Gary Fuller
Gary Lewis Fuller, AKA Sparrow, was born in Grafton NSW in January 1955. Gary is married to Marion and they have two daughters, Megan and Amanda. Gary started his driving career for RJ & GJ Lynch in South Grafton in 1977 driving an International body truck delivering bricks from South Grafton Brickworks around the north coast including Coffs Harbour, Maxville, Lismore, Glen Innis and Gyra.
Then, in 1978 Bary worked for George Yager, driving a 190 International with a 160 Cummins towing a single deck trailer carting cattle from Moree Sale Yards to South Grafton abattoirs most nights. In 1979 Gary moved to the NT and his first job was mustering cattle on Kurundi Station at Hatches Creek, before trucking them into Cabbage Gum Yards at Tennant Creek. Gary recalled, “That ended my career with cattle: all my driving after that has been road train work doing general freight, fuel and gas.”
In 1980 Gary started with Golf Trans, Ascots and then Shell as well as Boral Gas in Alice Springs. During this time, he was driving an Autocar with a NTA 400 Cummins. In 1981 he moved over to Timor Transport and drove a B Series Atkinson with an 8V92 TA GM. It was here he got his first new prime mover when in 1983, he began driving a W Model Kenworth with a Cat 3406 A 400HP.
After leaving Timor Transport Gary drove for Dean McBride doing TNT Darwin Express completing five trips a fortnight. It was hard work as he had to unload all three vans and be back in Alice the next afternoon to catch the train. From there Gary moved to Boral in 1986, driving a Volvo body truck towing a small dog trailer servicing Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Yulara and Granites Gold on the Tanami. This in turn led to an opportunity with IR Cootes in Adelaide in 1994 which lasted 6 years, which saw Gary driving a K100E Cabover B-Double which he shared with Kim Rich (RIP). Gary recalls, ‘We did trip on, trip off, doing Elgas Mildura and Horsham, also Mobil Comsley in Brisbane. For this work we had a new K100 Kenworth in 1998 when they came out.
Gary and Marion moved back to Alice Springs in 2000 to be near their daughters. In 2000 he had employment with GKT and a second run with McBride’s before starting with NT Fuels in March 2001. For the next 17 years he did the Tanami Fuel Run to the Old Tanami Mine and the Granites Gold Mine.
Northfuel’s took over the Granites contract, so Gary had the same equipment but different shirts. He then got a new 605 Kenworth with a long wheelbase and six rod suspension which was probably the best riding truck on the dirt he had ever driven. Gary went with Directhaul when they won the contract, meaning there was “another new shirt”. They had six new 509 Kenworth Tri Drives with 3 trailer combinations and CTI air from front to back, which was one of the best systems Gary ever worked with.
Toll then took over the contract “and yes another different shirt”. Gary was driving one of a fleet of seven Western Star Tri Drives with quads, 2 trailer and B-Double combinations which he believed were uncontrollable over 85 kms until the drivers were allowed to put the B-Double at the front, which sorted the problem.
Gary finished with Toll in 2019, then tried to go back to LPG but didn’t like it, so he started with Refuel Australia in 2020 doing local bush work to communities where he got a new 909 Kenworth to do Adelaide to Alice with 3 trailers of Petrol.
Gary tried to retire when he turned 67 then 68 then 69 but due to the lack of available skilled labour to replace him, he is still at it.
