Sandstone Pub Fights Battle For Truckies

• General News
• 7th February 2014

One of the biggest gripes we hear from long-distance truckies is the lack of amenities in the remote WA outback.

So when Donna Bennett from the Sandstone Hotel called us about a dispute they were having with the local shire over truck driver’s facilities we were all ears.

Sandstone is located 661 kilometres north of Perth and 157 klicks from Mt Magnet. Other towns in the region include Leonora and Leinster.

The town population hovers around 24 people but a lot of trucks go through the town carting to and from the various mine-sites in the region.

Donna's pub, which she runs with husband Paul, was built in 1907 when the town boasted 6,000 residents thanks largely to the local gold-rush at the time.

Paul also drives a truck for a crust and he and Donna know how rough things are for truckies in the bush.

To make things a bit nicer for them they provide free toilets, showers and a dining room for them.

“We also give them a free breakfast; cereal, toast and a cuppa and they can watch a bit of television if they like.” said Donna.

“Over the road from the hotel is a big parking area where the drivers park up and take their rest breaks.”

“The guys appreciate the amenities we provide but that is about to change thanks to the one resident who lives near the parking area.

“This bloke complained to the shire about the noise one of the truck’s ice-packs was making and whinged to the shire.

“The shire has taken this bloke’s side and they intend kicking the truckies out of the area and relocating them about a kilometre up the road.

“This area has no lighting, no toilets, no running water, no nothing, but who cares, they are only truck drivers.

“But we care and we’re doing our best to fight the local bureaucracy on this issue and that’s why we called you guys,” said the irate publican.

Well Donna certainly has our support – we think the Shire has over-reacted on the issue and is thumbing its nose at the needs of truck-drivers.

You'd think that with a population not much bigger than a footy team, they'd want to encourage more people to do business in their town.

Instead they are driving good people and their money out and that is plain stupid.

We will be approaching Ian Fitzgerald, the Shire CEO, to see if there is anything that can be done to sort things out.

And we will have an update on the dispute in the next edition of The Wheel.