The Bus Safe Rap was prompted by the lack of Australian-made bus safety films, with ACTION’s then marketing manager, Mr Phillip Turner, telling The Canberra Times that seven Canberra school children had passed away between 1985 and 1988 because they had not followed safety procedures around buses.
The music video was filmed at Lyneham High School on Sunday 7 May 1989. It starred 70 primary school students, along with three stars from the television show Neighbours – Kristian Schmid (who played Todd Landers), Finn Greentree-Keane (Toby Mangel), and Sally Jensen (Katie Landers).
The rap was written by Garth Porter, best known for being part of Australian band Sherbert.
Two ACTION Buses were used for the production – Renault PR100.2 Buses 796 and 798. From the video and the production images shown below, it appears that Bus 796 was used for driving shots, and Bus 798 was used for internal shots, and the students exiting the bus. Bus 798 wore plates for Bus 800 during the shoot, likely for continuity reasons.
ACTION paid for the production, though it was largely a volunteer effort – including by the Neighbours actors and crew. The images below indicate that Capital Television also assisted.
The bus safe rap was released on 7″ vinyl record, along with rulers and activity sheets for students. In 1989, the internal TRANSACTION newsletter noted that FM 104.7 had agreed to a $20,000 sponsorship of the School Bus Safety Program.
The deal included sole sponsorship rights for the Bus Safe Rap program in ACT Primary Schools during 1990. The sponsorship also resulted in a major expansion of the school safety promotional materials, including rulers, activity sheets, erasers, stickers, and bus safety certificates.
The Bus Safe Rap also won the Best Training or Educational Video/film award at the 4th Annual Double m Awards ceremony. The awards recognised individual achievement and excellence within the Canberra media, graphic art, photographic and music industry.
Credits
- Performed by: The Bus Safe Rap Choir, Kristian Schmid, Finn Greentree-Keane, and Sally Jensen
- Composed by: Garth Porter, G Johnston
- Produced by: Garth Porter
- Engineered by: Phil Bungey, Paul Kosky, and Ralph Ortner
- Concept: Mike Da Silva and Associates
- Copyright: ACTION 1989
This page was last updated on 27 October 2023
