Empty Roads, Empty Promises - Kath Gilbert

Nice Stack Of Books Verified independent store

→

Local AuthorPaperback Empty Roads, Empty Promises takes us back to the 1970s. It was a decade of 'mutton chop' sideburns, Skyhooks songs, protests and trucks rolling along the Hume Highway over Razorback Mountain. Truckies were hauling food, livestock, fuel and everything else that kept Australia running. Even during the economically unsustainable times, owner-drivers kept rolling. That was until 5pm on April 2nd, 1979 when five truck drivers barricaded the road, forcing all others to stop in what was labelled an act of civil insurrection. Like the Eureka Stockade of 1854 and the Shearers' Strike of 1891, it was not a rebellion of privileges - rather a stand for fairness. It was a demand for the removal of the unfair, biased rules and regulations which discriminately forced honest truck drivers to pay a road user tax. It was a battle to stop the unjust incarceration of hard-working truckies. This revealing book takes us behind closed doors into the private meetings. Anecdotes and memories of hardship, deception, larrikinism and camaraderie tell a quintessential Australian tale - the underdog taking on government and corporations. Members of the Razorback Committee, truck drivers, wives and media personalities share their recollections from across the ten tumultuous days. They give their thoughts on the still debated question, 'Did they win?'. Published June 2026 Show more