Westerfield farmer and Commonwealth Games gold medallist shooter John Snowden is on a mission to uncover a  piece of automotive history.

While restoring his 1951 Austin Loadstar truck, a tantalising clue to its past emerged from beneath layers of old paint on the driver’s door.

As he sanded it down, a faint inscription became visible: “Wes McDonald, Farmer, Edendale.”

Intrigued, Snowden began digging into the truck’s history.

“Edendale is just north of Invercargill,” he said. “I found the name on an old electoral roll, but the trail ran cold after that.”

Snowden bought the truck from a neighbouring farmer at a clearing sale in Lauriston in the late 1990s for a bargain, thinking it might come in handy on the farm.

“It was a tip truck, so I thought it would be useful for holding grain,” he recalled.

But, like many old vehicles, the Austin had its fair share of issues.

On the drive home, it became clear the gearbox was in serious trouble.

The wooden deck was almost completely rotted, the engine had several hard-to-reach water leaks—and there were no brakes.

“I used it a couple of times, and then it just got shoved in the shed and forgotten,” Snowden said.

Eventually, the truck was moved to a paddock to make room in the shed, and its fate seemed sealed.

“It all goes downhill quickly after that.”

Years later, after leasing part of his farm and gaining some spare time, Snowden decided to revisit the project.

He’d previously restored a Land Rover, doing all the mechanical work himself while sending the panel work to professionals.

But with the Austin, he had a different plan.

“I thought I’d just get it mechanically driveable again,” he said. “But once I started, I decided to do the whole thing myself—including the bodywork.”

Then came lockdown.

“I was on my way to town to get welding wire when the lockdown was announced,” he said.

“While everyone else was stocking up on toilet paper, I was buying welding gear.”

With a natural aptitude for mechanics, Snowden tackled the engine and brake restoration with ease.

“I’ve always been interested in how things work.

The mechanical stuff just takes a methodical approach—take notice of how it comes apart, and then put it back together.”

The real challenge came with the panel work.

No panel beaters were willing to take on the job, so Snowden turned to the “university of YouTube” for guidance.

“I bought a small welder and just started.”

He converted his old farm shed into a makeshift panel shop, battling constant dust to get a clean finish on the paintwork.

“There’s always dust settling in the paint—you just have to sand it off.

“At one point, a spider dropped onto the bonnet while the paint was wet and wriggled around,” he laughed.

Snowden chose to repaint the Austin in Porsche Burgundy Red, a nod to the maroon he found beneath the layers of green and grey paint—likely the truck’s original colour.

He also restored the deck, adding sides made from a mix of kwilla and recycled rimu, and fabricating the metalwork by hand.

The restoration took around six years.

Now, Snowden has a new project: an Austin K4—the predecessor to the Loadstar, featuring a different cab.

“It’s an ex-Ashburton County Council truck, originally navy blue,” he said. “It’s the truck I’ve always wanted to restore.”

Once again, he’s trying to uncover the vehicle’s backstory—but with dead registration plates, it’s proving difficult.

“I found a record of it in the Ashburton Council archives, but the chassis number was wrong. I’d love to know its history.”

Do you know any information about the history of John Snowden’s Austin trucks?

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By Claire Inkson