Scania L94IB 7493

The Hill family had a long and extravagant history with buses in the Illawarra. John J Hill dated back to the 1930s where they started organising and operating routes in the Warrawong district, and through to Shellharbour. John J Hill were well known in the 1950s for their foray into bus body building, at their large Glebe Street premises.

In the 1980’s John J Hill went on to acquire the routes of Watt’s Bus Service, Horrell’s Bus Service and Beattie’s Bus Service, making them the largest operator in Wollongong by 1991. Their expansive service stretched from Bellambi in the North to Kiama in the South, with their Green and Gold buses well known to the local community. John J Hill also quite regularly had the most modern and newest buses in Wollongong, notably being the first operator to introduce ‘Maxi’ spring park brakes in the 1980’s, through to ‘kneeling suspension buses’ in the late 1990s.

7649 was the last bus delivered to John J Hill in 1999 before the company was sold to John King’s Premier Motor Service in 2001. The Scania L94IB was a totally new chassis, featuring an updated 9 litre engine. The bus was fitted with the stylish Custom Coaches 510 body, in this complicated but striking livery.

The bus was retired from service in 2024 and restored to new condition by Premier Transport Group and has been graciously donated to the Sydney Bus Museum. We thank John King and Premier Transport Group for their ongoing support.

Specifications:

Engine: Scania DSC9 turbo charged Diesel engine (230hp)

Transmission: ZF 5 speed automatic transmission with hydraulic retarder

Body: Custom Coaches, Smithfield NSW, Series 510.

Dimensions: Length 12.5 m, Width 2.5 m, Height 3.0 m.

Capacity: 76 Passengers, 54 Seated, 21 Standing.

Status:

On display at Leichhardt.