Colin Murphy

Colin Murphy, known as Col, was born in May 1957, in Melbourne, Victoria. Colin began his working career as a panel-beater, having completed his apprenticeship in 1975 aged 18. Colin soon decided, however, that it was driving trucks that he wanted to do. His career in the transport industry began shortly afterwards and this is where he really excelled.

Simply put, Colin always loved trucks. Not surprisingly, his father, Lawrence John Murphy -himself a nominated Truckie’s Hall of Fame inductee - was there to guide his son in driving trucks. Uniquely, Colin – who is less than 20 years younger than his father – did a substantial part of his interstate truck driving in tandem with his father’s truck driving. 

However, Colin’s own record in truck driving speaks for itself. From the start of his trucking career in 1976 until he finished in 2022, Colin drove his own trucks as he has owned and operated several of them.

When Colin purchased his first truck aged 19 in 1976 - an International R 200 Single Drive - he drove it as a subcontractor for Ted Whitehead. Col collected squashed car bodies from all around Victoria and took them to Simsmetal in Brooklyn for shredding.

Colin purchased his next truck in 1977, an S2 Kenworth and he began driving general freight both interstate and in country Victoria. In 1989 Colin purchased a Cab Over Kenworth and started carting containers from the wharf and also carrying general freight. On weekends, Colin helped out his truckie mates by driving their vehicles interstate for them, including trips to Port Augusta and Ceduna. In 2002 Colin purchased a W Model Kenworth and a refrigerated trailer and carted yoghurt from the Jalna factory in Thomastown to distribution centres all over Melbourne until he retired in 2022.

Colin prides himself that he has driven many of the better class Kenworth trucks in a career that has extended over 46 years or more. Many of Colin’s wide range of friends wouldn’t hesitate to steal the lyrics of Slim Dusty’s song, ‘I love to have a drink with Col, cos Col’s me mate!’