THE LARGEST EVER display of heritage buses in Queensland helped the Queensland Omnibus and Coach Society Inc (QOCS) celebrate its 25th anniversary in style, held 16 October 2021, organisers report.
The Heritage Bus Expo had no fewer than 27 retro-cool buses and coaches and more than 300 eager bus fans and participants attend the premises of Bus Stop Sales and Service at Rocklea, in Brisbane, between 9.30am and 2.30pm. This included in excess of 100 Queensland past and present bus operators and industry personnel, as well as transport officials like chair of Brisbane City Council’s Public and Active Transport Committee, councillor Ryan Murphy, and Queensland state minister for Transport and Main Roads, Mark Bailey MP.
The Expo proved very popular with punters and organisers alike – and even featured on the local television news that night, broadcast throughout the state, organisers confirm.
WELCOMED GATHERING
The event was a rare opportunity for Queensland bus industry colleagues to get together in an otherwise uncertain period due to the pandemic.
A number of past bus operators also attended the expo, including Kevin Doyle, who owned Doyle’s Bus Lines near Ipswich between 1973 and 1998; Russell Penfold, whose father started Greyhound Coaches in Toowoomba in 1928; and Tony McCafferty, whose father started McCafferty’s Coaches in Toowoomba during 1940.
A number of Translink bus operators attended the expo as well, including Ian and James Mitchell (Brisbane Bus Lines); Adam Pulitano (Bus Queensland); Grant and Lachlan Craike (Caboolture Bus Lines); Reg and Yvonne Clark (Clark’s Logan City Bus Service); Rolf Mitchell (Hornibrook Bus Lines); Daryl and Darren Webster (Kangaroo Bus Lines); and Shane and Jack Thompson (Thompson Bus Services).
The official reception featured speeches from Pete White (Bus Stop Sales dealer principal), Cr Ryan Murphy, Mark Bailey MP, Rolf Mitchell (representing the Queensland Bus Industry Council) and Nick Wilson (QOCS president).
PANTHER UNVEILED
As part of the celebrations, QOCS unveiled a refurbished 1970 Brisbane City Council Leyland Panther bus, which is in fact the very last of the 340 buses the council purchased to replace Brisbane’s tram and trolleybus network between 1968 and 1970.
“This was the very first bus acquired by our organisation for preservation in August, 1998, and we were very pleased to have unveiled its new council colours as part of our 25th birthday celebrations,” QOCS president Nick Wilson stated.
“It is another magnificent restoration by the team at Royans-Coachworks,” he explained.
“The 340 Leyland Panther buses hold great historical significance to the people of Brisbane because they signify the end of one transportation era and the evolution of another”, he said.
BUS AND COACH DISPLAY
A total of 27 buses and coaches ranging from 1917 to 1997 models featured at the Expo and comprised:
HERITAGE LOOP
Asked about what lays ahead for the future, QOCS President Nick Wilson stated: “I’m currently working with Brisbane City Council and Translink on a proposal for QOCS to regularly operate part of their heritage bus fleet one weekend a month in the Brisbane CBD.”
“Our initial discussions have been very promising and we are grateful to have the support of both levels of government through Ryan Murphy and Mark Bailey,” he said.
For full coverage of the event check out ABC magazine, Issue 411 – November, 2021.
Photography: courtesy QOCS