Eve Hay

Eve Joy Hay (nee Rothwell) was born in 1965 in Melton, Victoria.  She was brought up around trucks. Eve would draw pictures of trucks, read ‘Trucking Life’ magazines every month and hang pictures of her favourite trucks on her walls. Eve loved the sound of them and remembers saying to herself, “I’m going to drive a truck like that one day.” Eve went to her father’s work as much as she could as he had a Diamond Rio and a cab over International Transtar.  

Eve decided she would do whatever it took to drive trucks.  She worked at a roadhouse to gain an understanding of the workings of the transport industry and joined her step dad on trips in logging trucks out of Colac. He was supportive and encouraging of her choice of career but it wasn’t common for women to drive trucks back then and she found it hard to break into the industry. 

Eventually, Eve gained her licence in a single drive International Dodge 10. Employed in a factory where there was an International  T Line auto ridge sugar tanker, Eve started to do some driving.  Eve’s dad helped her secure her next job which was with SeaPak. 

Eve then left SeaPak and drove for a couple of owner drivers who subcontracted for SeaPak. One truck she drove was a cab over Kenworth but Eve’s favourite truck was the R Model Mack.  Next, an old friend of Eve’s asked her to run out of the wharf in Melbourne to Ballarat in an International S Line. 

After that, Eve began driving round trips from Adelaide to Melbourne and it was at this time that she met her husband-to-be who was a subcontractor for Thompson’s Transport in Victoria.  Eve and her husband both went on to become owner drivers and while her husband continued working for Thompson’s, Eve subcontracted for ‘Australia Wide Express’. Eve also did some driving for Thompson Transport and she was the first woman driver that the owner allowed to drive a company unit unaccompanied.  

During this time Eve had two baby boys and combined motherhood and family life with full time driving.  Eve is still driving trucks to this day.

     Inducted in 2021      .