Ansett Pioneer was an Australian long distance coach operator. Founded in 1905 as the AA Withers Bus Company, the company maintained continuous operation under a variety of corporate monikers until its 1993 merger into Greyhound Pioneer Australia.

History

Ansett Pioneer's origin can be traced back to 1905 when AA Withers Bus Company commenced operating day tours in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. In 1923 it was renamed Pioneer and in 1927 undertook a transcontinental trip from Melbourne to Darwin. In 1944 Pioneer was sold to

Reg Ansett Sir Reginald Myles Ansett KBE (13 February 1909 – 23 December 1981) was an Australian businessman and aviator. He was best known for founding Ansett Transport Industries, which owned one of Australia's two leading domestic airlines between ...

. In 1955 Pioneer began operating daily services between

and

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 surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and in 1957 began operating a weekly service from

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

.Milestones
Ansett Australia In 1958 Pioneer Express was renamed Ansett Roadlines of Australia. In July 1986 Ansett Transport Industries sold Ansett Pioneer to Melbourne and Northern Territory bus proprietors John Sinclair and Ron King. In January 1988 Ansett Pioneer was split in three:"Victorian Buses in the Eightees" ''Australian Bus Panorama'' 7/1 August 1991 pages 3,9 *

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

services were taken over by the Penfold family, owners of

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurge ...

's northern operations *

- Melbourne, Adelaide -

& Adelaide - Sydney were taken over by the Crawford family, owners of Premier Stateliner and Greyhound's southern operations *Sydney -

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

Snowy Mountains The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales, Australia, and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia, being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range cordillera system ...

services were retained by Sinclair and Kings trading as Pioneer Trailways In July 1988 the operation was rebranded Pioneer. In February 1989 Pioneer Trailways was placed in liquidation. In November 1989 the Penfolds sold out to the Crawfords bringing all Greyhound and Pioneer services under common ownership. In 1992 Greyhound and Pioneer merged with

Bus Australia Bus Australia was an Australian interstate coach operator formed in 1985 when Volvo Trucks dealer Max Winkless from Perth linked Across Australia Coachlines with Briscoe's Coachlines and Quest Tours of Adelaide, and Perth based Parlorcars Group ...

and in 1993 all three were united under the Greyhound Pioneer Australia brand.

Fleet

Many of Ansett Pioneer's early coaches were Reo and GMC chassis bodied by

Ansair Ansair was an Australian bus bodybuilder owned by Ansett Transport Industries and later the Clifford Corporation. History Ansair was founded by Reg Ansett in 1945 at Tullamarine, to make bodies for his Ansett Pioneer coaches, as well as manufa ...

. It also imported

Flxible The Flxible Co. (pronounced "''flexible''") was an American manufacturer of motorcycle sidecars, funeral cars, ambulances, intercity coaches and transit buses, based in the U.S. state of Ohio. It was founded in 1913 and closed in 1996. The co ...

Clippers, GMC PD4106s, PD4107s, MCI MC7s, MC8s and MC9s from North America.Ansett Pioneer
Driver Group In the 1980s it purchased locally built RFW, Austral Tourmaster and Denning Landseer coaches as well as Ansair bodied

Mercedes-Benz O303 The Mercedes-Benz O303 was an integral coach manufactured by Mercedes-Benz between 1974 and 1992. It was also available as a chassis, where the customer could choose to get the lower part of the front or even the entire front including the windscre ...

Volgren Volgren is an Australian bus and coach body manufacturer. History Volvo Buses, VolGrenda Corporation, gren was formed in 1977 by Melbourne bus operator Grenda Corporation in Dandenong, Victoria. Because Grenda held the Volvo Buses dealership i ...

bodied

Volvo B10M The Volvo B10M was a mid-engined city bus and coach chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1978 and 2003. It succeeded the B58 and was equipped with the same 9.6-litre horizontally mounted Volvo diesel engine mounted under the floor behind the ...

s and Kässbohrer Setras.

References

External links

Showbus gallery
{{Australian interstate coach operators, state=collapsed Ansett Australia Bus companies of Australia Transport companies established in 1905 Transport companies disestablished in 1993 Australian companies established in 1905 Australian companies disestablished in 1993