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Headlines

December 2001

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MOVING THE TREE of 10 000 LIGHTS

There's a huge Christmas tree that lights up every night in the Johannesburg Zoo. It's called the Tree of Light. More than that, it is a Tree of Hope for it brings to many people joy and comfort via funds raised from the public. And it would not be there if it were not for the kind generosity of a trucker writes Patrick O'Leary.

There's something magical about Christmas which, I believe, stems from the fact that this is a time of giving. It is a time when one puts on hold one's own needs and looks for ways to enrich the lives of others - whether that be wife, husband, kids, friends or, perhaps more noble, those you do not even know.

For the past years, the Hospice Association of the Witwatersrand has used this time to erect a magnificent Tree of Light to raise funds. This year, FleetWatch received a call from Hospice's Elaine Montague asking if we could organise for the tree to be moved by truck from the Municipal Electricity Department in Booysens to the Johannesburg Zoo. Not a tall order until you realise this isn't an ordinary tree.

The tree's height is 22metres with a radius near the ground of 6m. The total weight of the mast and all electrics is about 3 tons. To erect the tree, the mast is bolted down on a concrete plinth and 24 steel wire ropes are tethered to short iron stays knocked into the ground. It's a complex tree this one is.

Knowing truckers as we do, we knew we could make any number of calls and each would come to the fore to help - and we weren't wrong. The first call made was to Mitchell Joseph, MD of Bulldog Trucking, a division of Bulldog Hauliers.

"Hospice. That's a good call. Of course we'll help. What do we need to do." And that was it. No hesitation. No "but what's in it for us". Just an open and forthright willingness to help a good cause and that's what makes truckers great. They are really good guys and that's why it peeves me off when so many people unjustifiably knock the trucking industry. There's so much heart in this industry. Far more than most other industries I know.

Top: Three tractors, a front-end loader and a Unimog were needed to remove the 15 ton forklift from the mud after three days of rain. But it was alright on the night when the tree (below) was switched on to the delight of all. Three cheers to Bulldog Trucking for making it happen!

As it turned out, it was a huge exercise which required enormous resources in terms of equipment, people and time. Two truck tractors were used - one to haul a lowbed with a 15 ton forklift needed to load and offload the tree and the other, a tridem axle flatdeck to haul the tree.

With the tree loaded, the vehicles made their way under a traffic escort to the Johannesburg Zoo where the drivers displayed great skill in maneuvering the vehicles through narrow gaps inbetween trees and other obstacles. They eventually got to the spot where the tree was to be erected and as the vehicles moved onto the grass, the heavens opened and it poured with rain - and continued to pour for three days.

"It was quite a palaver as the forklift sank to its axles in the ground and we couldn't get it out. It stayed bogged down for three days until the rain stopped. We then got it out using three tractors, a front-end loader and a Unimog," recalls Joseph laughing.

Of course his dad, Des Joseph, arrived to survey the scene and gave some great technical advice - something like: "Why don't you get those monkeys out of their cages and let them do the driving. They'll do a far better job than you guys." Oh, the joy of having a dad around.

The public, of course, never saw the drama behind the event. They never do when it comes to trucking. What they did see was an opening ceremony which served to delight when the switch was flipped and over 8 500 lights came on. It looked magnificent. By that time, the forklift was back in the depot and the trucks were out there keeping the wheels of the economy turning.

But we know - as do the beneficiaries of the funds, namely, Hospice, The Star Seaside Fund and the Zoo Charity Fund - that it was trucks and people like Mitchell Joseph and his ops manager, Peter van Vuuren, who made it all possible.

I know that the guys who made it all happen will probably never meet the recipients of their kindness. But knowing that they were able to help is enough for them. As that's why truckers are such good guys. They do it with heart.

	LEFT:  The Hospice Tree of Light is no ordinary tree as these photographs show. Two rigs from Bulldog Trucking were used to move the tree from Booysens to Johannesburg Zoo - one to haul the tree and the other the 15 ton forklift needed to load and offload the tree. Far right are the rigs arriving at the zoo under a police escort and then making their way through avenues of tress to the erection site.