Australian Pacific Touring
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| Privately held corporation | |
| Industry | Tour and River Cruising Operator |
| Founded | February 1967 |
| Headquarters | Melbourne |
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Area served
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Africa Asia Australia Europe New Zealand North America Russia South America |
| Parent | Geoff McGeary |
| Website | www.aptouring.com.au |
APT (Australian Pacific Touring) is an Australian tour and river cruising operator with worldwide reach.
Alfred William (Bill) McGeary was born in 1900 in Victoria. A fitter and turner by trade, Bill bought, re-built and sold cars and motorcycles. After moving to the country, Bill worked as foreman for Queen's Bridge Motors, a Warracknabeal garage. The foundations of APT were laid in 1924 when Bill converted his tray truck into a bus and joined with other enterprising operators to transport commuters left stranded by an extended cable-tram strike in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. Bill learned it was necessary to drop off and pick up customers very quickly as the striking tramway workers would attempt to tip the bus over on its side. In 1927 he purchased his first new bus for a route from Northcote to connect with the tram and train lines at Clifton Hill.
In 1933, Bill sold his interest in the bus route from Northcote and purchased a busier three-bus route, which ran along South Road between Moorabbin, Middle Brighton and Brighton Beach in Melbourne’s south. This new business interest saw Bill and his wife of two years, Hazel, move to Brighton. With his new home set on a double block of land, it wasn’t long before Bill and his brother George, who also worked as a driver, built a large timber garage in the yard to house the three buses.
The first half of the 1940s saw the business continue to expand taking on more buses and employees, and acquiring several new routes. It was a busy and productive time, punctuated by the birth of Bill and Hazel’s only son, Geoff, on 26 June 1941. Towards the decade’s end, Bill began to look beyond merely servicing bus routes. Gaining his first charter license, he secured a contract to take students to and from Firbank Grammar School and Haileybury College, where Geoff was a student. With the resulting money, the McGeary’s first Federal coach was bought, taking the fleet to five buses which, in addition to running commuter routes, were put to use on school runs as well as trips to the trots and greyhounds.
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