09/10/2026
This is 'Heck' Graeme Bone of Nhill, owner of this truck and subject of the associated song attached to this post.
Old Heck has been running them roads between Melbourne and Nhill for some time, racking up three million kilometres in his 'New Generation' 1988 Mercedes-Benz 2228, and another three million miles in his previous truck, a 1969 Benz which he still owns.
It's with some irony that 1988 was the final year of the New Generation Benzes. The badge says it's got ABS. Heck says it's got no turbo. Wikipedia says it was built in a country that no longer exists (West Germany).
When Heck told me that there's a been a song about him, I was dubious. When he told me that everyone has heard it from Melbourne to Sydney to New York, I was extra dubious. When Chantelle Parker found it on Spotify I was gobsmacked. Heck! It's true!
If you don't like country and western ballading - and I really, truly don't - then... well... yeah, but not many people can say they've had a song written about them that's been heard in New York.
And certainly nobody is going to write a song about me not swearing. That is never, ever, ever going to happen.
Last pic is from a Facebook post on Heck Graeme who, at the time of the post in December 2024 was 'well into his 80s and nearing his 90s' and features his older Benz truck.
What a legend!
