Busabout Wagga Wagga, formerly Fearnes Coaches, is an Australian bus company with depots in

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 57,003 as of 2021, it is an important agricultural, m ...

and

Harden, New South Wales Harden–Murrumburrah is a town and community in the Hilltops Region and is located in the South West Slopes of New South Wales in Australia. Harden is adjacent to both the Canberra region of the Australian Capital Territory and the Riverina ...

History

Fearnes Coaches

Fearnes Coaches was founded by William Fearne and William Borlase in 1916 as a general carrier and charter bus operator, however Borlase pulled out of the partnership in the early 1920s. In 1927, William Fearne commenced the first route and timetable in Wagga Wagga between the suburb of

Turvey Park Turvey Park is an inner southern suburb of Wagga Wagga in southern New South Wales, Australia. Its boundaries are defined by Fernleigh Road to the south, Glenfield Road to the west, Coleman Street to the north and to the east by Willans Hill. Tur ...

and Docker Street which was later extended to

North Wagga Wagga North Wagga Wagga (informally called North Wagga) is an inner northern suburb of Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of th ...

.75 years – one family's tradition of service ''

Truck & Bus Transportation ''Truck & Bus Transportation'' was a Sydney-based monthly trade magazine covering aspects of transport in Australia. Overview ''Truck & Bus Transportation'' was established in July 1936 by Frank Shennen as ''Transportation''. It was renamed '' ...

'' September 1991 pages 54-59 In 1936, William Fearne's son Clive bought the company and ran it until his death in 1989. The business then passed to his son Garry, who died in 1996, leaving the business to his widow Audrey, who ran it until deciding to retire and sell the business in December 2008.Fearnes is sold to Sydney firm
'' The Daily Advertiser'' 8 December 2008 In 1952, two school services were taken over from George Greely and a depot established in Harden. By 1969, the Harden fleet comprised eight buses. Extended touring to the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

commenced in the 1960s, and in 1974 Fearnes began operating tours from Sydney to Cairns as a contractor for Carah Coaches. In 1988, an express service to Sydney was introduced followed in 1998 by a service to Melbourne. In June 1990, Fearnes began coach services from

Cootamundra Cootamundra, nicknamed Coota, is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. It is within the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council. At the 2016 Census, Cootamundra had a population of 6,782. I ...

Tumbarumba Tumbarumba ( ) is a town in New South Wales, Australia, about southwest of the state capital, Sydney. Tumbarumba is located in the South West Slopes (New South Wales), South West Slopes region at the western edge of the Snowy Mountains. The s ...

, Cootammudra to

Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Ridge, ...

and Wagga Wagga to Griffith under a contract with

CountryLink CountryLink was a passenger rail and road service brand that operated in regional areas of New South Wales, and to and from Canberra, Brisbane and Melbourne. Originally created as a business unit (or sub-brand) of the State Rail Authority of Ne ...

. These were retained when re-tendered from December 1992. Upon being re-tendered, in January 2003 the

Albury Albury (; ) is a major regional city that is located in the Murray River, Murray region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the twin city of Albury–Wodonga, Albury-Wodonga and is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of ...

Echuca Echuca ( ) is a town on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe River in Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. The border town of Moama is adjacent on the northern side of the Murray River in New South Wales. Echuca is the administrative cen ...

, Wagga Wagga to Echuca and Cootamundra to

Condobolin Condobolin is a town in the west of the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, on the Lachlan River. At the , Condobolin had a population of 3,185. History Prior to European settlement, the area was inhabited by the Wiradjuri pe ...

services all passed to King Brothers, the Cootamundra to Tumbarumba service to

Transborder Express Transborder Express was an Australian bus and coach company based in Yass that operated from 1954 until 2023. It was a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro Australia from 2012, who merged the company into CDC Canberra in 2023. History Transborder Ex ...

and the Wagga Wagga to Griffith service to Makeham Coaches. Following King Brothers being placed in administration, Fearnes took over its four CountryLink routes on 22 April 2003.

Sale to Busabout

On 5 December 2008, Fearnes Coaches was purchased by Sydney bus company Busabout and rebranded as Busabout Wagga Wagga in 2009. In February 2009, the coach service to Sydney was discontinued. In November 2013 Busabout commenced operating the services previously provided by

Charles Sturt University Charles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus public university located in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Established in 1989, it was named in honour of Captain (British Army and Royal ...

Fleet

As of December 2014, the fleet consisted of 57 buses and coaches.Busabout – Wagga and Harden
Australian Bus Fleet Lists

References

External links

{{Regional NSW public transport, state=collapsed Bus companies of New South Wales Transport companies established in 1916 Wagga Wagga 1916 establishments in Australia