Hawera-based operator Weir Bros is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, with its heritage of service to the communities of New Zealand’s South Taranaki stretching back further than its half-century.
Much of the company’s success is down to Clarke Weir, now 80 years of age, working in the firm every day and living with his wife Margaret beside the depot as they have done for 57 years. His self-taught mechanical skills and ability to repair and adapt components have kept the growing fleet on the road and the running costs down.
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Through the years, Clarke has tackled everything from repowering to repainting, and he has improvised and always ‘found a way’ despite having no formal mechanical qualifications.
His father Hugh was a local operator of ‘one or two’ buses from as far back as the late ‘40s in an era when a car was a luxury that most families in post-war New Zealand just couldn’t afford. Along with a school contract, ‘Hughie’ Weir’s red and white 33-seat Ford V8 bus was popular for sports trips, shopping excursions and late-night cinema runs – at any community event in South Taranaki, the vehicle the school kids called the ‘Coca-Cola bus’ was in service to take families where they wanted to go.
The birth of the current operation came in 1974. Clarke and his brother Garth worked in the parts industry at the local branch of Motor Specialties (known as ‘Motospecs’ or just ‘Specs’ for short). The oil and gas industry was in its infancy in Taranaki and the Weir brothers saw an opportunity to take on a contract to transport workers to and from the Shell BP Todd Kapuni gas field.
Motospecs manager Tom Priest allowed the Weirs to ‘arrive late and go early’, so for some time the bus operation was part-time, using a side-valve 1946 Ford V8 bus and a Commer van, later replaced with a CF Bedford.
From that contract work came the opportunity to work with Kapuni School and Okaiawa School. Through the years Weir brothers Clarke, John, David and Garth have all contributed to the business.
Since those early days, the fleet has grown to 40 vehicles, including a strong contingent of mini-buses.
Clarke has handed over the day-to-day running of Weir Bros to the next generation. His nephew Callum Chapman is operations manager and one of Clarke’s daughters Stacy Manktelow is office manager.
Although it’s a proudly Taranaki-based business, coaches branded ‘Weir Tours New Zealand’ can be seen all over the country.
From very humble beginnings hastened by the closure of Hawera’s Regent cinema, Weirs began taking groups away to shows in both Auckland and Wellington. The current offering of a seven-day Mid-Winter Escape, a South Island High Country Stations tour, an eight-day West Coast Explorer or a foray into the World of Wearable Arts in Spring in Wellington demonstrates a diverse tour product offering to an extensive nationwide customer database built up over many years.
Clarke has many great memories of great seats at some fantastic shows: like Rolling Stones, Les Miserables, Cats, Jersey Boys, Riverdance, Paul McCartney — and he is proud to have been part of opening up a world of entertainment to local people.
“We take people away, see how willing they are to give things a go and embrace the itinerary we’ve created, and it’s always really enjoyable,” he says.
The tour operation is ‘all go’ from October to May and in recent years they have also run tailor-made tours for international students at other times.
Like any business, there are challenges on the horizon. Clarke believes most people don’t realise the stress that Covid-19 placed on both operators and drivers alike — changes in the Ministry of Education and the government’s cost-cutting drive loom large among challenges for the future.
However, the business is committed to continuing in the ways that have made it successful for over half a century: looking after the staff, purchasing locally where possible, working in with other operators and always giving personal service.
Third-generation member Callum Chapman spent many years in the oil and gas industry both in NZ and overseas and had no intention of joining the firm until the opportunity arose in 2018. He is very aware of the legacy of the business he fronts today proudly supporting a number of unique Taranaki events along with some schools and organisations which have loyally supported Weirs through the years.
“There will have been many opportunities to expand outside the district, but our local service ethic has kept us building up the business while still focused on the Taranaki community,” Chapman says.
“Our staff have been our greatest asset with some who have several decades of service with us – our retired staff are still very welcome here, especially at morning teatime!”
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