"THE only time you will really be able to catch him is on a Sunday," Trish Ringrose said when I asked if it would be possible to have a chat with her husband Owen.
I walked into the yard that has served as the hub for Ringrose Transport for more than a decade and weaved my way between four Mack trucks lying dormant. Like sleeping dragons waiting to be disturbed and roar to life.
The paintwork was glistening in the afternoon sun after being washed and checked over in anticipation for the rugged journey ahead.
"They won't stay that clean for very long," Owen Ringrose smiled as he greeted me and invited me inside the yard guarded by Mack Bulldogs and the building he and Trish call home.
With more than 30 years in the heavy trucking business and celebrating 12 years in Mount Isa, Owen with Trish always at his side said he still felt he belonged on the road.
"Ever since we got into trucking with a single Mack (Owen has always been a Mack man) and single trailer I have done the driving," he said.
"Even though we now have six trucks in the fleet and have expanded to employ over 10 staff there is no way I could sit back at home and not be out there."
'Out there' is the Gulf Country of North West Queensland and the expanse of the Northern Territory, navigating roads that can be dusty, muddy or at times non-existent. The destinations are remote stations and isolated communities like Doomadgee, Normanton, Karumba, Brunette Downs, Gregory Downs and beyond.
More recently the Ringroses have been able to enjoy the smooth surfaces of the Flinders Highway as they have been making the run to Townsville and back as well.
Every Wednesday in the early hours of the morning the calm yard that greeted me on a Sunday afternoon becomes a hive of activity as the trailers are filled under the watchful eye of Trish with scientific precision.
Frozen goods, fresh food and whatever else their customers along the dusty tracks have requested are coded and loaded and the sleeping dragons awake and roar their 600hp Cummins engines.
"I hate it when he heads out the yard and I know he will be gone for four days, sometimes longer if the roads are bad but that's nature of job," Trish said.
"I would rather he be home but that's not the way Owen works, he feels he has to be personally involved."
Before Ringrose Transport became a name people could rely on to get essential goods delivered on time under tough conditions, the Gulf and Northern Territory communities were served by less reliable and ultimately short-lived alternatives.
"I think the other companies meant well but they didn't invest their heart and souls into the business of being the lifeline for those communities who need the kind of service we provide," Owen said.
Owen prides himself on being a man of principles.
"I have never taken work off anyone else before in my life and even though I originally worked as a sub-contractor for a company who serviced the Gulf and saw the company was heading the wrong way I refused to take over the run even though some of the customers wanted me too," Owen explained.
"When the company eventually couldn't pay their bills Trish and I decided to head back to Brisbane rather than undercut what was still essentially another company's business."
However, Owen and Trish did eventually return to Mount Isa.
"While we were in Brisbane we continued to get letters and phone calls from some of our old customers in the Gulf who had been left stranded after the demise of the company I used to work for," Owen recalled.
That was 12 years ago with one truck and one trailer and today when Owen pulls one of his six rigs hauling three trailers into Doomadgee, Gregory or Karumba he said the smiles, handshakes and conversation are the reason he knows he made the right decision.
"I've worked pulling loads up and down the coast from city to city and along with the traffic issues, you are just another driver who's expected to deliver on time," Owen said.
"Out here we are also expected to deliver on time and the people at the other end are our customers but they have also become our friends."
Owen and Trish pride themselves on their personal attention to detail and customer care is the driving principle from the top down in a very family oriented business.
"We view our staff as family and it is important they share the same ideals and values Owen and I do when they represent the company," Trish said.
"And I'm proud to say they do share those ideals and values."
Owen said in the early days it took some time for the communities and stations to embrace the Ringrose name.
"The people who live in the Gulf and Northern Territory are used to living in isolated conditions but that doesn't mean they can survive without the necessities and a little of the luxuries of life," he said.
"A lot of business is still agreed upon by a person's word and a handshake and we had to prove ourselves before we earned the trust of those people."
Regular deliveries and going above and beyond the call of duty has seen Owen and his drivers become a welcome sight when they roll into town or rumble down the long driveways of the stations.
Although a significant cog in the lifeline for so many remote communities Ringrose Transport is not government subsidised and you won't hear Owen whinging but he was saddened to discover recently he had lost a vital wet season contract due to a State Government decision.
"I don't really want to go into details but a service we used to offer in the Gulf during the wet season has been given to a Cairns airline company," he said.
"We used to rely on the contract to help ease the burden on our company at a time when most of the trucks are parked in the yard because the roads become impassable."
Owen said this would be the first time the company would face a wet season without the source of a guaranteed income.
"At a time when running a business as a sole operator is becoming harder than ever with regulatory costs continuing to rise and many of our customers facing tough times in the livestock industry it's hard to understand why business is being taken away from individual operators.
"It hasn't just affected our business but all suppliers to the Gulf who are based in Mount Isa. Businesses who used to supply bread, milk and other goods through us will now be bypassed."
Despite acknowledging the changes in the transport industry Owen and Trish said they wouldn't be rushing to change the way they operate.
"While we are in the business we will continue to provide a personal service to our customers even if that means I have to watch Owen pull out of the yard and hit the road," Trish smiled.
When I got up to leave, several of Owen and Trish's work 'family' came in and pulled up a couple of chairs.
"Our drivers, mechanics and everyone else who work for us are always welcome at our table," Trish explained.
As I walked back through the yard careful not to wake the resting rigs, with an invitation to join Owen in the cab for a four day run when I get the chance, I recalled a visit I made to Gregory Downs earlier in the year.
The friendly bar staff at the Gregory Downs Hotel left me confused and stranded without a beer as they rushed out the door. At the time I didn't understand why the arrival of a Mack truck towing a couple of trailers could leave a thirsty man unquenched.
Now I do and the truck's arrival also ensured no one else in the community would go thirsty either as the trailer was unloaded.
