Skennars was an Australian interstate coach operator.

History

Clarrie Skennar began operating coach services in southern Queensland in 1956. By 1960 he was running a service from the

Goondiwindi Goondiwindi () is a rural town and locality in the Goondiwindi Region, Queensland, Australia. It is on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. In the , Goondiwindi had a population of 6,355 people. Geography Goondiwindi is on the MacInt ...

Shell Garage to the Barnes Auto Depot in

North Quay, Brisbane North Quay is a location in the Brisbane central business district and the name of a street in the same area, running along the Brisbane River from an intersection near Makerston Street to the top of the Queen Street mall, linking the Victori ...

using two

Volkswagen Kombi Kombi may refer to: * Battle of Kombi, a 1647 battle between Ndongo-Matamba (assisted by the Dutch) and the Portuguese * '' Kombi'', a Japanese term for a comedy duo * Kombi (band), a Polish pop rock band * Kombini, a type of Japanese convenience ...

vans, using the Shell Garage beside the Ambulance Centre. At that time, Border Coaches operated an interstate service from Boggabilla to Brisbane, without a permit to pick up passengers within Queensland. Skennar purchased the service and operated it using two newly acquired side-loading vehicles (an

International International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

and a Dodge). Skennar next purchased the

Stanthorpe Stanthorpe is a rural town and locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Stanthorpe had a population of 5,406 people. The area surrounding the town is known as the Granite Belt. Geography Stanthorpe lies on the New ...

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

service operated by Grimley's Coaches; the termini were the Stanthorpe Shell Garage and the Grand Hotel in Grafton Street, Warwick. The Warwick terminus moved in 1952 to the Shell Garage, and the service was later extended at its western end to

Tenterfield Tenterfield is a regional town in New South Wales, Australia. At the , Tenterfield had a population of 4,066. Tenterfield's proximity to many regional centres and its position on the route between Sydney and Brisbane led to its development as a ...

. During the 1960s, Skennar based himself at Warwick, on the same property still used as a bus depot by Crisps Coaches. It was here that he started toying with conversion of front-engined coach chassis to rear-engined setups. One of these conversions utilised the lengthened chassis of a former fire engine, subsequently bodied (in timber) by Watt Brothers Coach builders in Brisbane. The Skennars Brisbane depot moved several times over the years. From North Quay, operations moved to

Upper Roma Street Roma Street is a major street in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. It is named after Diamantina Bowen (née di Roma), the wife of the first Governor of Queensland, George Bowen. Geography Roma Street is the main north-west roa ...

, then to Barry Parade in

Fortitude Valley Fortitude Valley (often called "The Valley" by local residents) is an inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. In the , Fortitude Valley had a population of 9,708 people. The suburb features two pedestr ...

(with a workshop in Doggett Street), and finally to the

Brisbane Transit Centre The Brisbane Transit Centre, at 151-171 Roma Street, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, was a long-distance bus station. It was closed and demolished in 2020 along with its three office towers. It was commonly regarded as the ugliest building in ...

. By late 1962, Skennar won a ballot for the Brisbane to

Noosa The Shire of Noosa is a local government area about north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast district of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covers an area of . It existed as a local government entity from 1910 until 2008, when it wa ...

licence and was moving to give a service from Noosa south west to Boggabilla and west to

Mount Isa Mount Isa ( ) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive single mines in world history, base ...

, but the bad roads west were not helping, so he stopped the service at

Charleville Charleville can refer to: Australia * Charleville, Queensland, a town in Australia **Charleville railway station, Queensland France * Charleville, Marne, a commune in Marne, France *Charleville-Mézières, a commune in Ardennes, France ** ...

until the roads were improved. Running a daily service to and from Charleville with additional services to Roma six days per week. At its peak the fleet consisted of 62 coaches."Skennars" ''Australian Bus Panorama'' 7/8 page 48 Skennars operated long-distance coach services throughout Queensland. It also operated services in

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 ...

to Sydney via the Pacific Highway and to Tenterfield and Moree. In 1989 the Skennars business began to be broken up. The Brisbane to Sydney service was sold to Lindsay's of Coffs Harbour, Brisbane to

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

to Coachtrans, Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast to Sunshine Coast Coaches and Gold Coast to

to Pat's Coaches, Warwick. In 1990 the Brisbane to Roma via

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 ...

services of Pacific West were purchased. In 1992 the remaining services were sold; Brisbane to Moree and Toowoomba to Tenterfield both to Crisp Coaches, Warwick and Brisbane to Toowoomba, Roma and

to McCafferty's Coaches."McCafferty's Coaches" ''Australian Bus Panorama'' 8/1 July 1992 page 36

Fleet

Skennars operated a fleet primarily of Denning and GBW bodied

coaches. Fleet livery was blue with yellow signwriting.

References

{{Australian interstate coach operators, state=collapsed Bus companies of Queensland Transport in Queensland Australian companies established in 1956 Australian companies disestablished in 1992