1951 Guy Arab III (WAGT 101)

No. 101 was one of 51 Guy buses supplied new to the Western Australian Government Tramways (WAGT) in the early 1950s when bus routes in Perth were being expanded into rapidly developing suburbs, and ageing electric trams were being phased out. Guy Arab 101 entered service on Friday 12th October 1951. After World War II much of Perth's public transport was operated by various private bus companies, many of which were struggling financially and thus were unable to modernise their fleets. In 1958 the WA Government formed the Metropolitan Transport Trust (MTT) to take over the city's public transport system. From 1st July 1960 the WAGT was absorbed into the MTT and this bus was renumbered No. 325. It was repainted into MTT colours featuring darker shades of green with the cream, and operated until 11th November 1974 when it was retired after 23 years of faithful service. On 7th April 1975 the bus was donated to the WA Transport Museum, a forerunner to the Bus Preservation Society of WA. The Guy stood unused for several years until restoration work started in the mid-1980s, then languished during the 1990s for various reasons, including lack of funds, absence of covered accommodation, insufficient expertise, etc. Work resumed in earnest in 2002 and was completed in late 2004, with 101 being repainted into its original Tramways colour scheme.