Tim Brown
Timothy Brown was born in November 1971. He grew up in Kongwak, country Victoria.
Tim’s love of trucks began as a young child, when his father and uncle purchased a fertiliser business, Browns Holt and Hannon, based in Leongatha, Victoria. Tim could be found hanging out at the yard and jumping in passenger seats at every opportunity. He regularly wagged school each Friday to help with the delivery to Melbourne.
Six months after he turned 18, Tim got his semi licence so he could help his dad, working in the business. He began delivering fertiliser bins to local farms in a 3070 Acco on weekends, while he completed his motor mechanic apprenticeship.
At the age of 20, Tim moved to Perth for two years, where he got a job with “Snow Grow” towing a fridge van Perth to Melbourne. Most other drivers doing the same job at the time, were 20 years his senior.
After moving back home to Leongatha, he returned to driving for Browns Holt and Hannon, until in 1996 he made his first purchase, a Kenworth T600. He started out towing a fridge van Melbourne to Sydney for ID Transport until a few years later when he purchased a single tipper to subcontract for his dad, carting fertiliser.
Tim always prided himself on having his trucks shiny, loud and fast. While having owned a Western Star Heritage 4900, Kenworth T600, Western Star Constellation (complete with train horn), Peterbilt 379 EXHD, Kenworth T900 and a Kenworth K125E, he was still always drawn to the Peterbilt’s. His favourite was a limited edition Peterbilt 379X which he bought and imported from the USA and had converted to RHD in 2007.
In 2002, Tim and his two brothers established Browns Stockfeed, with Tim continuing to cart grain from interstate. When drought struck in NSW and grain was hard to come by, Tim purchased a convertible and found general freight across to South Australia and brought grain back. He used the convertible for five years, before going back to tippers.
Memorable trips include crossing the Nullarbor in 45-degree heat with no air conditioning and having to jump into the back of the fridge van to cool off at each stop. Another favourite memory is of the times he would ‘toot’ his train horn while stopped at traffic lights causing pedestrians to jump for their life!
In 2009 Tim bought an old Kenworth K124 Cabover as a restoration project. One of Tim’s four children, Cade, inherited his passion for trucking. Together they completed the restoration just in time for the 2025 Festival of Transport.
Nowadays Tim is enjoying semi-retirement. He works locally on a part time basis driving a semi tipper. He loves reminiscing about the ‘good old days’, the places he’s travelled, the people he’s met and travelled with, blokes who have remained great mates as well as the days when there were real roadhouses, with home cooked meals and where truckers would stop for a chat.
Tim’s favourite saying is “It wasn’t a job, it was a lifestyle.”
