Phil Bourke, known to most as ‘Bourkey’, is one such figure. From a rebellious teenager (who found school a poor fit) to a proud owner-driver of a bespoke Kenworth K200, Bourkey’s journey is about hard work, the power of good people and so interesting, that they made a play about it.

Bourkey’s story began, as many great trucking tales do, in the passenger seat of his father’s rig. Growing up in Pahiatua, a town he describes as “a real trucking community”, Bourkey’s destiny seemed sealed from a young age. His father was a truck driver for the local dairy company, navigating a flat deck B-train, and young Phil was his constant companion.

“I used to be riding around with him all the time, all school holidays,” he recalls.

Those formative years were spent kicking around truck yards, soaking in the sights and sounds of the industry, and nurturing a dream. The rumble of a diesel engine was a siren song, and the classroom couldn’t compete.

“School wasn’t for me,” Bourkey admits. After two years of college, his parents got him an exemption to leave at just 15 years old.

He tried his hand at a tractors and cars apprenticeship at Angove Automotive, but the restlessness of youth and a penchant for trouble got in the way.

“I was a little bit of a shit as a kid,” he laughs, “and had more time with no license than with a license.”

The apprenticeship remained unfinished, a few papers short of completion, but bigger things were on the horizon. At 19, he and his partner, Kaylene, embarked on a two-year adventure in Australia, returning to New Zealand when he was 21, ready to finally answer the call of the road.

His professional trucking career began in 2008 at Stringfellows, an earthmoving company. He started on bulldozers and diggers before graduating to transporters and tippers, honing his skills across the Manawatu district. It was there he had his first taste of driving something special, getting behind the wheel of the first CAT truck in the area to be used as a transporter – an “eye-opener” of an experience.

While Stringfellows provided the entry point, it was in 2013 that Bourkey’s “main trucking career started” when he joined McCarthy Transport. This was the moment his childhood fantasies began to materialise. He was handed the keys to a K104 Kenworth, painted in the traditional McCarthy colours, and a lifelong passion was ignited.

“It’s always been a childhood dream to drive a K100 when I was a young fella,” he explains.

“I’ve always had a great passion for Kenworth trucks... I just used to love them aye. I used to see them driving on the main road, SH2, you just see them going past all the time.”

The dream had evolved from the classic K100s of his youth to the modern K200s, and now, he isn’t just watching them go past, he is driving one.

Ambition is a powerful engine, and after five years with McCarthy’s, Bourkey was ready for the next step: becoming an owner-driver. He approached McCarthy’s, but at the time, they weren’t looking to engage owner-drivers. It was a potential roadblock, but fate, in the form of his brother-in-law Regan Beale, provided a detour.

“He said, `well, I’ve got a logging truck you can buy if you want to go owner-driver’,” Bourkey recalls. While McCarthy’s were sad to see him leave, they were happy he was taking the leap.

His time at Beale’s, which spanned four years, was foundational to his success. Starting with a 2009 Freightliner Argosy, he learned the ropes of business ownership under the mentorship of Regan, who became not just an advisor but a best mate.

The early days were tough. “I started and I didn’t have much money,” Bourkey admits. “They actually paid for my road users for the first month because I couldn’t afford them when I started out. And all their workshop and everything they let me use. I couldn’t have been happier about how they got me going.”

Regan, who had built his own fleet of 25 trucks from nothing, was the perfect guide. As business picked up, Bourkey made a pivotal decision in 2020, buying a brand-new Kenworth K200, the physical embodiment of his dream.

In a twist of fate that brought his career full circle, Regan eventually sold his fleet of eight logging trucks to McCarthy Transport. The sale initially came as a shock, leaving Bourkey wondering about his future.

“I thought, oh shit, what’s going to happen?” he says. While other opportunities were available, his heart was set on one place. He sat down with Mike McCarthy, and in a moment, he describes as “pretty cool,” he was invited to join them as an owner-driver, the very goal he had set for himself years earlier.

Today, Bourkey is more than just a driver; he’s an ambassador for the industry he loves. His passion is palpable, especially when he talks about his work in forestry.

“I love the forestry. I love the crews we go to, the people you meet. Just the work environment,” he says.

“It’s pretty cool, you know, it’s not really a job. I get excited come Sunday night thinking, sweet, we’ve got work tomorrow. I can’t wait to go and kick this Kenworth in the guts.”

This pride extends to his appearance. He’s become recognisable for his custom Country Trucker caps, which he was the first to import from Australia to New Zealand. For him, it’s not about advertising; it’s about being “company proud” and having his name out there.

His infectious personality and authentic stories even led to an unexpected foray into the arts. Actor Jackson Burling rode with him for a day, soaking up his experiences, and turned it into a one-man play in Wellington. The show was a comedic and heartfelt look into a day in the life of a logging truck driver, covering “the good things, the bad things.”

The bad things are a stark reality of the job. Bourkey has had the misfortune of being first on the scene at three separate fatalities, experiences he says, “run you down a bit.”

He also laments the state of driver facilities in New Zealand, noting how they pale in comparison to the well-equipped truck stops in Australia, and points to a decline in driver camaraderie. He recalls recently stopping for a driver with a wheel off on a remote road and giving him his lunch.

“The first thing I did was just give him my lunch box,” he says. “There’s not enough of that shit goes on anymore, you know”.

But the good certainly outweighs the bad, and for Bourkey, no piece of machinery brings more good than his K200. He didn’t just buy it; he created it.

“I spec’d it the way I wanted it,” he says proudly. “We built it from a piece of paper, me and Mark O’Hara, the salesman.”

COVID-19 travel restrictions robbed him of the traditional Kenworth experience, watching his truck come off the production line at the Bayswater factory in Australia. However, a personal highlight was flying to Auckland to drive it down to Rotorua for its final fit-out.

“That was one of the highlights of my life, actually pulling into there and seeing my truck for the first time,” he says. Southpac Trucks later made up for the missed opportunity with a “trip of a lifetime” to the Australian factory, reinforcing his belief that they are “the world’s best trucks for a reason.”

Bourkey’s authenticity was on full display at the Kenworth 100 show in Hamilton. After a rainy day in the forest, he considered washing his truck for the event. Then he had a better idea. “I thought shit... hang on a minute, why wouldn’t I take it like this? I’ll show everyone what these all the shining show trucks look like come two o’clock Monday morning.”

He parked his mud-caked rig among the polished chrome, making a powerful statement about the reality of a working truck.

Through all the ups and downs (COVID, blown motors, and financial pressures) Bourkey remains profoundly grateful. He credits two companies, “Regan Beale and McCarthy Transport,” for his success, stating, “If it wasn’t for those two companies, I wouldn’t be anywhere where I am today.”

He gives equal praise to his partner, Kaylene, who handles the mountain of paperwork, and his kids for their unwavering support. In a fitting chapter to his story, he even got to deliver his own newly built house, driving the last leg of its journey in a Central House Movers Kenworth.

To top it all off, his father now also drives for McCarthy’s, allowing father and son to share the road once more.

From a “hoon without a license” to a respected owner-driver and an icon of the New Zealand trucking scene, Phil ‘Bourkey’ Bourke has indeed come a long way. His journey is a powerful reminder that with a deep-seated passion, a willingness to work, and the support of “good people,” any dream is achievable, especially when that dream involves a Kenworth and an open road.