A truckin dream from his teens
AT 72, Albert - Alby to his mates - Deveson should reasonably be thinking about possible retirement, not planning another trip as a truckie.
But someone, somewhere, forgot to tell this open-road-loving local, so in a week or two he'll be heading across the Hume or up Highway 1.
He's been driving road trains since he was 16. Experience is what counts, he reasons (and, of course, passing the odd, compulsory medical), when it comes to steering some of the country's biggest rigs.
He's been behind the wheel of most trucks but there is one that holds a special part in his heart: A 634 series 1958 Diamond T.
It was the model he drove as an 18-year-old and, earlier this year feeling a twinge of nostalgia, he invested in one of his own. "This truck had been owned by Lloydy Turner from out between Chinchilla and Dalby," Mr Deveson said.
"It had only had one owner and he used it for carting grain in from the paddock so it was in great condition: It had done 95,000 genuine miles and still had the original upholstery."
It was also the same distinct Diamond-T red of the model he drove as a teenager.
"It goes like a dream," he said, turning over the engine.
"I believe they can do 84 miles per hour, not that I've had one up to that speed."
With diesel-fuelled enthusiasm, he described the American-made General Motors truck with its "10-speed road ranger gear box and two-speed diff".
"The Diamond T I drove when I was a teenager was a four cylinder, this is a six and it sounds better," Mr Deveson explained, mischievously checking to ensure his treasured vehicle's details were being recorded.
"Although a straight six sounds better than a V6."
A true collector - although he insists this investment is a "strictly one-off" - he knows all the intricate detail: Like the fact the front bumper bar and grill are nickel plated, not chrome.
"It's a bit crazy I know but I just like having it around; I've polished it up a few times and it comes up so well."
Who knows, he reasons, if he gets a bit of time between highway stints he might get one of those "recreational permits" and drive his Diamond T in a Warwick street parade.
