A nice story

[Keith Webb]

from the Kurnell website



"Several years prior to the construction of the Caltex/Council road to Kurnell and for many years after, Spencer Lowe, proprietor of the Alexandria Bus Company, ran a tourist service to Kurnell. Aware that conventional rearwheel-drive vehicles were impractical in the Kurnell terrain, he had a purpose-built coach built on the chassis of a two and a half ton, 6 wheel-drive ex-army GMC cargo truck. It had a 36-horse power engine. He extended the wheelbase to 19 feet 9 inches, added double wheels to each of the two rear axles, fitted bar-tread tyres to all wheels and raised the ground clearance of the vehicle. The finished cream-coloured coach was 32 feet 9 inches long with a 40-seat passenger body. It negotiated the sand and swamp by engaging the 10-wheel-drive transmission. It was claimed to be the largest touring vehicle in NSW and required 4 steps to enter the dust-proofed seating area, upholstered with blue seats. A public address system, a shovel and mattock were available for emergencies."




"He used to drive the Stutz out here to Kurnell, pick people up, and take them in to Cronulla to the pictures on a Wednesday and a Saturday night. The Friday night bus was called the 'drunks bus' because it ran at closing time for the pub. Then he bought an old army blitz and they had to drive that out there when the tides were very high because they couldn't get the bus through. And if they did have the bus, they used to have to take the blitz truck too, to tow the bus through the high water. He also used the blitz to carry shellgrit. It was amazing what they did do!"