The Ray Gilleland collection

Well guys......My wonderful loving wife has managed to track me down a copy of Ray's new book......Bloody hard to find here in Tassie.....Got it last night and am currently 3/4 the way through it..... I have read the draft copies many times.......Now that I know exactly what photos are in it I will post them first then go through the others.


I will start on page 24 with this photo of a boundry gate on the Nullabor


Water Tanks under a tin roof to catch the rain ....when it comes


The Perth Express Albion HD 53...note that this photo has been cropped in the book

The MG TD


The Nullabor Kid ..... in his first semi....Cover Girl


A Mercury Tspt Albion HD 53 stuck in the mud

Did those blokes ever get out by digging or did they wait till it dried out,or would another truck be able to pull them out,We had a dodge 760 V8 semi with a pusher axle on the trailer with around 18 tonne load stuck on side of road in the mid 1960s,one drive wheel down and trailer down one side ,we had 4 tractors [40 hp tractors]and the truck only moved when the engine in truck had not stalled,only moved about a couple of feet each time ,but it wasn't doing the clutch any good.
Colin

From what Ray told me they used a combination of those......I guess what ever was availible at the time and depending where they were

That number plate on the Commer [cover girl]is it a NSW plate ,why you ask,if it is Nsw it should start with F not an A
Colin

yes it is but this photo would have been taken in about 1952ish and the truck was a couple of years old by then.

OK then when did NSW go from black and white plates to yellow and black and did they go to a F starting plate then for road taxed trucks or later.
Colin

That number plate on the Commer [cover girl]is it a NSW plate ,why you ask,if it is Nsw it should start with F not an A
Colin

"F" d if I know

Actually Mairjimmy that photo shows the single axle version of the trailer .... Which was later changed to twin axle, single wheels.....which would date it around 1950 .... Acording to what Ray told me

A story from Ray's collection....Part 1

The End of the Road


As the years rolled by, into the 1960