When it comes to transporting livestock, Henry Woods was in it for the long haul.
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For the best part of 50 years he travelled vast distances across Australia.
His work would see him set out from his Dubbo home for a property - often in remote Queensland - load sheep and bring them to the Fletcher International abattoir at Dubbo.
The truck driver gradually built up the number of trucks and trailers he owned, obvious in their navy blue and white livery, bearing the words ‘Henry Woods Dubbo’.
It’s been good, but you’ve got to draw a line somewhere.
- Livestock transporter Henry Woods
This week the father and grandfather bid farewell to the fleet that was the means of his livelihood.
His A trailers and B trailers dominated a row at the Ritchie Bros. auction at Dubbo.
“It’s been good, but you’ve got to draw a line somewhere,” Mr Woods said.
It was 1972 when Mr Woods made a humble but determined beginning.
First he bought a prime mover, subbying for a man at Grafton and stayed with him for about three years.
When entrepreneur Roger Fletcher commissioned a meat processing plant at Dubbo it created an opportunity for Mr Woods and he moved south.
“All my work was mainly paddock jobs into the abattoirs since I’ve been here, since ‘89, ‘90, we’ve been just carting in for Fletchers to the abattoirs all the time,” he said.
Hard work was part and parcel of the gig.
Mr Woods said they used to do about 200,000km a year.
“In those early days when we were running road trains out of Queensland, you’d always work on March through to October,” he said.
“Then October through to March we used to do B-double work out of Victoria and South Australia.”
Yes, don’t know what we’re going to do, but won’t be carting sheep.
- Henry Woods
It was a “good life”, but dry times on the land meant hard times for a livestock carrier.
“You could leave here and head up to Longreach and pick up 40 decks off the one property, five road trains, but now you’d probably have to go to five different properties to pick up one road train load up there,” Mr Woods said.
“...when their drought started up there, mine started down here.”
Retirement has finally beckoned.
“Yes, don’t know what we’re going to do, but won’t be carting sheep,” Mr Woods said.