We continue with our Jim Barker group of companies series and take a look at one of the most popular truck brands to ever grace the green and white livery
A clue to the trucks in this feature is the diagonal slash across the front of the grilles with the Iron Mark emblem, and this of course gives way to the Swedish brand Volvo.
When Jim Barker purchased a cargo ship in 1992, Strait Shipping was born.
Living in Christchurch back in the early 1990s, Strait Shipping and the inception of Freightlines was a welcome prospect for a truck enthusiast armed with a camera looking to photograph some North Island gear on a more regular basis.
This certainly turned out to be the case as Freightlines trucks and those of their contractors became commonplace very quickly in the South Island when undertaking interisland work.
One of the most common company truck brands were of course the aforementioned Volvos. FH models in particular found favour in the fleet and found their way into most applications from dropsiders and bulkies to curtainsiders and livestock units.
One of the Freightlines company flagships at the time went on the road in 1999 in the form of a FH420 Globetrotter on curtainsider general freight interisland work.
Many contractors also opted for the Swedish brand and many of them put their own personal touches to the liveries and set ups of their units.
The year 2012 saw a batch of the lower cab FM540 models introduced into the fleet along with the preferred FHs.
These days Volvos are still popular with the Barker family, who continue to run many fine examples of the brand across the Stocklines and Bulklines fleets.
Images by Dean Middleton