Phillip Morris died almost instantly when he and his boss, Roy Cody, were travelling on the New England Highway, near Uralla, on November 2, 2015.

Mr Cody was knocked unconscious and was rushed to hospital with nine broken ribs, a cracked sternum, broken hand and a head injury.

One year on, he and friends returned to the crash site, about 6km north of Uralla, to remember their mate in a moving service.

“Like the saying is, you never know what you’ve got until you’ve lost it,” Mr Cody told The Leader.

“Phillip loved family, he loved work and he loved bowling, I’m just not sure in what order.”

The pair was returning from a job west of Guyra when another car collided head-on with their Fairlane, near Chiswick Station.

An elderly woman who was a passenger in the oncoming vehicle also died in hospital, about a week after the crash.

In a touching tribute, the memorial cross that now stands on the side of the highway was crafted by a fellow employee and was made out of river red gum – the very wood that Mr Cody and Mr Morris had been working with in years gone by.

“The river red gum is the wood Phil and I had milled some 10 years ago,” Mr Cody said.

“It was such a lovely piece of timber, so its a beautiful tribute to a great man.”