Holland of Avoca

In-depth

2 Sept

Australia is dotted with small towns no-one has heard of, unless they live in the vicinity. How many of us have seen a sign on a main highway pointing to Such-and-Such >>> 25 KM, and think, I wonder what’s there? Must take a look one day…but you never do.

If you’re travelling the Western Highway from Melbourne to Adelaide, you will pass a road sign pointing to the township of Avoca. From a population of 16,000 in 1854, thanks to gold, Avoca’s permanent residents now number 1,193. A Google search highlights the fact that the township has one of the widest main streets in the country, a fact not likely to entice the average passer-by.

This would have to be an indictment on Google rather than the township because, like every other place in Australia, Avoca has a heart and a soul and people who love living there and, if you can get past the Google headline, considerably more than a main drag boasting a toilet block and war memorial on the median strip.

99.9% of the trucks (and cars) travelling the Western Highway won’t give Avoca a second thought as they traverse between capital cities, but every now and then you’ll see a good looking Kenworth cab-over, decked out in red and white with the name HOLLAND on the doors, turning off the highway and heading for home. The other part of that sign on the doors says, AVOCA.

The Holland’s have had three generations behind the wheel of trucks bearing the Avoca name. It began back in 1950 when Jim Holland got hold of a 1942 Chevy Blitz and started transporting logs out of the Pyrenees Ranges, cutting them up for firewood and fence posts. He added to the Blitz with a Ford Side-Valve and a cab-over Commer.

A move into stock transport followed and Jim ran the business for the next thirty years. With the vagaries of trucking perhaps reflecting the fortunes of the township, Jim was down to one vehicle and one client when his marriage collapsed. Wanting to do the right thing by his family, he stuck around until son, Steve gained his licence in 1982, and then departed for Gippsland, leaving 18 year old Steve the last remaining truck to support his mother and younger brother, Steve was able to go straight for his semi licence under existing hardship rules.

**The family’s future rested on the tray of this Mercedes-Benz 1424**

The Holland family breadwinner was a 1978, Mercedes Benz 1424, a big truck in its day. The one client was Australian Concrete Pipes, a local Avoca business. That business, also known down the years as Monier Rocla – and today as Rocla, had another couple of local contractors hauling for them. An astute Steve Holland saw opportunity and bought those business out, giving himself three trucks and a monopoly on the Rocla work. Now, in addition to the Benz, he owned an International 3070 tray truck and a Kenworth K123 – his first association with the Kenworth brand and one that dominates his fleet today, with one exception.

“This was in 1984,” said Steve. “In addition to the Rocla work, we started doing a lot of interstate, hauling general freight. By 1988 we had plenty of work going into Adelaide with the concrete pipes, but not a lot coming back out. So I bought out a couple of single operators (with work) from that city. Now we had the concrete going down and general freight for the return trip. With flatbed trays we tarped it back then, and in fact, still do a bit today.”

“So now we had five trucks. We were doing local work, plus Melbourne and Adelaide. We plodded along with that fleet for a few years until I bought my first new truck in 1997 - a Kenworth K100G. That truck made the local paper!”

“ In 1998 we bought out another company in St Arnaud, who were doing Barastoc stockfeed. That gave us another three prime movers – taking us up to eight trucks and trailers. Along the way we’d also purchased a few second-hand rigs and in 1999 bought another new KW. We purchased our first set of B double trailers in 2002.

“Since then of course we have replaced them, putting new trucks on interstate work - which returns the biggest cash flow - for around five years until they’ve paid for themselves. Then we bring them back to local work.”

Times change and so do township’s fortunes. In St Arnaud, Barastoc closed their doors, putting 100 or so out of work – a huge blow to a town of around 5,000. In Avoca the Rocla plant which had run 24/7, also closed its doors, moving to Melbourne and putting in the vicinity of 80 people out of a job both directly and indirectly. In a town of 1,200 that is a massive hit!

**Rocla’s move could have spelt disaster for Holland’s**

The Rocla move however did not mean the parting of ways for Steve Holland. “We kept that contract and we’re still doing it today. We have one truck with a self-mounted forklift. It does the Metropolitan area and a lot of country runs out of Melbourne. The rest of the boys now do Melbourne to Adelaide, Melbourne to Brisbane - whatever’s going with concrete.

“We are only 25 km off the beaten track on the road from Melbourne to Adelaide so it’s no problem being based here in Avoca. With costs of the yard (which happens to be the old Rocla site) and fuel - of which we have 54,000 litres on-site and which I buy at the right price (meaning we don’t have to fill up on the road all the time), it in fact works out cheaper being here.”

Along the way Steve had two boys: Jake 28, who lives in Ballarat and has his own Auto-Electrical business in that town, and Mitchell 25 who, like his dad, saw his future being on the blacktop.

**Jake, Steve & Mitch on the occasion of Mitch’s wedding**

It would be easy to ‘be the boss’s son’ and step straight in to the family business, but Mitch determined to go it alone initially. Upon leaving school he moved to Ballarat, lived with his older brother and ‘push-biked’ it around town until he gained his licence. No short cuts for Mitch – he had to go the usual car/rigid/semi/B double route.

“At the time I just wanted bit of experience under my belt. Not too many will give a younger bloke a crack at it, but another local firm, Redfield Transport gave me a shot and I was with them for two years before joining dad.

“It gave me the training and a bit of independence, working things out by myself until I had experience before coming across here. Doing it that way I felt that I deserved a role in the family business.”

Mitch has been with Steve for three years, doing five trips per fortnight to Melbourne/Adelaide. From a K108 initially, he’s now propping up the wheel of a 2012 K200. “Dad bought it from the auctions ‘on a whim’ one night (read: a drink or three too many), as he does. It got to the yard and no-one else wanted it so I said I’d step into it. Glad I did. It’s a good truck, it’s shiny and it’s a Kenworth. What have I got to complain about?”

Mitch has made it his own, with daughter, Daniella-May’s name adorning the roof sills.

There are a couple of odd bods in the fleet. One is still a KW, but it’s blue. “It’s not the family colours is it,” says Mitch. That said, the truck – a 2016 Big Cab – came with work, so was a good business decision by Steve. The other is a Western Star bought in 2011.

In the shed out the back sits a 1987 SAR. “It’s one of only ten that came out that year – the last – with a CAT motor in it,” said Steve. “I’m not using it, it’s my superannuation fund that one.”

**1987 CAT powered SAR - Steve’s pension**

It seems the standard question these days is: How is business under COVID-19?

“Nearly everything we do is related to the construction industry,” said Steve. “We cart into new subdivisions, freeway works, that sort of thing and it has slowed. That said, we’ve kept all the trucks on the road – we’re just not running at 100%.”

Mitch is the youngster of the group in more ways than one. “One guy, Tony, has been with me for thirty-three years and the others from eight years and upwards,” said Steve, who works to some basic rules of life. “I look after them as best I can. You treat people as you like to be treated yourself and you can’t go too far wrong.”

His other tenet of business is service. “What I’ve found is that nine times out of ten, service will win you the job over price. It’s not always down to the dollar. You have a name to uphold and it goes all the way from presentation of the trucks to realistic on-time delivery.”

In a small Victorian country town most have never heard of, Holland Transport have the formula for success. So, if you’re travelling the Western Highway and you see a smart looking, red and white B double turning off the highway, to some place called Avoca, maybe follow it into town and discover there is more to see than just Australia’s widest main street.