They say hard work driven by dreams and aspirations will bring rewards; well it’s fair to say that this month’s New Zealand Trucking Top Truck is the result of all of the above for its owner.

Virtually a year ago to the day, an extremely good-looking green 50th Anniversary Mack Super-Liner complete with Patchell logging gear rolled on into the southern Waikato hamlet of Tīrau. Owned and operated by local Aztec Forest Transport Developments contractors Kevin and Kirsty Wallace, Macadamia Rose as it is affectionately named, makes a striking statement from whichever angle you look at it.

Chatting to Kevin we hear the decision to purchase the big new Super-Dog was based on a career-long ambition to order a new truck from the spec sheet. “I have worked for some great companies throughout my career, and I’ve driven and owned some great trucks along the way, but this time around I knew I wanted to order and build the new truck from the drawing board up,” explained Kevin.

“My interest and passion for trucks started right back when I was about eight years old. My dad worked in the bush and knew Alf Williamson of Forest Freighters really well. He asked Alf if I could go for a ride in one of the trucks, and yeah, next thing I was spending a heap of time at their yard. I’d be there in my weekends and holidays, helping out with stocktaking and cleaning up the storeroom, but this also led to Alf teaching me the trade. He got me to help him with maintenance on the trucks. We would remove a pump off an engine, he would then get me to strip it down, and then he’d say, ‘see those worn-out O-rings, right go get the new parts, you know where they are, okay, now put it all back together’. I said to him ‘but I’m not qualified’, and he replied. ‘well, you won’t learn if you don’t do it’. And Alf was right, that was the way to learn, getting your hands dirty and doing the job.”

Leaving school Kevin started at the TTT sawmill on Princes Street in Putaruru, which later became part of the Carter Holt Harvey empire. “I started at the bottom as a general yard hand, working my way up to a fork hoist driver, then on to head yardman where I was in charge of all fork hoist and yard operations. It was great, we were all good mates, and I liked it like that. I didn’t let the power go to my head – we all worked as equals, as a team, and got on and got the job done. I was there for about 14 years. I then decided to have a change and do a stint in Aussie. That was okay for a couple of years, but I came back home to town, and back to the mill. While working there I got to know all the boys at Patetere Transport. One day I was yakking with one of the drivers who we all knew as ‘the Pom’, and I told him that I had always wanted to drive trucks, but never got around to doing it. The next thing I knew he was telling me to get behind the wheel and give it a go, so that was my first real drive of a truck and trailer unit, down to Tokoroa and back. I graunched a few gears, but got it done, and that was me hooked. Not long after that I started with them, and was there about five years.”

One of Kevin’s favourite drives throughout his career, and a truck that has influenced the purchase of his new ride, was the old Mack Super-Liner of Taupō based Adrian and Robyn Hill. “Adrian and Robyn were great to work for. I had that old truck for about 10 years based out of Tīrau, and they really did just let me get on and do my job. It was a fantastic truck to drive; the big E9 V8s have that sound all of their own. Before going on to the Super-Liner I also drove a CH Mack for Adrian and Robyn. They had named that one Macadamia Rose – it is the colour name of the distinctive metallic pink paint that Adrian had mixed up, and painted the fleet in. When it came time to name our new Super-Liner, I called Robyn and asked her if she would mind if I named it Macadamia Rose in honour of Adrian who passed away a few years back now. Robyn was more than happy with this idea and thought that it was fitting that it carried the name on. A great way to honour a fallen mate.”

Another cool touch that Kevin had the team at Caulfield Signs and Graphics of Rotorua complete for him was the design and installation of the cultural motifs throughout the livery of Macadamia Rose. “The addition of the Māori designs is in honour of my children. My son Julian lives right up north in Mangōnui, and my daughter Shaye is in Whangārei. Both are close to the coast, and the design on the top of the bonnet represents the whai repo – stingray – that is recognised as the protector of the coastal waters and its people who use the sea. What Darren and the team have achieved is exactly what I was after; it means a lot to me.”

Asking Kevin what he likes most about his new ride, the answer is loud and clear. “I love the truck; seriously, it’s like driving a big car, so comfortable and capable on it’s Meritor axles and Hendrickson Primaax suspension, you could drive it all the way to Wellington, turn around immediately and drive all the way home again without stopping – easy. Even at 54 tonne with 35.5 tonne payload, there is plenty of power under the foot. As for the M-Drive auto, it is just so easy to use. Makes stopping at a dairy and grabbing a drink on the go possible now with no gear lever to swing off, no, it’s just sit back now and cruise.”

For Kevin, Macadamia Rose has hit the nail on the head. More than just another truck, it is a symbol that pays homage to those he holds near and dear as well as the memories that have shaped his journey in the industry so far, and on top of all that, the experiences and memories that lay ahead for this hard-working pair.