Brisbane Transport Museum

The Brisbane Transport Museum in Nathan is home to Queensland's largest collection of heritage buses and coaches, dating from 1938 to 1996.

Run by the Queensland Omnibus & Coach Society, the museum hosts an Open Day once a month, where members of the public can visit and even take a ride.

Just inside the entrance is a room with fascinating displays of memorabilia, including black and white photos, old uniforms, cash registers and models of buses.

Outside the fleet of buses are parked, with info boards recounting their history, and visitors are welcome to take a look inside, with some of them still displaying original ads and fare prices.

The fleet includes Brisbane's first bus - a Bedford (1938); the AEC Regal (1948); the blue and orange Leyland Panther buses of the late 1960's; until the first Volvo bus came on line in 1978.

There are also coaches from the 1980's, including the Denning Denflex (1981), and Nissan CM80K (1983) and a small fleet of Volvos, which first joined the Brisbane bus fleet in the late 1970's, up until 1996.

On each open day, visitors are invited to take a joyride on a choice of two buses, which travel throughout the nearby Griffith University campus whilst one of the volunteers give an interesting recount of the history of Brisbane bus travel, with the chance to ask questions. 

Tip: If you get the chance to board and travel on the orange Leyland bus with destination Valley 847 on it, this is the bus that features in Episode 4 of Boy Swallows Universe (scene where the old lady was almost run over). 

Good to know - There is a vintage ice-cream truck onsite during the Open Day, serving ice-cream, slushies and cool drinks.

Need to know -  There's a small car park just inside the entrance, which is off Mains Road.