Rex Law

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at Reunion 2002.

During the twenty-five years following Rex Law's entry into the road passenger transport industry in 1946, he built up an enormous national coach transportation, touring and accommodation enterprise with foresight and innovation and without public investment.
At its height in the late 1960s, the route network of his coach company, Redline Coaches, including express and tour services, was Australia's largest, covering 16000 unduplicated express route kilometres alone. At the same time his motel company owned and operated three central Australian motels as well as operating one on the Gold Coast
As a seven year old Rex endured the accidental death of his father and consequently received only a primary school education. He went on to work as a farm labourer during the 1930s  to help his mother raise his siblings.
Rex toiled to accumulate sufficient capital to inaugurate a passenger service operation between Brisbane and Kyogle soon after WW2. He then sold this business to undertake a newly won Queensland government licence to operate day tours from Brisbane to O'Reilly's Guest House in Lamington National Park. In 1952 he bought a Brisbane to Sydney two day tour business from the Millar family which he revived under his new business name of Redline Coaches and continuous interstate service expansion alongside the existing O'Reilly service.
Rex was an entrepreneur and an innovator. He constructed the first ever uniquely Australian rear-engined coach in his Brisbane backyard depot during 1953, and in 1957 Redline conducted the first ever coach safari tour to Central Australia from the east coast. That coach, Redline No 11, pictured below, is still in existence.
Rex passed away in 1995 aged 80. He was a man of vision with a wonderful work ethic whose word was his bond. He will always be remembered as a truly kind and compassionate gentleman by all those fortunate to have known him.