Photograph - Private bus in Swanston St with Foys in the background, Ron E. Fluck, 10/04/1950

Historical information

Photo of a privately operated bus in Swanston St. Melbourne at the intersection of Bourke St., with Foys (Foy and Gibson) department store in the background. Bourke St. trams yet to be built. Photo taken 10-4-1950. Also has the Cosmopolitan Hotel in the background. From information provided by the Bus and Coach Society of Victoria:
"The bus outside Foys belongs to Lew Page who was one of the multiple operators on Route 1 in 1950 ( he also had one bus on Route 2) which was four years before they amalgamated to form Melbourne - Brighton Bus Lines. The bus is a Reo with a Giles body. Giles Motor Body Works was based in New Street Brighton and built bodies for commercial vehicles but not a lot of buses. Their half a dozen post-war buses mainly went to operators in Routes 1 and 2. Being on Route 1, the bus would have been red and cream."

Significance

Yields information about private bus lines in Melbourne and the Foy & Gibson building.

Physical description

Black and white print and hi res scan of a donated negative.

Back to top