The story
Hopkinsons' origins can be traced to 1923 when the Try family, trading as Merrylands Bus Company, commenced operating services in the Fairfield, Guildford and Merrylands area with four buses. By 1957, the fleet had expanded to 16 buses. In 1978, Merrylands Bus Company was sold to Graham Hopkinson and renamed Hopkinsons and relocated to Smithfield.
In late 2003, the coach business of Challenge Coachlines was purchased and amalgamated with Hopkinsons' existing coach charter business. Following the death of Graham Hopkinson in 2011, his four daughters took over running the business.
From 2005, Hopkinsons' services formed part of Sydney Bus Region 3. In October 2013, Transit Systems commenced operating Region 3 including the services formerly operated by Hopkinsons. Hopkinsons continues to trade as a charter operator.
On 1 March 2015, the business was purchased by Kiama Coaches proprietor Gerard King and Premier Transport Group owner John King. Having downsized, the depot in Smithfield closed in June 2020 with the remaining vehicles relocated to that of sister company Premier Charters in Helensburgh.
From Wikipedia’s article on Hopkinsons, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3
