Coast 2 Country Diesel Repairs

06/09/2026

PLEASE DRIVE YOUR POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS TRUCKS 700KM

Somewhere in Normanton, Queensland, 359 pieces of trucking equipment suddenly became very expensive lawn ornaments. Prime movers. Trailers. Dollies.

The NHVR had grounded the entire Hawkins Transport fleet over what it said were serious safety concerns. Fair enough. If a truck is dangerous, park it.

For 12 days they sat. Around 75 workers were caught in the middle, remote communities relied on the freight, and Hawkins says one manager even delivered oxygen to Normanton Hospital in a 4WD.

Eventually the prohibition notices were lifted. Great. Now we just need to inspect everything.

There was only one small problem.

Hawkins is in the Gulf. Inspectors aren't.

Hawkins says he'd previously offered to pay to fly NHVR inspectors to his remote depots, provide accommodation and give them the facilities to do the inspections.

No thanks, we got a better idea you bring them to us!

So five triple road trains were sent to Mount Isa instead. Around 700 kilometres. The same trucks that had just been grounded over safety concerns.

Then they had to split the triples into singles to get them into the inspection station.

Too dangerous to drive?

Apparently not if you're driving 700km to prove they're not dangerous.

You couldn't write it.

But luckily...

The NHVR can.

Stay safe.

03/09/2026

Harold Hastings Deering didn’t begin in a mine. His road to the mining industry started in the sky.

Born in Sydney in 1896, Deering was commissioned into the British Army during World War I, then transferred to the Royal Flying Corps. He flew in England and France alongside aviation legend Charles Kingsford Smith.

After the war, he joined British bus manufacturer Associated Equipment Company. Back in Australia, he formed Deering Engineering in 1922 and established an AEC distributorship for buses and trucks.

In 1932, he created Hastings Deering Engineering Company. The business became Ford’s sole metropolitan distributor and grew. Deering was eventually described as the world’s largest individual Ford dealer, handling 7,000 new and 12,000 used vehicles annually.

Mining entered the story in 1947.

Deering secured the Caterpillar agency for Alice Springs, placing earthmoving machinery in Australia’s developing interior. He expanded into Darwin in 1948, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands in 1949, then Queensland in 1952.

His companies also manufactured truck chassis, crane carriers and aviation equipment. In 1949, he established Australian Atlas to produce rock drills, compressors, pneumatic tools and loaders for mining and quarrying.

Deering understood that remote customers needed more than machines. They required parts, repairs and field support.

He died in 1965, but his business kept expanding. Sime Darby acquired Hastings Deering in 1992, building it into one of the world’s leading Caterpillar dealerships.

Mines now run fleets larger than anything Deering witnessed. Their yellow machinery remains part of the industrial future he predicted.

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Photo: Queensland State Archives / Creative Commons (Flickr)
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27/08/2026

If you want quality these are the people to use!

26/08/2026

21/08/2026

WTB

Good condition Fuel tank to suit a CAT D6-R series 3

17/05/2026

**SOLD**

Drought master cattle

5 x cows with calf at foot
5x heifers ( been running with bull)

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Located majors creek QLD 4816