Catching the school bus
A DigitalNZ Story by Zokoroa
A pictorial journey about school buses in NZ from the 1900s onwards
Transport, bus, school, school bus, students, children, travelling, travel
Memory lane
Childhood memories include waiting at the end of the road to catch the school bus to our primary school. The driver would travel in a circuitous route through the farmlands picking up students on the side of the road. Nowadays when travelling by car and slowing down to pass a stationary school bus or seeing the delightful bus stop sign outside Tirau School, I'm reminded of my school days.
c.1924: Students lining up to board Dept. of Education bus
Children boarding a Department of Education school bus
Alexander Turnbull Library
c2009: Bus stop sign at Tirau School made out of corrugated iron
Tirau School bus
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Early days getting to school: 1900s
c.1910s: First day of opening of Waitaki Boys' Junior High School. Giffin's Motor Service buses
First day of opening of Waitaki Boys' Junior High School. Giffin's Motor Service buses.
Waitaki District Council
Free bus service: 1924
In the 1920s, the number of country schools was reduced by setting up larger, central schools, called consolidated schools. The Education Department’s school transport policy (1924) enabled students living more than 3.2 kilometres away from their nearest school to travel for free by bus.
1 April 1924: First free school bus operated at Piopio District School
Alexander Turnbull Library
c.1924-25: Boarding Model T Ford vehicles
Buses were labelled with the destinations: Arapae, Paemako, and Te Mapara
Alexander Turnbull Library
Article: "Boarding the bus"
By Logan Moss (2006) in New Zealand Journal of History, 40 (1), pp.57-74.
University of Waikato
To school by motor-bus: the consolidation principle in operation
Auckland Libraries
Models of buses over the decades
1926: Model T Bus at Coopers Creek near Rangiora
School Bus at Coopers Creek, Oxford
Christchurch City Libraries
1930: Children from Hokio Beach used the bus to attend classes in Levin
School Bus, Hokio Beach
Kete Horowhenua
c.1924: Hampden to Oamaru Motor Service (Whittakers) at Middle School
Hampden to Oamaru Motor Service Bus
Waitaki District Council
c.1924: Students on board Model T Ford
Department of Education bus, probably at Piopio School. There were no windows; a curtain was rolled down when it rained.
Alexander Turnbull Library
c.1940: Opiki School on the border of Horowhenua and Manawatu
The First School Bus at Opiki
Palmerston North City Library
1944: Children and their teacher board the school bus at Denniston on the West Coast
School bus, 1940s
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
1945: Albany School bus taking students on a picnic outing
The Albany School bus on picnic day.
Auckland Libraries
1968: Travelling along the Wainui Stream near Paekākāriki
School bus on a road beside the Wainui Stream
Alexander Turnbull Library
1947: Fleet of five L J Keys Bedford buses, specially built for school routes and sightseeing
Sightseeing and school buses
Auckland Libraries
![Image: [School bus]](https://thumbnailer.digitalnz.org/?resize=770x&src=https%3A%2F%2Fcollection-api.aucklandmuseum.com%2Frecords%2Fimages%2Fmedium%2F547451%2F92e19cf9f47eda8354a7fda20b576ac32bb9626f.jpg&resize=368%253E "[School bus]")
1945-1967: School bus in country setting signed "Kuaotunu - Mercury Bay"
[School bus]
Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira
1950: A Wellington bus driver with a bus decorated by Eastbourne School children
A bus decorated by Eastbourne School children
Alexander Turnbull Library
1952: Photo possibly taken by a teacher at Mangapakeha School, Greytown in the Wairapapa
Masterton-Castlepoint bus : Photograph
Wairarapa Archive
c.1955: Ford V8 bus of Harold Peterson's bus company at Greytown
Men in front of school bus
Wairarapa Archive
1957: Opening of bus bay at Katikati Primary
The opening of the bus bay at the Katikati Primary School
Western Bay District Council
1960s: Whataroa on the West Coast
School bus, 1960s
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Waiting at the bus stop
1978
Brown Owl School 1978; after fire; children taking buses to Oxford Crescent School.
Upper Hutt City Library
2000: Whareorino School near Te Kuiti
Rural schoolchildren
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
ALL ABOARD!
On board we'd chat with one another and catch up on homework - reciting our times tables and spelling lists of words out loud were some of our activities.
1958: Invoice for Mataura School; the students nicknamed the bus the biscuit tin.
Invoice, Mataura Motors Ltd
Mataura Museum
End of the school day
At the end of the school day, we'd line up along the school's driveway beside the crab apple tree near the dental clinic. A teacher would check we were all present and we'd traipse on board.
2005: Bus shelter at Cornwall Street School, Masterton.
Bus shelter, Cornwall Street School : digital image
Wairarapa Archive
Getting off the bus
A decorated school bus shelter near Motunui, Taranaki
No Homework
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
1962
School children alongside a Volkswagen Kombi school bus on a country road
NZEI Te Riu Roa (New Zealand Educational Institute)
1964
They hear the school bus stop on the road. From the series: Washday at the pa
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Bus safety
1953: Traffic regulations required vehicles to stop
Currently, there is a 20km/h speed limit to pass a stationary school bus
Alexander Turnbull Library
![Image: Catching a bus [poster]](https://thumbnailer.digitalnz.org/?resize=770x&src=https%3A%2F%2Fcollection.pukeariki.com%2Frecords%2Fimages%2Flarge%2F146211%2F550c8d074eb49e4b522a3af441b917b18c4a46bb.jpg&resize=368%253E "Catching a bus [poster]")
1957: Series: Infant reading pictures. School Publications Branch, Department of Education
Catching a bus [poster]
Puke Ariki
![Image: 'If the Bus is Remaining ..Walk to the back of the bus'. [poster]](https://thumbnailer.digitalnz.org/?resize=770x&src=https%3A%2F%2Fcollection.pukeariki.com%2Frecords%2Fimages%2Flarge%2F81641%2F6904ff6a48fe1a4dcfa5bc9b5430d81f402e53bc.jpg&resize=368%253E "'If the Bus is Remaining ..Walk to the back of the bus'. [poster]")
![Image: 'If the Bus is Going on ..Wait until it moves off before you cross'. [poster]](https://thumbnailer.digitalnz.org/?resize=770x&src=https%3A%2F%2Fcollection.pukeariki.com%2Frecords%2Fimages%2Flarge%2F81642%2F0af8f2d6779da7b79dfa3e15af98eda6db4b2fe0.jpg&resize=368%253E "'If the Bus is Going on ..Wait until it moves off before you cross'. [poster]")
DigitalNZ also has news reports about school buses involved in accidents, including the following incidents.
2016: School bus near Ahuroa School in Makarau, north of Auckland
School bus crashes north of Auckland
TV3
Further information:
- For a snapshot of operational changes over the years, see Bus & Coach Association New Zealand.
- Also see the article by Logan Moss (2006). "Boarding the School Bus" (PDF). New Zealand Journal of History, 40 (1), pp.57-74.
- For current information about bus transport, see Ministry of Education: School transport