Western Queensland remembers transport industry icon Nev Noske

Known throughout the highways of western Queensland for his distinctive red Mack Ultraliner V8 prime mover towing loads of wool, Nev, aged 79, is being hailed as a genuine bloke who went out of his way for his many clients.

His 62-year career began after leaving school with a burning desire to drive trucks.

As his citation in the National Road Transport Hall of Fame says, he went to work for Alf Wagland in Toowoomba when he was 17, learning to drive a Commer Knocker with a Freighter bogie-axle trailer doing the run from Toowoomba to Melbourne.

After six months of that he bought his own Commer Knocker and McGrath trailer, making his first trip from Star Downs near Hughenden with a load of wool to Brisbane.

Liking the wool game, he began carting it from Blackall, Julia Creek and Longreach, firstly with one, then two trailers.

Sometimes it would take a month to get to Darwin with the road conditions, but he learned how to live rough, as drivers had to be to cope with the old trucks and roads of the era.

Nev, along with his drivers, wore out 13 Commer Knockers before he purchased a secondhand Mack F-model 600 with a 711 quad box.

In 1976 he got back to one truck and two trailers, running that and subsequent trucks to Darwin until 1988.

He then worked for a company, travelling all over Australia for two years before returning to an owner-driver lifestyle, making Blackall his headquarters, carting general freight out and wool back east.

In 1972 Nev carted 16,443 bales of wool from the Charleville district, beating that in 1998 when he carted around 22,000 bales from around western Queensland.

He took great pride in the art of loading wool, acknowledged by the Road Transport Hall of Fame.

"No straighter load of wool would be seen anywhere in the world when Nev loads it," it said.

Speaking with the Queensland Country Life on his 60th work anniversary, he confessed to the one time a bale popped out of the fourth tier of a load, bouncing onto the Barcoo River bridge before falling into the water below.

It was quickly retrieved and no harm was done.

Stan Haughton was Nev's offsider for 25 years, helping him load the wool on properties, one day going two-up with him to Brisbane as well.

"It went on from there," he said. "Nev never knew anything but trucking."

Stan shared an insight into why his friend got the nickname Turtle.

"If he could please 10 people, he'd try and do that," he said.

"He was always loading and reloading to suit people, which put him behind.

"He was a one-man band - when he got to a place he had to unload, reload, tarp and tie it all down again.

"Nev was as tough as nails but even they rust, eventually."

It was a sentiment echoed by many on social media as news of Nev's passing was shared, with Peter Macc saying it was a "sad loss to what was a great culture of true truckies to be around".

"They don't make them like that anymore," he said.

"Neville was always a down to earth friend, mate and honest to the day gentleman, but by jove, could that man load wool," Wayne Marshall added.

Yaraka's Andrew Pegler remembered his thoughtfulness during the 2002-05 drought, when hay was extremely scarce.

"Nev always found it for us somehow," he said. "He was a decent bloke, and a legend."

Neville is survived by his wife Pat, and Pat's children Heather, Kirk, John, David and Terry.

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