VIDEO: Crowds at Casino Truck Parade make a move to catch trucks turning into CBD

The trucks roll into town.

Susanna Freymark

It was never going to be easy for Richmond Valley Council staff to direct 600 trucks to a parking spot in the centre of Casino.

Many of the big rigs were already in the streets yesterday, Friday, August 2.

An estimated crowd of 20,000 came to see the truck parade this morning, Saturday, August 3, lining Bruxner Highway and Centre Street, some in deckchairs, others perched on the back tray of a ute.

Sirens signalled the start of the parade with an SES high clearance truck (commonly known as a Unimog) leading followed by the RFS.

Then the trucks came started their journey from Casino Industrial Estate along the Bruxner Highway. People waved and trucks responded by blowing their air horns.

*This truck driver from the Hawkesbury near Sydney was happy to blow the horn.*

The trucks came from all over Australia including from Western Australia.

CJ travelled five days to be in Casino.

The shiny, big trucks rolled along the roads until they didn’t.

For the crowds watching past Canterbury Street the parade stopped and started many times, with gaps of up to five minutes between trucks.

*Crowds at the Barker and Centre streets roundabout.*

Many of the giants of the trucking world were missing from the parade — many had already parked in the CBD.

As the gap between trucks grew longer, the crowds at the end of Barker Street moved en masse towards Canterbury Street, where trucks were being directed to turn and park along the street.

*When there was a long gap between trucks the crowds moved closer to Canterbury Street.*

When the trucks stopped turning, and resumed along Centre Street, staff had to move people off the road. This happened several times.

In between all that, an Army Reserve truck attempted to park at the end of Barker Street, holding up trucks as it moved into position.

*An army reserve truck parked in Barker Street during the parade.*

Some people said they were disappointed about the shortened and interrupted parade compared to last year’s parade.

The experience for the crowds on the Bruxner Highway would have been quite different as they would have seen all the trucks in the parade before they turned into Canterbury Street.

While the trucks were driving by an ambulance attended to a man who had collapsed on the pavement outside McDonalds.