Blue Mountains based transport company Fantastic Aussie Tours (FAT) is celebrating its 50th anniversary this November, becoming one of the oldest transport company’s in the region.
FAT was born off the back of founder John Cronshaw’s love for organisation and planning.
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Back in 1968, the Oberon high school teacher put his hand up to organise a Year 12 study trip – the first NSW public school overnight school excursion. Enjoying the process, it wasn’t long before he was arranging school excursions for other schools.
In November 1974, he and then wife Lorraine moved to Katoomba and turned their side hustle into a fulltime business.
They took over Katoomba Scenic Tours with Graham Barker in 1976 and re-branded the company Golden West Tours with business partner Claude Bowden and director Malcolm Inglis.
In 1984, John met Darrell Booth at Jenolan Caves driving for another bus company. He and wife Sue-Ellen have been integral to the business since.
In 1986, the first Blue Mountains Explorer Bus pulled out of Katoomba station with two passengers who hopped on and off the double-decker bus around Katoomba and Leura at will.
The service operated on weekends and public holidays but really ratcheted up a gear when the bus was painted red. At its peak, the service operated 365 days a year and carried 65,000 passengers.
In those early days, Darrell, John and son Jason shared one desk and the top of a filing cabinet in Sydney, while Lorraine was based in Katoomba.
Golden West Tours then partnered with national coach company Bus Australia and owned and operated Great Sights South Pacific Sydney Day Tour company, later sold to Gray Line.
Over the years, there were partnerships with other coach companies and the 3801 steam train.
Golden West Tours eventually became Fantastic Aussie Tours and Blue Mountains Sightseeing. The Sydney office closed, and operations consolidated at the Katoomba depot.
Jason took over as general manager in 2006 (now managing director) and his wife Monique worked the booking office. Sue-Ellen Booth still works in the office, while Darrell manages fleet management, and John continues to have input into the business from his home near Port Macquarie.
Christian Fellowship Tours (CFT), which operates guided holidays around Australia and the world to every continent except Antarctica, was added to the company in 2009.
In late 2019-early 2020, as every arm of the company was doing well, bushfires ravaged the Blue Mountains. The Explorer Bus sat idle for months, while charter jobs were cancelled and the company rapidly lost money.
Finally, just as rain extinguished the fires, floods and landslides started ravaging the area.
Just as things were getting back on track, the pandemic took hold. With all aspects of the company closed for business, no international tourists and little government support, FAT sold half its bus fleet to survive.
Now, after persevering, the Explorer Bus fleet is back on the road 365 days a year, and the retro Ansett Clipper bus sold during the pandemic, is back in the FAT fold.
In 2017, FAT became the first certified 100 per cent carbon neutral bus charter transport service in Australia under the Federal Government’s Carbon Neutral Program.
The Explorer Bus was the first tourism operator/transport service in the country to be certified, and FAT and Explorer Bus were the first to operate a certified carbon neutral bus and coach fleet.
Managing director Jason Cronshaw says he couldn’t be happier with how the business have overcome all challenges, and looks forward to another 50 years.
“Fantastic Aussie Tours has been part of my whole life, and what a blessed ride it has been,” he says.
“Sure, we have had challenges and obstacles, but we have worked through them together as a business and as a family.
“We have built on what my parents started and look forward to whatever the future holds for the next 50 years when the third generation has the opportunity to have a go.
“Sherille Booth and Elliot Buchanan are keen, and my kids Emmagen, Cooper and Mackenzie are too young yet, but we’ll see what happens.”
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