“That opened everything up from our perspective. Just as rail ceased shipping fertiliser on the short task it was tip trucks that were destined to pick up the slack. The long history of irrigation in the region, which when combined with cereal crops means fertilizer is required all year round, has occasioned a common backload. As a result it opened up the widespread transportation of highway grain. Flattop trailers, with side curtains inside the gates, and floor trapdoors were the norm for this task, enabling a return trip often dedicated to general freight. The region has a long history of irrigation, which necessitates a reliance on fertiliser. Interstate trips are often triangulated to maximise returns, which makes the base in Bordertown, en route to and from Mt Gambier, an ideal location.Īccording to Peter, who serves as Director at Bordertown Haulage, the township maintains a grain storage mindset, a carryover from past days when Section 92 of the constitution allowed for free trade between the states, and grain no longer was a compulsory acquisition for storage at rail sidings by regional grain boards.

It’s also the home of Bordertown Haulage, a company founded in 1973 by Peter Karger, who operates a 10-truck fleet that carries grain and produce, on regular routes through Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and regional areas in between. The fertile soil enables the production of flowers, potatoes, onions and pasture seed including livestock and cereal exports. The birthplace of former Prime Minister Bob Hawke, and the home of the Albino kangaroo, Bordertown boasts a population of nearly 3000, in addition to a vast underground water supply. The reality, however, is a picturesque, diverse farming region located between national park to the north, the Great Australian Bite to the west and the nearby Victorian border to the east.

It evokes images of red soil, cracked riverbeds and a dust-blown outpost exiled to the outer rim of a desert, not yet named by colonial explorers. Bordertown Haulage endorses the fuel efficiency and safety features of Volvo Trucks and for its veteran operator Peter Karger, the Volvo FH Globetrotter and Dynafleet system has afforded his business a new lease on life.īordertown, to the uninitiated, might sound like something out of Mad Max.

Tatiara truck and trailers