A pub with no beer is just an ugly building, or so we’re told by a truck-loving publican whose taps never, ever run dry. In our Winter Issue, HVIA’s ROADBOSS Magazine hitches a ride north, to find out what it takes to keep Australia’s busiest pub stocked, carting cans, bottles and kegs across the country.
To quote Slim Dusty, “There’s nothing so lonesome, morbid or drear, than to stand in the bar of a pub with no beer.” One North Queensland pub owner was so determined to avoid this predicament, that he bought a Kenworth T909 and a B-double trailer set – branding it all up as a mobile billboard.
Mick McFie owned and operated the Airlie Beach Hotel (until very recently) and also has a few bottle shops, and while not a truckie himself, he spent his childhood years in the cabin of his grandfather’s Atkinson.
“Pop loved trucks,” Mick tells ROADBOSS. “He had an Atkinson, UDs, Isuzus. Actually, my favourite was a bright yellow Mack Super-Liner.”
The majestic scenery along the Queensland coast provide an epic backdrop for the drive north to Airlie Beach. Images: Thomas Wielecki
Going back a few years now, Mick had a seven-figure transport bill and two pubs to service, so he figured he’d be better off running his own truck and the clear benefit, aside from money saved, would be taps that never run dry.
“We’d tried it all,” Mick tells me, over a beer of course. “Rail was first and they were going to Bowen, unloading then bringing freight back. But that could take up to two weeks and we needed two loads every week. Then we used a local freight provider, but he struggled with staff. We tried a few others, but it just wasn’t working.”
It wasn’t until Mick called his mate, Geoff Richards – of Geoff Richards Refrigerated Transport – that the idea of buying his own rig was floated.
“So, I rang Geoff and we got talking about how much I spend on freight,” Mick explains. “When I told him what I spend each year, he said I‘d better go out and get my own truck – so I did.”
Airlie Beach Hotel publican Mick McFie lucked upon gun operator Brad Gallagher to steer his first truck, a beautiful Kenworth T909. Images: Thomas Wielecki
The idea was that Mick would add just one extra employee to his payroll, but he’d give them a beautiful new truck and they’d be responsible for it.
He lucked upon gun operator Brad Gallagher – who’s experience driving trucks around New Zealand made him a perfect fit.
Fast-forward some years and Mick’s now got two B-doubles and a handful of rigids, all with the sole purpose of running booze and supplies between his bottle shops and pubs. Beer is big business, it seems.
“It’s really about certainty for me,” Mick says. “The freight industry needs to run both ways, and you can’t with beer.
The Airlie Beach Hotel fleet carts an incredible three B-double loads of beer each week, making it arguably the biggest pub in Australia. Images: Thomas Wielecki
“You’ve got empty pallets and empty kegs, so you can’t backload. Plus, there’s no point having this big hotel if I can’t sell beer – it’s just an ugly old building without beer!”
After catching up with Mick, ROADBOSS organised to ride along with the fabled Brad, who’s entrusted with carting up to three B-doubles’ worth of beer from Brisbane to Airlie Beach each week.
It’s an arduous 13-hour run up the east coast ending at the pub that never runs out of beer, and it’s as close to ‘god’s work’ as I can imagine.
Read the full story in the Winter Issue of HVIA’s ROADBOSS Magazine, out soon.
