Reaching the Peak: the story behind Sir Harold

From the Australian Custom Trucks archive. Words by Chris Smith.

Everything Region Peak owner Brian Harper does has meaning and purpose, including creating a specially customised Kenworth T909 to honour his father, Harold Francis Harper. Brian’s passion for the industry and devotion to his company are mirrored in his daughter Brianna.

Walking into the Region Peak depot in Somerton is strangely calming. For a transport company, the workplace is strikingly ordered. Nothing seems out of place and the trucks and equipment gleam.

Below that calm, however, is a storm of activity. Brian’s mind moves at a relentless pace. His workplace is his desk, his phone, a wall of whiteboards and paper. A business that began with one truck had grown into a substantial round-the-clock operation.

A family legacy

Brianna Harper grew up with the company. She remembers wanting to spend weekends and school holidays at the depot and jokes that she could operate a trailer buckle before she could say hello.

“When I was at school and asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer would always be I wanted to be my dad.”

Her long-term ambition was to carry the business forward and preserve the legacy created by her family. Brian himself came from trucking stock: his father, Harold Francis Harper, ran a transport company for more than 40 years.

That history explains the name carried by the company’s 2018 Kenworth T909: Sir Harold.

The flagship

Gold signwriting distinguishes Sir Harold from Region Peak’s usual silver treatment and marks it as the flagship. The custom work included illuminated tank trims, a stainless bunk extension with the company name laser-cut into it, stainless wings and steer flares, headlight backings, hinge covers, a smoke bug deflector, mirror lights and a custom visor.

The truck’s driver, Nathan Paton, also had input into the build. Brianna said his care for the equipment was why he was entrusted with it: the truck was expected to look immaculate every day.

Region Peak’s equipment choices were built around reliability and long-term relationships. Its trailers came from Vawdrey, while the T909’s custom treatment was completed through Kyzer Customs in Shepparton.

Meaning in every detail

Even the fleet’s names carry family history. A Western Star called Katori combined the middle names of Brian’s two daughters, Kate and Tori. Other trucks remembered relatives and close friends.

The wave graphics introduced with the newer livery also told a story: a quiet Monday building through the week until the peak of activity on Friday. As Brianna explained, the change was Brian’s version of a holiday—because he rarely took one.

Sir Harold brought those threads together: family, work, pride and a truck created to ensure a name and a story continued down the road.