Marvin O’Brien

MARVIN JAMES OBRIEN, known as Muscles, was born in Warwick in March 1950. His love of the trucking life began when he started accompanying his father in his Atkinson carting fruit and general freight to the Roma St markets in Brisbane. As a young boy Warwick's harsh winters played on Muscles health. At the age of 16 Muscles father, who drove coaches at the time, decided to take him to the Northern Territory in the hope that a dry climate would suit him better. Muscles arrived at Victory Downs Station in April 1966, to begin his first job as a station hand. He soon jumped into the station truck to cart freight, fuel and cattle between Finke and Armata. The Commer Knocker had a top speed of 48 mph across all the gravel roads and sand hills and Muscles was literally King of the Road.

In 1969 Muscles went to Mt Cavanagh to drive an AB84 International with semi and dog carting cattle to Finke and Oodnadatta and the Giles fuel run once a month along the Gun Barrel Highway. He then "stepped up into the big gear" into a B model Mack. In 1971 Muscles moved to Alice Springs and started work with RPM transport carting cattle. He later worked with Northern Transport running Adelaide to Alice Springs doing the beer run. Muscles returned to QLD in 1972 where he drove for various companies around Brisbane running interstate but he missed the territory lifestyle so much he returned to Alice Springs in 1979.

Muscles took a job with Buntine where he worked until the final auction; driving Macks and Kenworths. He then joined Timor Transport doing general freight, oil rig shifts and float work in a very much loved Mack Superliner. When Timor folded he went to Ascots carting anything and everything. Muscles spent his last two years carting fuel to the Granites twice a week in a Western Star with a KT19 motor. After completing 947000 kms in that truck he called it quits and moved to QLD where he worked nine years at Zilkie transport on side tippers and floats before spending eight years in the coal mines driving dump trucks.

When he retired Muscles thought it would be a great idea to retire into a Publicans life, where he enjoys bringing out the photo album and reminiscing with truckies that call in for a cold one . Throughout Muscles' 48 years of driving he has made many a mile, many friends and many great memories and will always be a truckie from the Territory.