Every passenger had a view on the omnibus from Manly to Narrabeen
As the fleet of buses on the Northern Beaches goes electric, some readers may be surprised to learn that the first private use of motorised buses in NSW happened on the Beaches too. In early 1906 the Manly-Pittwater Motor Omnibus Company was formed with capital of £8,500.
It began operations immediately when, at 2.20pm on 8 February 1906, two Aster-Wembley omnibuses departed from the Pier Hotel, Manly for the destination of George Brock’s large mansion at Mona Vale. The first bus covered the distance of about 11.5 miles in 50 minutes but the second had carburetor problems (probably from dirty fuel) and took considerably longer.
By May 1906, the service had been in regular operation to Narrabeen for four months and it was extended to Rock Lily (Mona Vale) and Bayview.
The omnibuses or charabancs had 22 HP four-cylinder Aster engines which delivered their full power at 1000 rpm. They had three-speed gear boxes and had been imported as chassis from the United Kingdom, although they were actually of French design. The bodies were built locally by CJ Pitman of Redfern and accommodated 16 to 18 passengers on four dark green upholstered leather seats or benches, the seat heights grading down from rear to front to give everyone a view out.
A prime reason for introducing the service (and for the relatively luxury of the fit out) was Brock’s proposed up-market resort La Corniche at Mona Vale. However, the resort had been planned on the assumption that the railway was coming to Pittwater and, when this failed to eventuate, his venture collapsed. The motorised bus service followed not long after, with the Manly-Pittwater Motor Omnibus Company being wound up voluntarily in July 1908. However motorised buses were here to stay.
Richard Michell is the vice-president of the Manly, Warringah and Pittwater Historical Society and the secretary of Friends of Dee Why Lagoon. Visit mwphs.org.au and fodyl.au