Sunday History Photo, Au

The first trams in Australia were hauled by horses. A horse could pull a greater load over a smooth track and give passengers a more comfortable ride than in a horse bus. The first horse trams (also known as horse cars) to operate in Sydney began in 1861. They were pulled by four horses and operated along Pitt Street. With low floors they were easy to access, and held 30 passengers inside and another 30 on the roof, reached by an iron ladder. Unfortunately the tram rails were laid on the surface of the road instead of being recessed causing numerous accidents among other horse- drawn vehicles crossing the tracks. Following the death of a prominent citizen in a tramway accident, the unpopular service was withdrawn in 1866.

Horsedrawn tram which ran between Newtown Station and St Peters, 1894

South Australia's first horse tram began operating between Goolwa and Port Elliot on the Fleurieu Peninsula In early 1855.
Only Adelaide and Brisbane developed horse tramways on a large scale.By 1883 there were eleven companies operating horse trams, They operated successfully in Adelaide from 1878 where they replaced horse buses and continued in use until electric trams replaced them in 1909. The flat plain on which the city is constructed lent itself to this form of transport. Drivers had to be at least 17 years of age and conductors, 12. There were no scheduled stopping places and drivers obligingly picked up and set down passengers wherever they wanted. Lunch buses, which took workers home for a midday meal, did not stop at all and the passengers got on and off as the bus moved along. Light or medium draught horses pulled the horse trams. At steep locations a spare horse was attached to an outrigger on the tram for the duration of the hill. Beginning work at four years of age, horses were retired to the country at seven, where apparently the only way to get them to move on or stand still was to ring a bell!

Horse tram 18. Used in Adelaide from 1882 to 1910, first on the Walkerville line

Adelaide's horse tram network in 1907

Adelaide developed Australia's first permanent (and largest) horse tram system. It grew to 82 route kilometres. By 1883 there were eleven companies operating horse trams. The lines were taken over by the Municipal Tramways Trust (MTT) and electrified from 1908.

Double Deck Horse tram at Brisbane G.P.O Approx' 1892

Double decker horse drawn tram , Wooloongabba to Breakfast Creek 1886

Horse trams began operating in Brisbane in 1885 but had gone by 1900, replaced by more efficient and profitable electric trams. They were briefly resurrected in Sydney for operation at Newtown in 1894 and Manly in 1903. A horse tramway operated from Victor Harbor, in South Australia, along a causeway to Granite Island from 1894 to 1954 and reopened in 1986 for tourists.
The Victor Harbor trams weigh 4.8 tonnes and use roller bearings to minimize rolling effort.
A working Clydesdale weighs 800-1000kg but only needs to place 80kg of weight into
the chains to start the tram rolling.

Melbourne’s trams were not only powered by cable and electricity. In the first four decades of tramway operation, seven horse tram routes were operated by a number of different organisations.
Many of the horse tram routes were established in order to support the interests of the land speculators in the 1880s.
These routes were based on very shaky economics, and were notable for either early closure or by intermittent operation, due to the high operating costs of horse haulage. Unlike steam engines, horses had to continue being fed even when they were not earning revenue. In fact, MTOC figures show that operating costs of horse trams were 54% higher per car mile than cable trams.
The first of these routes, and indeed the first tramline of any type to open in Melbourne, conveyed passengers northwards from Fairfield railway station from 20 December 1884, to a real estate development in Thornbury known as Fairfield Park. This line was closed by 1890, leaving those who were foolish enough to purchase in this area totally without public transport.
Another similar company, the Beaumaris Tramway Company commenced operations in 1887 between Sandringham and Cheltenham railway stations, and managed to survive until 1914. The Caulfield Tramway Company operated its services between Elsternwick and Glenhuntly railway stations from 1889 until shortly after the turn of the century.

It seems that there was never a horse tram provided for the carriage of passengers in Perth, rather, there was - it is believed - a horse tramway which ran from quarries just north of the city to the construction site of Government House situated in St Georges Terrace. For how long the horse tramway survived is not known, nor its exact route, It is known, however, that a horse omnibus system did exist.

Ballarat Horse Tram No. 16, westbound, on the North side of Sturt St at the intersection of Lydiard St. with the Ballarat Town Hall in the background.

Horse trams commenced running in Ballarat in December 1887. It was not a profitable operation, and they were replaced by electric trams between 1905 and 1913.

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