In my garage – a collection of buses
Many adult hobbies have their beginnings in childhood. That’s certainly true for Michael Pretty, who has been fascinated by Adelaide’s commuter buses since he was a small boy.
“From when I was very young, I have vivid memories of seeing buses with two green stripes on them driving down our street – they were gas-powered and nicknamed the green machines,” he says.
When Michael was five, his family moved to a street in Rose Park that was also on a bus route.
“If I heard a bus rumbling down the road, I’d run to the front window to see what route number it was showing,” he says.
“Every Sunday we’d catch the old silver Volvos with the big bay windows to my grandmother’s house.”
For Michael, buses were much more interesting than cars – the growl of the big diesel engines, the roll and sway of the body, and the kick pedal that opened the doors. If someone else pulled the cord for his family’s bus stop, Michael’s mum would let him stay on board so he could pull it for the next stop.
His interest never waned, and when he was 21 he bought his first bus, a Volvo B10M, which was his favourite model. So, how do you buy a bus?
“When I was in high school, I found out that Grant’s Coachlines had two of them they were using as school buses, and I asked if I could buy one,” Michael says. “‘You can, but it won’t be for sale until it turns 30,’ they told me.”
Michael waited, and even worked for Grant’s while saving up to buy the bus. In 2011 it was his.
Since then, he’s bought a former O-Bahn Mercedes Benz 0305 through government tender; a MAN SG280H, which he’s decked out in 1988 bicentennial green and gold livery; and a Mercedes Benz 0305G articulated (bendy bus), which he saved from the scrapyard.
One of his biggest challenges has been his latest purchase, a MAN SL200, which he’s restoring in honour of the green machines that first piqued his interest as a child.
“When I found it, it had been converted to a motorhome and was no longer being used,” he says. “It took about four months to gut the interior, including the odd rats’ nest.”
Then the hunt for seats and fittings began. He heard about an out-of-action bus of the same model in Adelaide, but unfortunately the organisation that owned it were still using it for training activities. An extensive nationwide search proved unsuccessful.
Then, in a light bulb moment, he offered to replace the inoperative bus with one that was due for retirement from metro service. Metro buses are retired after 25 years and are available for sale. The deal was done and he retrieved seats, doors, handrails and all sorts of bits and pieces from his new treasure.
Michael isn’t the only South Australian keen to preserve the history of our local buses. The Bus Preservation Association of South Australia (BPASA) was started by 16 bus enthusiasts and now has a membership of about 60. Members have a combined collection of more than 40 buses.
We see buses as part of our social history, whether it’s school excursions, heading into the city for a night out, or catching a bus to footy park,” Michael says.
“When people see our buses, they say things like, ‘I remember my bum burning on those boiling red seats,’ or the screaming whine of the transmission, or climbing the big stairs ‒ they immediately start reminiscing.”
Just like car clubs, BPASA members will occasionally take their buses for a run through town, mindful to stay on existing bus routes to avoid any embarrassing mishaps.
“You could end up in a dead-end street and not be able to reverse out, or if you get a bendy bus locked up, the brakes come on, then you’re stuck blocking an intersection,” Michael says.
If you’re keen to ride on one of these old workhorses, BPASA take a few buses to the National Rail Museum’s annual Heritage Transport Expo at Port Adelaide in October. Also, keep an eye on The Tramway Museum’s calendar for events involving BPASA. Michael is an active member of the museum and you may find him driving one of their magnificently restored heritage trams next time you visit.
Twice a year, BPASA run heritage bus tours for members and non-members. More information is available on their Facebook page.
Although this story is part of samotor magazine’s ‘In my garage’ series, few garages could hold five buses and Michael keeps his in storage.
“A lot of our members would love to see a museum created,” Michael says. “The problem is, to store 40 buses you’d need a shed bigger than a supermarket.”
In the meantime, the guardians of our historic metro buses take care of their collections in storage lots all over Adelaide.