Stereotypes tell you that truckers are burly men in flannels and a cap, but stereotypes don’t account for women like Alina Hawkins.

Alina grew up in regional NSW, in a town with just over 10,000 people called Casino.

She would eventually move from the northern border of NSW to the southern, working in Moama, however she did have a brief stint in the big smoke.

“It’s [Casino] a good part of the world,” she said.

“I did my high schooling in Sydney, so I relocated down there sort of early high school, and that was a big experience going from a small town to a big city and learning all about that.”

Alina finished her schooling and had the world of job options in front of her.

She wasn’t exactly sure where she’d end up, but what she did know was her passion for agriculture.

“I always had a vision that I would do something in agriculture,” Alina said.

“I actually wanted to get into being a meat inspector, so in the abattoir side of things.”

After wrapping up her studies, she began her work in the transport industry.

She completed a degree in applied science and studies to work with animals, not because animal handling was her passion at the time, but because she had a keen interest in meat quality.

“Things like making it fit to load and managing the animals in transit, that pre-preparation stuff for me is a major part of what we do,” she said.

“It’s really not that far from what I wanted, I just wanted a quality product at the end.”

She worked for another transport company while studying in Queensland.

“I worked for another transport company up there and couldn’t get away from it, and that’s where I met my now husband of 20 years,” she said.

“He obviously was bitten by the transport bug too.”

They have been together in sickness and in health, but also in business.

“We’ve built our business over that 20-year period and, at the start, when I was learning how to drive a truck, he taught me a lot,” Alina said.

Since then, she’s honed her skill and deeply integrated herself in the transport industry, and two years ago, she stepped into the role of chief operating officer at Livestock and Rural Transporters Association Victoria.

“I stepped away from my truck and thought, well, I can use the skills that I’ve learned over the last 20 years and give back to the industry and be that bridge between industry and government,” Alina said.

“We do find a lot of the challenges that we face, we don’t know how to articulate them to the people who can fix them.

“I see that as my role. If I can do that now, that’s great and because I’ve been able to do the job, I can also assist with explaining to the people who are in a position to make the change to understand the actual problems.”

She’s in a unique position being at the border, with NSW and Victoria having their own rules and regulations around drivers and livestock.

Her work and skills made her a decorated transporter, receiving Australia Trucking Association’s Woman of the Year in 2023.

“I didn’t feel worthy of being nominated because I look at all these women who I have looked up to my whole life and thought, I’m not in their league,” she said.

“They are incredible women, and you know when I was announced the winner, I was up against some other amazing women, I was congratulated by these same women I have looked up to.”

Being a woman in agriculture comes with unique challenges, but Alina said the important cargo she carries have never minded.

“The cows don’t care whether you’re a male or a female; they care about your ability to do the job,” she said.

“When you’re a female, and you start at 21, and you pull up in a truck at a roadhouse to get fuel and there are blokes looking at you everywhere going ‘how the hell did you get that there’ and my reply was ‘I pushed it’.”

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Friday, 16th May 2025

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