Lachie Griffen, one of the South Island's trucking pioneers, bringing in the 4 wheel trailer idea, thinking about and following up on the exhaust brake idea which he says got him into bed 20 minutes earlier. Lachie started Governors Bay Transport which operated in the Bank Peninsular area, fraught with very steep hills.
Lachie was on Episode 8 of the Toll NZ Talking Trucks TV show and if you get this DVD you'll find his interview fascinating.
Lachie's International C300 which he started with was part of the Governors Bay fleet.
I think this truck has what is commonly referred to as suicide doors, in that they opened out from the front back. Look at the next photo of a C300 and you can see that quite clearly.
Here's a photo of another International C300 and you can see the suicide door clearly.
Lachie's work horse the Leyland Comet 90 known affectionately at number 2. Lachie also had a hand in designing the cattle crate that went on it. The over the cab extra compartment was lachie's idea and how well did that catch on.
Lachie thought of having a trailer after seeing trailers in Italy during the war, he thought the idea would work well in New Zealand. It took some time to get one built, they told him he needed an artic, but he said no he wanted a 4 wheel trailer. So after a while he managed to get one built and business never looked back from that point. In fact his idea was soon copied, and trailers soon appeared everywhere.
Sadly No 2 sits quietly in Lachie's shed awaiting restoration. She's still in pretty good nick though, not too much rust and would be the perfect restoration project.
Next the commer turned up on the scene with the old sloper engine and she turned out to be an excellent work horse as well.
As suggested above, Banks Peninsular was a rugged place, the hills steep, the road unforgiving. This photo summed it all up very well.
Lachie tells the story of the time he took two trailers south. He was sure he was going to get a ticket, but he didn't. Someone said at the time it was a length thing, 60 feet I think, so maybe the cops thought it was well under that length, but good on you Lachie, thinking outside the square all the time.
Lachie's new book is now available : Growing old in Governor's Bay - A life in Transport.
For your copy email Lachie here or give him a call at (03) 329-9820
