Tucked away behind the scenes at Perth’s Whiteman Park, where vintage trams and trains glide and the Motor Museum hums quietly with history, there’s a less visible but equally passionate group of volunteers rolling up their sleeves to preserve a different kind of treasure: Western Australia’s bus heritage.
Started in 1969 when the last of the trolley buses finished in Perth, a group of local enthusiasts got together and decided to start preserving the retired buses and trams that rolled out of service in Western Australia.
Eventually calling themselves the Bus Preservation Society of WA (BPSWA), the group took on its first diesel bus in 1972 and hasn’t slowed since.
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“We originally started with both trams and buses, but in the early 1980s the group split. The buses went one way, and the trams went the other,” BPSWA president Ian Kerr told ABC.
“In 1993 we eventually moved to Whiteman Park in Perth and built our first workshop. We’ve added another two buildings since then as our collection grew.”
The society has around 25-30 fully restored buses and about 50 additional buses stored for spare parts or future restoration projects.
Focusing on preserving Western Australian buses, including artifacts like uniforms, ticket machines and timetables, the society’s main goal is showcasing the history of transportation in the region.
“Most of our vehicles have been donated through the public transport authority and their predecessors. However, we do get them donated through farmers and other ways if it’s of historical value,” Kerr says.
“We have around 120 members currently and hold workshops on Tuesdays and Thursdays where members come to volunteer in the restoration process.
“A lot of men tend to come out to the workshop, retired guys that used to be involved with buses and even people who aren’t interested in buses, but they might have a skill of welding or woodwork and just want to get involved.”
Some of their current collection includes a 1950 Leyland Tiger, 1974 Leyland Panther, 1947 AEC Regal Mk III, 1967 BMC Austin School Bus and plenty more vintage finds.
Kerr says preservation is very near and dear to his heart, and believes it is a vital part of keeping hold of history.
“You have to show people how time was before and what things used to be like,” he says.
“You need to know your history and know your past for the development of the future.”
The society’s collection of buses is mostly taken to events outside of the park such as motor shows and community events, but the long-term goal is to finally have a dedicated museum where they can show off their hard work.
“We currently have a block of land in Whiteman Park in the village area where we hope to be able to build a museum of our own,” Kerr says.
“Currently, we aren’t able to show our buses to the public due to our workshop being in a non-public area.
“We are currently fundraising to build this museum and hope to be able to finally put our buses on display.”
If anyone wants to donate financially to the museum building, they can contact the BPSWA treasurer via email at treasurer@bpswa.org or via the website at bpswa.org.
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