Every truck Paul Fellows owns is special in its own right, but there’s only one that he refers to as the “community’s truck”.
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Taking pride of place in his shed is a 1984 K125 Cabover Kenworth which once belong to trucking industry colleague and “true gentleman” Alan Murphy.
Paul’s dream rig, he said once he had it in his grasp he couldn’t bear to rebrand the truck in his Fellows colours.
Instead, the truck has been restored as a lasting tribute to Alan and his family’s business - J Murphy & Sons - which, while no longer operating, is a Deni icon having been established in 1922.
It was almost new when Paul first set eyes on the truck, and he’s had a special and emotional connection to it ever since.
It was the very truck that helped him set up his new life in Deniliquin, delivering sheep to his farm after relocating from Queensland. Alan was behind the wheel.
He admired the truck from afar for several years after, drawn to it every time he spotted it on the road or going from farm-to-farm across the region.
He finally got his chance to drive it, once the truck has passed to its second owner.
“Lindsay Park owned it by this stage, and he was working with us stripping rice on Noel Graham’s property.
“Something was needed from in town, and he asked if I would be okay in it. I couldn’t believe I’d finally get to drive it.”
After a few minutes into that first drive, Paul realised something was not quite right.
“It’s got an air seat, and I was driving into town it kept going down. I had to continually pump it back up.
“Funnily enough, when I bought it myself 25 years later, I’d not long driven away with it when the seat went down. All these years later, and it was still causing trouble.
“When I investigated, I noticed that a nut holding the air line to the seat had fallen off, and there was a tiny slit in the hose. It took only 10 seconds to fix it.”
Paul said it was only by chance - and generosity - that the truck remained in the community and came into his possession.
“It was the middle of the night, and I was looking at the listings with Deals on Wheels, and there it was.
“I made inquiries, and they said an offer had already been made.
“I explained my connection and that my plan was to restore it as a tribute to the Murphys, and after a little while I got a call from Lindsay.
“When he learned more about what I was hoping to do with it, he decided to sell it to me instead.”
While technically called a restoration, Paul said he actually had very little to do to the truck after it was finally his.
“The motor was good, the transmission good,’ he said.
“It’s been registered and running the whole time, it just needed a bit of a freshen up.
“That’s the thing about Kenworths. They’re Australian made to withstand Australian conditions. Its lifespan is a testament to the manufacturing.”
Paul completed the chassis and engine paining himself, and employed a Shepparton company to rejuvenate the cab in J Murphy & Sons colours and branding - but with some of the hand-painted swirl flourishes Paul prefers.
And Paul smiles when thinking how Alan would have scoffed at some of the care taken with the appearance.
“Murph wasn’t one for tricked up trucks, and he’d be rolling in his grave that the bumper and tanks are polished up,” he laughed.
A “classic truck”, Paul said most of the features are original and standard.
It has twin overcab exhausts and overcab air intakes, a Cummins NTC-400 engine couple to a 15 speed Road Ranger, 4.3 diffs riding on Hendricksen walking beam suspension and rated to 90 tonne.
It boasts a full instrument panel, fuel scoop, twin stacks, Kingsoowd brown vinyl interior, a lot of Ford parts (thanks to an ex-Ford employee being involved in the design) and even a Murphy switch gage which became obsolete when engines went electric.
“A lot of old trucks like this end up at the wreckers, but I just wanted to preserve a bit of history and the stories that go with it,” Paul said.
“Alan was an amazing man, and I credit him with changing my perception of people in transport.
“The Murphy family was just stoked when they saw it.
“People come to our yards just to see the truck, and so many people have a connection to it.
“Chris Tresize, who drove for me for 10 years, used to tell me stories about going away in it with his dad.
“And its one of two trucks that were used for the design of the Deniliquin & District Transport Industry Wall of Fame logo.
“So it’s our truck, but it’s the community who really owns it.”