Ken Magor was born in Broken Hill and was educated at Morgan Street Infants, North Public School and Technical College. At the age of 14 he began work at Bill Welshe's garage for 10/- a week. After 6 months he asked for a pay increase and his services were dispensed with. He then began work at Middletons for 13/6 a week. Ken used to get into trouble as he was often found riding on the buses when he was sent on messages. He was offered a position as a "busboy" and naturally accepted. He learnt to drive and eventually became a bus driver and remained one for 7 years except for a period of 3 months during the depression. During this time he carried his swag to Mildura for a fruit picking season. He returned to the buses and worked for 30/- a week during the depression years. He would work seven days a week driving Mondays to Saturday and on Sunday mornings he would clean the buses and then drive them the rest of the day. During this time the fare for a single section was 2d and 3d for two sections. Many people were out of work and chose to walk. At the end of the depression his wage became 3 pounds 10 shillings a week. As a teenager Ken purchased a Brownie Box camera and commenced photographing buses and collecting tickets, timetables, etc. Ken wanted to earn more money so he began work at the Zinc Corporation Mine. At first he was not employed directly by the mine but used to sort out odds and ends from an old junk heap. He eventually began work in the underground operations and performed various jobs. He trained for the Proto (self - breathing apparatus) and Ambulance squad. He joined the NSW Fire Brigade in 1939. Seeing service in Sydney headquarters he was a member of the "Flying Squad". He transferred to Parramatta and later to Newcastle where he rose to the rank of Station Officer. Ken was also a founding member of the St John's Ambualance Brigade. Ken's collection of photos is over 100,000 including buses, trams and fire engines.
