The year was 1992 when the notice was first issued to the Australian road transport industry. In August of that year, small independent Brisbane-based newspaper and magazine company Publishing Services Australia (PSA) announced the impending launch of a new publication.
The business already owned Australasian Transport News (ATN) in its portfolio, but now it wanted to recognise the pride, professionalism and concerns of the men and women who represented the industry from behind the wheel. Thus OwnerDriver was launched in September 1992.
Now, the publication is celebrating 400 editions of bringing the latest industry news, truck reviews, investigative features and beautiful truck photos to the local sector. It’s a far cry from 1992 when founding editor Andrew Stewart, who sadly passed away in February this year, said the newspaper’s agenda was to highlight professional owner drivers and the way they do things as an “example to the whole road transport industry”.
“It’s all designed to help owner-drivers know the facts affecting their industry, pick up a few tips to save a dollar or make life easier, and to feel pride in the tough job they do,” he said at the time.
Stewart said one of the reasons PSA started the paper was that “so many owner-drivers are embarrassed by the image portrayed by self-proclaimed, big rig driving loudmouths supposedly acting for the industry”.
“There’s a sense of frustration that they aren’t taken seriously,” Stewart.
“If they had the same investment in a shop or a real estate agency, they’d be considered ‘real businessmen’.”
From its first issue, OwnerDriver started a tradition of tackling the big issues relevant to owner drivers. In particularly at the time was the rising price of diesel, inconsistencies with road enforcement and government strategies to extract revenue from the industry’s most vulnerable sector. It’s funny how little has changed, particularly to start 2026.
Featuring in that first issue on page 17 was a column by Ken Wilkie – ‘Wilkie’s Watch’. Ken remained a regular contributor to the magazine until only recently, helping grow the legacy of OwnerDriver across the driving cohort.
“As I approach my 52nd year as an owner driver, I have to congratulate OwnerDriver in achieving 400 editions,” he told the publication.
MORE OWNERDRIVER TRENDING STORIES:
- Shadow transport minister calls for reshaped road user charge
- McGrory’s Transport marks retirement with fleet auction
- ATA relaunches iconic truck safety campaign
- NSW allows larger trucks and extends operating hours to fight fuel costs
“I took great pleasure in contributing for 25 years and only stopped because I felt my comments were becoming irrelevant. The then-owner of the magazine at the time invited me to contribute after I became the first owner driver elected to the board of the then-named Road Transport Forum – now known as the Australian Trucking Association.
“While there are many issues presented in the industry nowadays, I have no intention of stepping away from the industry through my own choice. It has been a great and satisfying occupation.”
A couple of months after the publication was launched, cartoonist John Allison introduced his artistic wit to OwnerDriver, starting with a clever swipe at the Pacific Highway. In 1991 he left his job at VicRoads (he stresses he was an admin officer, not an enforcement officer) and began freelance cartooning after accumulating clients over the years.
Not long after setting up his home office, he saw the very first edition of OwnerDriver and contacted Andrew Stewart to offer his services. It started a partnership with the publication that is ongoing to this day, 400 editions in.
“To cut a long story short, I’m still drawing for OwnerDriver and it’s been a thoroughly enjoyable ride,” Allison told the publication.
“I’ve always been interested in trucks – for a while during my early youth, my Dad was a driver in Gippsland, Victoria. It has been a rewarding and interesting journey and I’ve gained a huge insight into what is involved in hauling large loads around the country.
“Congratulations to OwnerDriver on its 400th edition. It’s proof that the original editorial team in Queensland all those years ago were certainly on the ball when the opted to target owner drivers. I’m now looking forward to the next 400 issues.”
Other contributions over the years came from Bob McMillan, the Transport Workers Union, ‘Shirty’ On The Hume, the ‘Mystery Operator’, Pam McMillan, the Australian Trucking Association and Rod Hannifey. Rod joined the team in 2001 and has been submitting his ‘Eyes On The Road’ column and other features ever since.
“When I won the ATA National Professional Driver of the Year award in 2001, Andrew Stewart asked me if I’d like to write a column for the magazine – at the time I thought it would be just for the following year,” Rod told OwnerDriver.
“That was now nearly 26 years ago and I have only missed one column when I had pneumonia – I thought that was a reasonable excuse at the time.”
Rod says that although the title suggests it’s only for owner drivers, the publication has a far wider audience around Australia that means each and every edition is well read by many around the country’s truck stops.
“Thank you and my condolences to the family of Andrew Stewart, a man who gave me a chance to have a voice,” he says.
Stewart eventually sold PSA to Trader Classifieds (part of Australian Consolidated Press) in early 2007, before ACP was sold to Bauer Media a few years later. OwnerDriver was part of titles bought by Mercury Capital in 2020 before Prime Creative Media bought the industry magazine in 2021 and has owned it since.
Throughout these years, Greg Bush, or ‘Bushy’, was the figurehead of the publication. As editor, he remembers how OwnerDriver transitioned from a newsprint newspaper to an all-gloss magazine.
“It started as a newsprint paper before adding a gloss section – years later I managed to convince management to turn it into an all-gloss magazine,” Bushy told OwnerDriver.
“There were a few editors before me, notably Pete Armstrong, who went on to become Prime Mover’s inaugural editor in 2007.
“Back in the day we had some great and innovative feature stories like Clash of the Titans (including videos). The Highway 31 feature was another.”
It all sums up the rich history of OwnerDriver as we celebrate 400 editions of the publication. This milestone issue includes features on issues that still impact the sector all these years later, including rising diesel costs. We hope you enjoy this special edition of OwnerDriver and thank all of you for playing your part in these 400 issues. Now onto the next one!
RIP Andrew Stewart
Subscribe to the weekly Owner//Driver newsletter here.
