Eddy Lang
Eddy-Lee Lang was born in June 1974 in Collarenebri, north-western NSW. His father, Arthur Lang, drove trucks carting grain, wool, cotton and livestock. His grandfather, Ernie Earl, drove both trucks and horse teams doing the same, along with delving bore drains and earthmoving. Even Eddy’s great-grandfather worked the same way.
As a kid, Eddy once tried to stow away in a black Mack owned by his uncle. He nearly made it all the way to Brisbane. At around 12 or 13, Eddy was already driving trucks for his dad; Arthur had been drinking, so Eddy took the wheel. A local copper pulled them over, looked at the situation and said Eddy was probably in better shape to be driving anyway. Another time, while hauling three decks of sheep, a police officer asked to see his licence. Arthur nodded and said, “Well, show him your licence, boy!” Needless to say, Eddy had some explaining to do.
Eddy’s first job in the early 90s was with an earthmoving outfit ran by Dick Sudholz in Goondiwindi. Here, he drove machines and the truck with a float. Not long after, Eddy was hauling pebble lime from the Attunga mine to Newcastle in an S-Line truck and dog.
Over his career, Eddy has driven just about everything: International, ACCO, Atkinson, UD, Mack, Kenworth, Western Star, and Volvo. The only one he hasn’t driven is a Peterbilt, though he did admire a mate’s while in the U.S. These days, Eddy is behind the wheel of a Kenworth C509 that he’s specced out exactly how he wants.
Eddy has covered the country hauling grain, hay, livestock, wool, and taking on heavy haulage and earthmoving work. There are stories to match. One of the more memorable jobs was hauling a 4-metre-high,13-metre-long steel dinosaur frame to Coonabarabran in the 1990s. It was transported on an extendable trailer and would later be fiberglassed. The remnants of it are still there today.
Some of Eddy’s favourite jobs were the Weipa runs, hauling gear for work on the RAAF Base Scherger runway. Why? Remote, quiet and no caravans.
Today, Eddy is the Heavy Haulage Manager at Roadwork Industries, managing four trucks and their drivers while still keeping a hand on the wheel himself. He says his favourite run is out to Alice Springs for the good roads and clean run, unless it’s winter when he reckons caravaners are out in their millions. When he’s not working, Eddy is at home with his wife Beth and their two kids. Eddy was a bull rider in his youth and now proudly watches his kids follow in his footsteps on the rodeo circuit.
