The Society's bus #617 came about by sheer chance. We had been chasing a version of the 'Orana' body style for quite a few years, to complete our collection of all body styles built by Ansair in Kingston from 1986-1995. The one style eluding us, was this style, the 'Orana'. 

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Three of these examples were spotted at an auction late January 2024 and after an approach to the relevant authorities, the Society were successful in acquiring what was one of the ex Covid Support buses, but more importantly, the last example of bus built by Ansair Kingston.

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The seats had been stripped from inside and major conversion had been done, to accommodate IT facilities for Covid personnel and lunch/break facilities for nurses conducting Covid testing. Because of this, the bus was ideal to become the Society's 'display bus', where we could display a photographic display of ALL our vehicles, provide a brief history of the vehicles, sell merchandise and for our members, provide a break room for them at events (especially during summer).

 

When acquired, the bus needed some TLC and this came from one of our members, Bernard Manion (Manion Coaches), whom generously offered to repaint the bus back to Metro's original livery. The bus looks like new, with awnings on the side to provide shade, air-con for the hot summer displays, plenty of storage and tables for displays plus room to move inside away from the harsh weather if it turns bad.

 

This bus has been a win-win for the Society, completing two objectives, completing our collection of Tasmanian built Ansair vehicles and providing a vehicle to display our merchandise and provide shelter for our dedicated volunteers, all while showcasing Tasmania's public transport history.

 

But the true thanks for this acquisition, is the Tasmanian Government, the Health Dept and Craig Farrell MLC, whom without their tremendous donation and support, this bus would not have been saved for preservation and allowed the Society to showcase its history, along with the important role this bus played in a significant part of the world pandemic health history.