Sunday History Photo / WA

The Kalgoorlie Electric Tramways Limited began operation in May,1902 and was formed to build and operate tramways in Kalgoorlie and Boulder. This company had close links with the Perth Electric Tramways Limited, but unlike the Perth situation, the Kalgoorlie operation was to remain privately owned for most of its life.
The system as planned was at this stage complete, with 14.83 route miles, much of it in double track. This was a large system for the size of the town. By comparison the tramway systems in two other Australian gold towns, Ballarat and Bendigo, were of 13.84 route miles and 8.64 route miles respectively. No further extensions were made or needed to the original routes.





The years when the tramways were planned and built coincided with a time of maximum prosperity for the gold industry, which is dependent on world-wide forces. As the twentieth century unfolded, the fortunes of Kalgoorlie-Boulder and its tramway system fluctuated with the gold industry.

Operating costs were contained by the use of trailer cars - a single power car could have up to four trailers attached to it at shift change times at the mines.
Passenger revenue was supplemented by extensive use of advertising on the trams - always a prominent feature.
After the 1914-1918 War, many soldiers did not return to the district. Alluvial gold deposits had been worked out, and the many retrenchments caused further population decline. Many houses in the outer suburbs were sold for use on farms, leaving a scattered population. As a result many of the lines to these suburbs, regarded as "branch" lines, were closed, leaving just the core lines within and between the twin towns.




A revival of the gold mining industry about 1930 led to a revival of the tramways. The operating concession was extended by fifteen years, and many trams were renovated, with platforms being enclosed and some bodies being completely dismantled and rebuilt.
When the system in Kalgoorlie - Boulder closed in 1952, all of the trams were scrapped and the bodies sold for various uses, Tram No2 finished up as a kiosk or similar at the racecourse, but after useful service in that role was consigned to the back blocks.




In Western Australia, electric tramways operated in four places, Perth, Fremantle, Kalgoorlie, and Leonora that had a single track and a single electric car.