Community
24 July, 2026
Weerite truckie to feature in calendar
A WEERITE resident will feature among fellow truck drivers on a special fundraising calendar later this year.
Samuel Whytcross, who has been a truck driver for five years, put his hand up to be a part of the Aussie Truck Drivers Calendar – a not-for-profit organisation which creates a yearly calendar to raise funds for mental health initiatives.
Their fundraising efforts from the sale of the calendars aims to provide support for truck drivers and their families and reduce the stigma around mental health.
Mr Whytcross said he would cherish the experience of the photoshoot forever.
“I wanted to be part of something that gives back to the community,” he said.
“No matter our age, backgrounds, circumstances or the cards we’ve been dealt.
“We stood together as a collective to share awareness and to show that there’s always a better road to travel on than just a ‘no through road’.
“I walked away feeling accomplished that I’ve made a real difference to try and break the stigma around mental health.
“The way we arrived as strangers but left as mates was just breathtaking.”
Aussie Truck Drivers Calendar founder Peter Shiells said he was thrilled to have Mr Whytcross take part in the fundraising calendar.
“Sam’s done a good job stepping up,” he said.
“It’s nice to get a local from Weerite to join us.
“The calendar draws people from further afield too – we had a girl fly in from Darwin to participate.
“It’s good to see a young man like Sam step up and see he’s putting something back into the industry as well.”
Mr Shiells said this year was the Aussie Truck Drivers Calendar’s fifth year, having started back in 2019.
“It started from a practical joke on a Facebook post that was put up, then it got shared around and I actually put it up,” he said.
“When we started, there were 14 blokes participating.
“We decided to make a calendar from that post, and we got involved putting money towards mental health initiatives.
“There’s been a few local suicides with truck drivers over the last 12 months, so we’re trying to get it back into the transport industry.
“This is our fifth calendar since 2019 – COVID-19 made it a bit harder and we had to stop for a couple of years.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues, help is available at Beyond Blue (1300 224 636), Lifeline (13 11 14) and Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800).