Fay Muir

Fay Muir nee Masters was born in Mareeba, Queensland on the 11th January 1956. Fay's family left Mareeba and moved to Sydney where her dad joined the New South Wales police force. On his time off from the force he would drive trucks for a bit of extra cash and Fay would go with him in the truck. She had a soft spot for trucks even as a kid.

Fay started driving small delivery trucks around Sydney at a very young age. At about 20 she got married, had two boys and lived in Sydney for another five years then moved to Perth. Fay started a Driving School in Perth which she ran for a few years then her marriage broke up and she moved back to Port Macquarie, New South Wales and drove tippers for about three years before moving back to Western Australia.

Fay moved to Karratha Western Australia where she got a job driving buses for Fortescue buses, she also brought an old Fiat truck and semi trailer and started a Driving School. She also bought an old Holden and taught truck and car driving as well. After about 18 months she gave up bus driving and got a job with Bellways carting iron ore on Intercourse Island for about two years. All the time she worked for Bellways she also kept the Driving School going.

Once she finished with Bellways she used to do a odd load of freight to various places with the Fiat and trailer. Keith Maginnis first met Fay when she was taking a load to Mt Newman from Karratha. The Fiat had broken down and she was battling her way to Newman and after they unloaded they then loaded her outfit up onto Keith's and he gave her a lift back to Karratha. A few months after they became an item and became partners.

Fay and Keith moved to Port Hedland and bought two Mack roadtrains and started carting manganese from Woody Woody to Port Hedland for two and a half years on what became known as the highway to hell.

Fay did trips out there and trailer axles broke with a rough road and she would chain up the axles and limp home. She has driven roadtrains all over Western Australia and the Northern Territory and is still driving a Mack around Perth carting sand and gravel.

Fay has made a magnificent contribution to the transport industry in her career. She did things on her own out in the desert that most male drivers would not be capable of doing.