The annual Newcastle and Hunter Road Safety Awareness Day is generally regarded as a truck driver’s day out. This year, however, several vintage buses joined the convoy, which runs from the city’s Sandgate markets to Foreshore Park, in a belated celebration of the Newcastle Buses and Ferries 75th anniversary.
Originally scheduled for September 22, Newcastle Buses and Ferries decided to postpone the festivities until well after the football season finals. The idea to link up with the Road Safety Awareness Day proved to be advantageous.
Twelve buses from yesteryear, many from the Sydney Bus and Truck Museum, made the trek north. A 1937 Leyland from the Sydney Tramway Museum was one that attracted much interest, although a 1951 Leyland double decker also bought back memories for the Newcastle’s old timers. Originally it was planned to re-enact Newcastle’s first bus route from the city to Mayfield in the Leyland, but with many of Newcastle’s tree-lined streets now unsuitable for double deckers, the bus was re-routed along the harbour.
Ted Barker, Newcastle Buses and Ferries depot manager, says the day was also an opportunity to show off one of the government’s new Volvo BLE buses, incorporating wheelchair access, CCTV and the Vigil Training System.
“A lot of people won’t travel on the buses in the Newcastle area because of safety issues,” Barker says. “So we were pushing the CCTV cameras and mirrors.”
While passers-by inspected the new Volvo, others took advantage of the free tours along the harbour and down to the suburb of Merewether in the classic buses.
The presence of Newcastle Buses and Ferries also contributed to the approximately $100,000 raised for the Westpac Helicopter Rescue Service. Just as important, Barker says the crowd numbers has encouraged the department to rejoin the parade in 2011 and beyond.
“We’re committed to getting some of the vintage buses back next year,” Barker says, “and we’re going to participate on a yearly basis.