THEY expected a line of hungry truckies as far as the eye could see.

Kerry Murphy, the owner of the Wallendbeen Hotel, rostered on four extra staff, hired beer glasses, bought extra kegs and purchased enough supplies for 300 bacon and egg rolls.

''Out of pocket'' ... Kerry Murphy, owner of the Wallendbeen Hotel, was prepared for hundreds of convoy participants to stop at the town's pub for a break on the way to Canberra. Only a fraction came. Credit:Andrew Sheargold

The fishing club and public school in Wallendbeen, a village of 200 near Wagga Wagga, set up large steel drums filled with firewood and spent hundreds on meat and bread rolls in preparation for the 1000 travelling protesters that organisers told them to expect. But the Convoy of No Confidence never came.

The organisers of the mobile protest told the Herald last week that 11 convoys carrying up to 30,000 truck drivers would line the country's roads, travelling several designated routes to Canberra, with an official overnight stop in a country town.