet again’ and ‘The Matriarch’ are the pride of the fleet. Image: M.Camilleri Haulage“Dad was still working on the farm for 10 hours a day, but then he became unwell and passed away suddenly only three months after mum. Being such a great father and role model I thought it was fitting to pay tribute to him with this truck,” said Mick.
He already had the Legend SAR on order and before the truck was delivered, his mother sadly passed away from cancer. So he made the decision to dedicate that truck in her honour, naming it ‘The Matriarch’.
“After everything that had happened, I thought it was a nice way to pay tribute to my mum.”
“I wanted something more subtle for her, so I had some fuchsias put on there, as she used to love growing fuchsias,” Mick revealed.
It features intricate scroll and linework, along with Carmen’s name and the words: “Life isn’t measured by the years you live, but by the love you gave and the things you did.” This was all completed by Grant Fowler Signs in Victoria.
“Through all of it, Grant Fowler was amazing. Through all the phone calls – there were some emotional times on the phone with him. With that first truck he did, I told him I just wanted some nice scrolls, soft colours and that sort of thing, and he absolutely nailed it,” Mick added.
That Legend SAR is being driven with pride by long-time company driver Russell Hitchcock. “He’s one of our great drivers. I’ve got a great team and wouldn’t be able to do what I do if it wasn’t for the team I have helping me along the way.”
Mick drives the T659 dedicated to his father, while a long time company driver is behind the wheel of the Legend SAR dedicated to his mother. Image: M.Camilleri HaulageMore recently in mid-November, the new T659 named ‘Till We Meet Again’ hit the road, with Mick behind the wheel.
“I ordered this truck about two years ago and it came off-line around the middle of June. It took five months to get from how it came out of the factory to where it is now,” he said.
The T659 underwent a great deal of customisation to get it looking its best. Mick explained that this truck was also sent to Grant Fowler Signs, which completed all the sign-writing and scroll-work, to match with the Legend SAR. It also went to Trafalgar Panels which removed the five tanks and painted them in the company’s signature blue. The truck then headed to Custom Air in Melbourne for a full fit-out, including fridges and microwaves. And was sent to Armoury Group to be specced up with a new set of wheels, additional lighting, chrome work and painted deck plates.
But perhaps the most striking feature of the T659 is the airbrushed mural feature of Charlie. It was completed by artist Tony Vowles using metallic silver and black paint to capture an incredible amount of detail.
The mural is based on two photos of Charlie.
“The main photo of dad was taken about six years ago and was just a beautiful photo of him. And then there’s a photo of him on the farm with his dog Mandy.”
Trucking in the blood
Mick, who is pretty much on the road full time while at the same time running his business, has been around trucks for as long as he can remember.
These latest trucks are part of a fleet of nine – all Kenworths except for one Isuzu rigid – that are used for flat top work, predominantly carting timber, sandstone, turf and steel off the wharf. M.Camilleri Haulage’s trucks travel across New South Wales, as well as into Melbourne and Brisbane.
“My family has always been in transport, through my father and my uncles, who always had trucks. But they were more of a tool of the trade for them,” he said.
“Dad and his brothers had a rendering plant where they’d process animal by-products from abattoirs and processing plants. They had about six or seven trucks to service that business.
“My dad also had a farm, growing cabbages, cauliflower, lettuce, and in the later years tomatoes and peaches, so they’d use the trucks to take the produce to markets too.”
While his father Charlie never drove trucks, Mick’s uncles did, and he says that they, along with many of the other drivers there, took him under their wing.
The M.Camilleri Haulage fleet. Image: M.Camilleri Haulage“They had some old Accos, S-Lines and a 4200 International Transtar. I was about 15 when I started learning how to drive the trucks. The other drivers all taught me a few things,” Mick recalled.
“I always loved trucks – I grew up in them, going for rides with my uncles and dad’s drivers when I was a kid.”
“I remember the little window on the door of those old trucks, that I’d be able to see out of while I’d sit on the floor.
“I was always driving around the yard. But once I got my truck licence, the first truck I drove on the road legally was a single axle Leyland Mastiff with a 2-speed diff.”
Mick also started his career working by his father’s side. “I worked in all aspects of dad’s business – farming, in the processing plant, and then I went into the workshop working on the trucks and learning the basics. I’m not a mechanic and I don’t work on any of my trucks now, but it’s good to have that knowledge,” he added.
When Mick first went out completely on his own, he admitted he thought he’d be happy with a truck or two – “but it never really happened like that”, he laughed.
Although he loves being out on the road, it of course does come with its sacrifices. “I have two kids – a seven-year-old son and five-year-old daughter. So while I run the business, my wife Hannah looks after the kids and brings them up.
“The nights I’m away though, it’s very hard.”
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