Centenary of 538 (ex 234)?

Sydney / New South Wales Transport Discussion
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tonyp
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Centenary of 538 (ex 234)?

Post by tonyp »

This month or next is likely the centenary of what could be the oldest continuously operating Sydney bus route, Busways 538 (ex 234) Gladesville-Woolwich, started by WH Bourne in November or December 1922, later operated for many decades by Hunters Hill Bus Co. Are there any other candidates that have kept to the basic original route? This photo from the early 1920s showing one of the original buses.

Image
hugh45
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Re: Centenary of 538 (ex 234)?

Post by hugh45 »

Another Sydney bus route although not quite a centenary but approaching 97 years is the Hurstville to Lugarno Ferry now run by Punchbowl Bus Company as route no.943. The bus route no.108 was commenced in November 1925 by Adolph Peters. The longest operator of this route was H.T.Saint and Sons from July 1928 to February 1989. Trips to Lugarno ended at Tate Place, Lugarno since 1990 as the Lugarno Ferry had ceased in the 1970's and a replacement bridge for traffic was opened for through traffic.
tonyp
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Re: Centenary of 538 (ex 234)?

Post by tonyp »

hugh45 wrote: Tue Nov 15, 2022 8:05 pm Another Sydney bus route although not quite a centenary but approaching 97 years is the Hurstville to Lugarno Ferry now run by Punchbowl Bus Company as route no.943. The bus route no.108 was commenced in November 1925 by Adolph Peters. The longest operator of this route was H.T.Saint and Sons from July 1928 to February 1989. Trips to Lugarno ended at Tate Place, Lugarno since 1990 as the Lugarno Ferry had ceased in the 1970's and a replacement bridge for traffic was opened for through traffic.
Thanks, yes I guess we can find more early and continuing routes in Robert's bus route lists, but it would require a lot of searching. Perhaps Robert knows which are the oldest?
robert
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Re: Centenary of 538 (ex 234)?

Post by robert »

Interesting topic for me. I think you could include these other routes as having passed their centenaries, as they are listed in the Government Gazette in 1921:
  • Caringbah - Lilli Pilli
    Hurstville - Connells Point
    Miranda - Yowie Bay/Point
For information about private & Government bus routes in Sydney, look at http://www.sydneybusroutes.com
tonyp
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Joined: Tue Nov 28, 2006 2:31 am

Re: Centenary of 538 (ex 234)?

Post by tonyp »

robert wrote: Sun Nov 27, 2022 6:22 pm Interesting topic for me. I think you could include these other routes as having passed their centenaries, as they are listed in the Government Gazette in 1921:
  • Caringbah - Lilli Pilli
    Hurstville - Connells Point
    Miranda - Yowie Bay/Point
Thank you Robert, that's interesting. Would that be all the current centenarians in your route lists? What about any eastern suburbs routes (that became DRTT) that survived in their original alignments? It's interesting that the four in this thread are all still in private operation, longer than the whole government operation survived, though 538 spent 20 years with the government.

Hasn't the Lilli Pilli service been extended beyond Caringbah to Miranda since it was initiated? Only one of these four routes served a railway station when they started - Connells Point. 538 served a tram at one end and a ferry at the other. Yowie Bay and Lilli Pilli served a tram until 1931.
robert
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Location: Sydney

Re: Centenary of 538 (ex 234)?

Post by robert »

Yes, Tony, you are right about the Lilli Pilli route, it has been extended to Miranda.

And Hurstville-Connells Point has been permanently rerouted via Kyle Bay.

This all shows that, on the whole, it is only routes which terminate at a waterway that have remained largely unaltered.
For information about private & Government bus routes in Sydney, look at http://www.sydneybusroutes.com
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