Matthew Red McCarty
Matthew John Red McCarty was born in Narrabri, New South Wales in 1973 to Grayem and Sandra McCarty. From the day that he was born diesel flowed through his veins as he was surrounded by a trucking family, his grandfather who ran Gordon Roadways from his depot in Narrabri, and from his father Grayem who ran trucks from Narrabri to all parts of Australia.
His early childhood was spent helping his father maintain trucks and accompanying him on many trips to Mt Isa, Darwin and Melbourne. Although he did go to school in Narrabri, he always knew he would follow his passion. He always knew that he would always be associated with trucks; his passion for the heavy vehicle industry would be his future. He had three goals in life, to drive for his grandfather, get married and to own his own truck. This was going to be the future for him.
At the age of 15, Red was given the opportunity of a lifetime to drive for his grandfather. His first truck was a Ford Louisville which was his pride and joy. He managed to avoid the police for eight months but they finally caught him with a load of cotton on, at a RBT station. This put a stop to his solo driving career for a couple of years, but he still drove two up with Steve Gordon his uncle.
At the age of 18 he and his grandmother Mary Gordon decided he needed to get a licence and become a legal driver, so after finding he was eligible for a Northern Territory Licence, and by selling his beloved Holden car to raise the funds for the trip, they departed Narrabri for Darwin on what would become a trip full of memories of his beloved Mama. He fondly remembers having breakfast at the Kynuna Hotel with her as part of that trip.
After many years of driving for Gordon Roadways an opportunity arose in 1999 for him to purchase his first truck. The next major goal that he had dreamt of had finally come true. At the age of 25 he started his first business MJ McCarty Transport which led to many years of carting bulk grain, cotton, seed and general freight as a subcontractor to Gordon Roadways.
It was during this time that Red met his wife Floe at the Mobil Truck stop in Narrabri where she was working. This was the final goal he had wished for as a young man, to get married. In January 1997 he married the love of his life (other than trucks) and over the next few years they would welcome three sons into their lives Josh, Sam and Chris. It was at this time that he made the decision to purchase his first brand new truck a Western Star.
The decision to relocate the family in 2006 to Helidon Spa from Narrabri was related to the drought conditions and the work in Queensland. It was at this time that he decided to purchase his second brand new truck, and in August 2007 became the proud owner of a Kenworth 904 with a Signature 600hp Cummins engine. He would continue to work for Gordon Roadways but he also started to work for Hutchinson Builders, Tasman Tanks and other smaller companies throughout the next few years.
In 2015 an offer from K & S Freighters became an opportunity for Red to instil his love for long distance trucking and since then he has carted steel to various parts of Australia, however he loves driving in Queensland and the Northern Territory. His trucking business had a name change to McCarty Transport Pty to enable him to take up the offer with K & S Freighters.
Red McCarty is a genuine loyal and true truck driver, from a young age he has been told to never leave a mate stuck on the side of the road and that is something he lives by. His passion for the professional truck driver is what he lives by and what he proudly upholds.