Wayne Cross

Wayne “Crossy” Cross was born in Bairnsdale Victoria on the 7th of February 1949. Crossy is a well-known and respected log truck driver whose career has spanned over 60 years and included driving trucks of all makes and models.

Crossy’s love for truck driving began when he was only 12 years old, driving with his uncle carting cattle and sheep around East Gippsland in a Commer Knocker livestock tray truck.

At the age of 17, he worked for the Mount Taylor Forest Commission driving a bulldozer, pushing in bush tracks. One of the bulldozers is still named after him, “Waynes track”. This is when the truck driving bug well and truly bit him. From the early days until his retirement this year, only the best truckies could keep up with him on the bush roads.

He drove many different trucks for different employers over the years, carting logs, pulp and machinery. These included an International AB 180, KT Bedford with V671 GM, the first Isuzu log truck in Australia, a Mack B61Bogie drive as well as Volvos and Kenworth’s.

In 2009, after 37 years of driving trucks for other people, Crossy decided to become an owner driver, purchasing his first truck - a Kenworth T908. With his first logging cartage contract secured, this was the start of his company WC and EA CROSS PTY LTD.

Over the next 13 years, he worked carting logs throughout Victoria, NSW, and even QLD carting salvage timber from Cyclone Yasi clean ups. In that time, he bought numerous new Kenworth trucks with folding kennedy log trailer setups on the back.

It was always “Just one more truck and that will do me until I retire” …. That was about 4 trucks ago!

Wayne retired in early 2024, and although he was not ready to retire, he had no choice due to the government stopping native logging.

Wayne is now catching up on jobs for his wife Elaine as well as working on his farm. However, for those who know Crossy, know he would much rather be in the driver’s seat of a truck.

Inducted in 2024