King Brothers was an Australian bus company operating route and school services in the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

and

Mid North Coast The Mid North Coast is a country region in the north-east of the state of New South Wales, Australia. The region covers the mid northern coast of the state, beginning from Port Stephens north of Sydney, and extending as far north as Woolgoolg ...

regions of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. It collapsed in April 2003 with debts of $220 million, after owners Peter and Tony King were charged with and later convicted of fraud.

History

J&L King was a small family bus operator with route and school services between Kempsey and Crescent Head. It also operated a used bus dealership. In February 1991 it purchased the school services of Argent's. At some stage it operated a

Port Macquarie Port Macquarie is a coastal town in the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The town is located on the Tasman Sea co ...

to Tamworth service that was sold in 1996. After control passed to twin sons Tony and Peter, in the late 1990s / early 2000s King Brothers expanded rapidly with the acquisition of a number of operators in the

and

regions including: *

Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 as per 2021 census. The Gumbaynggirr ...

Bus Lines *Glynn's, Grafton *Grafton Bus Co *Grafton- Yamba Bus Service *Great Lakes Coaches,

Bulahdelah Bulahdelah is a town and locality in the Hunter/Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia in the Mid-Coast Council local government area. At the 2016 census, the locality had a population of 1,424. The main population centre, where ...

Heatherbrae Heatherbrae is a suburb of the Port Stephens local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. The suburb lies to the east of the Hunter River and to the south of the town of Raymond Terrace. It is bisected by the Pacifi ...

*Joyce Valley Link, Urunga *Newman's Bus Service, Macksville *Pell's Bus Service,

Nambucca Heads Nambucca Heads is a town on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia in the Nambucca Valley. It is located on a ridge, north of the estuary of the Nambucca River near the Pacific Highway. Its 2021 population was 6,675 (6,327 in 2016 ...

Bus Service *Sonter's Bus Service, Laurieton The business was put up for sale however in April 2003 the business collapsed with debts of $220 million after the owners were charged with, and later convicted of, having defrauded the

National Australia Bank National Australia Bank (abbreviated NAB, branded nab) is one of the four largest financial institutions in Australia (colloquially referred to as "The Big Four") in terms of market capitalisation, earnings and customers. NAB was ranked 21st-la ...

and

Toyota Financial Services The business known as Toyota Financial Services covers more than 30 countries and regions, including Japan. Financial services operations are coordinated by a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), Toyota Financial Services ...

by selling and leasing back fictitious buses. The operation was sold by its administrator to

Busways Busways is an Australian bus company operating services in Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis ...

in September 2003.

Fleet

Prior to the expansion of the late 1990s, King's fleet turned over regularly as buses were run in and out of the fleet in quick succession as part of its dealership activities. After the acquisitions it purchased over 60 new

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

and Renaults in 1999/2000."King Bros Group" ''Australian Bus Panorama'' 16/4 February 2001 page 44 A silver with light green and pink livery was adopted.

References

{{Authority control Bus companies of New South Wales Mid North Coast Transport companies disestablished in 2003 Defunct bus companies of Australia Australian companies disestablished in 2003