Timothy Bunyan
Tim Bunyan was born in December 1958 in Cunnamulla, Queensland. Tim’s love of trucks began as a child. He was only 14 years of age when he began carting logs with his dad. This led to leaving school early and to learning the ropes of truck driving. Tim was 18 years of age when he got his licence, at which point he started working for Ken Hilder, carting cotton. Tim stayed with Ken for about eight years.
Later, Tim was employed by Shaws Transport. Years of quietly achieving his workday goals were the norm, with calm confidence and a good work ethic. Then one night, the Angellala Bridge disaster occurred. On the night of September 5, 2014, Tim played a crucial role in rescuing a truck driver following a serious accident near Charleville in southwestern Queensland.
At approximately 9pm, a B-double truck carrying over 52 tonnes of highly explosive chemicals (ammonium nitrate) veered off the Angellala Creek Bridge on the Mitchell Highway, crashing and igniting into flames. The severely injured driver managed to escape from the truck’s cabin and crawled onto the road shoulder in the hope of being found. Tim was the first to arrive at the scene and was soon joined by another truck driver. Together, they observed the truck’s cabin engulfed in flames, melting from the intense heat, while small explosions erupted, sending black smoke and flames soaring 10 meters into the air. Despite the extreme danger, the two men remained on-site, administering first aid and providing reassurance to the injured driver.
Shortly afterward, four firefighters from the Charleville Station of the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) arrived. Aware of the imminent threat of a massive explosion, they nonetheless stayed to assist. Moments later, the truck detonated, propelling debris into the air. A second explosion and shockwave followed, causing extensive destruction in the vicinity.
Tim, the assisting truck driver, the injured truck driver, and the four QFES firefighters all suffered significant injuries, as they were only about 30 metres from the blast. The QFES firefighters and the assisting truck driver managed to walk away from the site and encountered a Queensland Police Officer and a QFES Inspector. They informed them that Tim and the injured truck driver remained at the scene where toxic smoke was spreading from the crash site. Emergency responders quickly removed and transported the injured to hospital.
The road bridge, rail bridge and surrounding bush land were completely destroyed in the blast, as were some of the responder vehicles. Through his selfless actions, Tim demonstrated exceptional bravery in the face of grave danger. In 2016, Tim was awarded the Clark Gold Medal for bravery by the Governor General at that time, Sir Peter Cosgrove AK CVO MC.
Tim attempted to return to full time work after the accident, but he was never able to regain the full fitness needed to sustain driving. He has since retired from the trucking game and lives quietly with his family in rural New South Wales. His family remain very proud of this exceptional man.
