2 minute read

JUNE LUSK: SYDNEY'S FIRST FEMALE BUS DRIVER

On 27 November 1970, June Lusk drove a double-decker bus out of Manly’s Brookvale depot, becoming, Sydney’s first female bus driver.

June had worked on public transport as a ‘connie’ or conductor for 16 years before taking the step into the driving ranks.

Prior to her bus driving test, June said “I’m tired of looking out the back window. I want to know what it’s like riding in the front.”

June was part of a group of women who were trained to become bus drivers after a successful campaign led by another June - June de Lorenzo, who worked at the Waverley depot. A letter to the editor in the Sydney Tribune newspaper from the time says that female conductors put the idea of employing women as bus drivers to the ATMOEA leadership, who then ran a survey of members at the Waverley depot.

“When 8 out of 10 voted overwhelmingly in favor [sic], the union then made the approach to the Department, which then invited applications from women who had been in its employ as conductresses for at least 10 years, and within weeks half a dozen applications were in.”

Working on public transport was a labour of love for June’s family, with son Richard Zmijewski and her grandson Jay Zmijewski both following in her footsteps. Jay is now the Chief Operating Officer of Keolis Downer’s national bus division.

June’s daughter Chris Zmijewski, and her mother Melba Cooper also worked on the buses as conductors.

June Lusk passed away in February 2022, but the legacy of Sydney’s trailblazing women bus drivers lives on.

This article is from: