A trusty old Chev truck which will be 100 years old in two years time is still being driven on a property in the beautiful Huon Valley region of southern Tasmania.
The 1927 Chev is owned by 81-year-old Roger Linnell who lives on acreage 3km from the scenic town of Huonville.
Roger reckons there would not be many drivers in Australia aged over 60 who own a truck still in use which is older than them.
“My father Pat purchased the Chev in 1927 and it has given my family great service for many years carting apples and other material,” Roger said.
He has suffered two brain embolisms during the past few years which has slowed him down and prevented him from driving it.
“But my 37-year-old son drives it around our property with me as a passenger and it is still a workhorse even though we don’t have it registered for use on the roads,” Roger added.
It has a four-cylinder motor and sits in a cobweb covered shed on the property. Most times it starts first pop after being cranked up.
A Huon Valley truck driver who is a great friend of Roger described him as a local legend and the truck as an historical treasure.
“The Chev and Roger remind me of the former television show ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’ with Jed Clampett as the star.”
Most older readers would have watched the Beverly Hillbillies but for those younger ones who haven’t, it was an American comedy series originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971.
The series was about a poor backwoods family transplanted to Beverly Hills, California, after striking oil on their land. The family travelled to the American big smoke in an old truck.
Roger’s property is situated about 40km south of Hobart and is so isolated it could be from another part of the world.
Sometimes Roger drops into the Franklin Hotel in the Huon Valley to catch up with old mates from the road transport industry.
“I do enjoy it when I get there and we talk about old times,” he said.
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