Most of us, if asked what Cornwall exported to the world, would answer ‘tin and pasties’, but they also exported lorries (trucks) in the 1950’s. Namely, the Rowe Hillmaster. Cornwall is a county that has a lot of hilly, narrow roads and the Rowe Hillmaster was a Cornish answer to this problem.

Rowe Hillmaster was started by Maurice Rowe after World War Two. He had a garage with a taxi business and was looking to expand with buses.  Buses, as with everything after the War, were in short supply.  Rowes Coaches started with two old AEC Rangers. 

These were followed by Austin CXBs, Guy Arab, Guy Vixen, Bedford and a Denn