"Mary Ann:" is a 1977 Volvo B58 coach, ex Newmans.

·       seating for 41 passengers; forward facing coach seats

·       engine 9.6 litres, 6-cylinder diesel

·       happily cruising at 80 kmh

·       body built by New Zealand Motor Bodies Ltd.

·       has a large walk-in rear luggage boot

·       presenting in original as-built condition internally

Body built by New Zealand Motor Bodies Ltd to their 'Tourliner European' design, and she has 41 seats. One of 13 coaches that started service with Newmans Coachlines in 1976-78. Mary Ann was the last of the group to be registered on 21 December 1978 and operated out of Nelson City in earlier years.

These coaches were very popular on the provincial intercity services and were 'top of the line' in their time. With the following arrival of newer and larger coaches in the mid-1980s, some of the 41-seaters moved on to touring the country with the younger people groups such as Contiki. Mary Ann was one of these.

Newmans named many (but not all) of their coaches with a variety of names, carried above the front door. Some were given strong masculine names such as "Conquerer", "Achilles" and "Defiance". Others had names of various Maori place names and NZ native flora. But our 262 has always been "Mary Ann".

In 1993 along with a number of her sisters Mary Ann saw service in the Canterbury region with Mid-Canterbury. Some received body modifications but Mary Ann did not and she has remained in the attractive 'as built' order. Mary Ann was purchased by Richard Potts of Wainuiomata in December 1998. Richard operated his coach on charters which often included working from the visiting cruise liners coming into Wellington. Richard maintained the coach in very good order for some 13 years. Richard agreed to sell Mary Ann to us in October 2011.

We have repainted Mary Ann into the second livery that she wore in service with Newmans in the early 1990s. Under our ownership, Mary Ann has travelled to Dunedin, Oamaru and Christchurch on separate trips and also to the West Coast. Internally, she remains 'all original' and this is one of her charms as a comfy coach to travel in. Mary Ann has a large walk-in boot, so there is plenty of room for luggage and other equipment.

"Olive" is a 1981 Hino BG100 coach.

·       seating for 45 passengers; forward facing coach seats

·       engine 13.0 litres, 6-cylinder diesel

·       happily cruising at 80 - 85 kmh

·       body built by New Zealand Motor Bodies Ltd.

·       has a large walk-in rear luggage boot

·       comfortable coach seating with luggage racks

Body built by New Zealand Motor Bodies Ltd. to their 'Tourliner Mk 1'design.  The coach was new to New Zealand Railways Road Services (NZRRS) as their fleet number 6021. This series was built from 1981. 6021 has some historic interest as it was the prototype of the Tourliner Mk 1 bodies, and the coach did not actually enter service until May 1982. Received the 'fleet personalised' number plate 1070IC (Inter-City) in October 1989.

With the NZRRS national services ceasing in mid-1991, the coach joined the fleet of Bayline in Tauranga and was refurbished internally. In March 1996 the coach was purchased by Wadsworth Motors Ltd of Tapawera, and remained in service with Wadsworth for 22 years until March 2018 when we purchased her.  The coach was meticulously maintained by Jeff Wadsworth and in her latter years, travelled only irregularly.  With its known history and very good condition, we felt this coach would be a great fit for us.

Over the years, the coach has travelled all over the South Island, and with 'On The Bus' has been to Christchurch, Timaru, Marlborough and Farewell Spit.