The Razorback Blockade 1979 - The Nine Days That Changed Australian Trucking Forever

Welcome to Big Truck Time! 🚛 In April 1979 five Australian truck drivers parked their rigs across the Hume Highway at Razorback Mountain south of Sydney. They had no list of demands. No union backing. No government support. No plan beyond blocking the road. What followed was nine days of confrontation, violence and emergency legislation that brought the supply route between Sydney and Melbourne to a standstill. When it was over NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland had all abolished a tax that had been bleeding Australian owner drivers since 1956. The road maintenance tax began in Victoria in 1956 before spreading across every mainland state. Designed on a strict ton-per-mile basis calculated using a vehicle's tare weight and maximum load capacity, it was officially meant to fund highway repairs. In reality it was a policy tool designed to protect state-owned railways from the rapid growth of commercial road transport — artificially inflating road freight rates to keep rail competitive. For interstate owner-drivers it was an inescapable financial trap. Weight and length limits varied wildly across state borders — a truck legally loaded in Victoria could instantly become illegal upon crossing into NSW, forcing drivers to navigate differing laws while accumulating mounting tax liabilities. By 1975 NSW alone had secured more than 10,000 convictions related to the tax, collecting roughly $14 million in fines. Courts in Victoria and NSW were handing down prison sentences of up to six years for non-payment. The economic absurdity of the system was demonstrated in the 1966 Winton woolgrowers case — Queensland wool was hauled an extra 800 miles to Sydney because interstate road tax rules made the massive detour cheaper than paying Queensland's rail freight rates. The protests came and went and changed nothing. 1976 — trucks blocked Mount Ousley near Wollongong. CB radios were legalised but the tax remained. May 1978 — 32 heavy trucks sealed off Parliament House in Canberra. National headlines, no policy reform. August 1978 — NSW Transport Minister Peter Cox announced an official enquiry. Reports were produced. Nothing changed. Every traditional avenue of appeal ended at a closed door. Early April 1979 — five men met in the living room of Ted Stevens' home. Ted Greendog Stevens, Barry Grimson, Jack Hibbert, Colin Bird and Spencer Watling had exhausted every legal option. Stevens declared — I've had it. I'll either burn my bloody truck outside Parliament House or block the Highway. They chose the highway. A vote was taken. Razorback Mountain, 5pm the following afternoon. They went home to prepare their rigs knowing that by sunset the next day they would either face arrest or force a national crisis. 2 April 1979 at 5pm — Colin Bird steered his SAR Kenworth pulling a fully loaded quad-axle grain trailer across the southbound lane of the Hume Highway. Ted Stevens sealed the parallel lane. Jack Hibbert and Spencer Watling formed the wall. Barry Grimson blocked the old Razorback Highway. Carle Goodfellow sealed Menangle Road. Every route between Sydney and Melbourne was blocked. Tension erupted immediately — fists flew between drivers who supported the blockade and those furious at the disruption to their livelihoods. NSW Police arrived and were powerless to move the rigs. The NSW Government drafted emergency legislation to seize the trucks. Senior ministers blocked it in cabinet fearing political backlash. By the second day CB radio on channels 19 and 23 spread the blockade to Queensland, South Australia and Victoria. By April 9 more than 4,000 trucks choked 40 strategic chokepoints across four states. Retail shelves emptied. Media coverage intensified. Political pressure became unbearable. 11 April 1979 — NSW agreed to abolish the road maintenance tax. Within days Victoria, South Australia and Queensland followed. The four states scrapped the ton-per-mile charge introduced in 1956, replacing it with a flat registration fee. After nine days of economic standstill the specific financial burden driving independent owner-drivers to ruin was gone. Five men. No union. No demands list. No plan beyond blocking the road. They changed Australian trucking forever. If you love trucks, roadtrains, roaring engines, and everything that keeps the highways alive — you’re in the right place. From powerful machines hauling massive loads to the raw beauty of diesel engines at work, this channel is all about the heart and soul of trucking. 👉 Hit that Subscribe button so you never miss the latest videos from the world of big rigs and road power! 📨 For business inquiries or collaborations, feel free to contact me at: [email protected] #trucks #trucking #truckdrivers #truckers #roadtrains #roadtrainsaustralia #australia #outback