Hazel Whitmore

Induced into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame in 2021.

Mrs Hazel Edith Whitmore (née Smith) was born in 1935 to a farming family at Durham Ox, Victoria.  After marrying in 1956 she and her husband, Reg Whitmore, moved to Boort, Victoria, to raise their family and establish their business.  The 1964 purchase of the Leaghur School bus route laid the foundation for the fledgling family-run bus company.

Along with Reg, Hazel worked long and hard over two decades juggling family responsibilities and the demands of their growing business.  Hazel not only obtained her licence to drive buses, she also took on the administrative and financial responsibilities of the business.  Hazel was very willing to accept innovative ideas and adopt new techniques which enabled the company to grow and adapt to change.  Following Reg’s death in 2001, she and son, Jamie, teamed up to develop Whitmores’ Bus Lines into the Whitmore Bus Group and oversee their steadily growing business portfolio.  The Group presently owns and operates in excess of fifty buses and Hazel has been instrumental in guiding the development of a small family-run business into a diverse successful company that operates across northern Victoria.

After a driving career spanning more than thirty years, Hazel retired in 2008 from driving buses. However, she remains a company director and her strong influence on the operation of the Whitmore Bus Group continues.

Despite her heavy involvement in the family business, Hazel has always been actively involved in the local community.  She is an accomplished pianist and taught piano, often fitting lessons around her driving duties.  She was also a keen sportswoman, an enthusiastic member of the CWA and supporter of the Boort RSL Sub Branch. 

As a pioneer for women in the bus industry, Hazel is an inspiration and role model for those following in her footsteps.