The First Electric Road: A History of the Box Hill and Doncaster Tramway

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: John Mason Press, 1989. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Soft cover. New/No Jacket. 245mm x 175mm x 8mm. 84 Pages with Black/White Photos. From October 1889 until January 1896, an electric tram ran between the Box Hill Post Office, on the corner of Whitehorse Road and Station Street, and a terminus near the intersection of Elgar and Doncaster Roads, Doncaster. It was the first electric tram in Australia, and the southern hemisphere, to operate as a regular service. The history of this pioneer electric tramway is a story of technical innovation, initiative and perseverance by the early settlers at a time when Box Hill was a small but growing township. The origin of the Box Hill-Doncaster electric tramway dates from the Centennial International Exhibition, held at the Exhibition Buildings, Melbourne, in 1888-89. Among the unusual attractions at this elaborate event was a working electric tramway exhibited by the electrical importer W.H. Masters and Company. The people of Melbourne had enjoyed the novelty of cable trams for three years; visitors to the Exhibition, however, had the unique opportunity to ride on an electric tram less than twelve months after the technology had been perfected in America. During the Exhibition, the primitive open tram carried nearly seventeen thousand passengers along a 300-yard (274 metre) track at threepence per ride. The Exhibition Commissioners awarded the Thomson-Houston Company of Boston , which had supplied the tram equipment, a First Order of Merit and a Gold Medal. Meanwhile a syndicate of landowners and investors in the adjoining rural shires of Nunawading and Bulleen was planning a tramway between the townships of Box Hill and Doncaster. The line would provide Doncaster with a transport link to the railway at Box Hill and the syndicate hoped that it would promote sales of land being subdivided as well as attract tourists to the area. At the time, Box Hill and Doncaster were among the largest fruit-growing areas in Victoria, The Nunawading Shire, of which Box Hill was then a part, was described as 'undulating, picturesque and very healthy'. The agricultural township of Box Hill, with a population of 500, was situated on the railway line to Lilydale. It had a bank, two hotels and brickworks. A contemporary report noted that 'property in this district is increasing in value and buildings are being erected in all directions'.Box Hill had become the market town for the surrounding areas; it was booming and well serviced. The railway line through Box Hill was opened in 1882 and by 1888 the town had regular letter deliveries and a telegraph service. (It was not until 1914, however, that the municipal electric supply undertaking commenced operations.) In October 1888 the consortium of landowners and investors formed the Box Hill and Doncaster Tramway Company Limited. This company had an authorised capital of fifteen thousand pounds. William Meader became its chairman. The Company purchased the electric tram, generating dynamo and steam engine from the Centennial Exhibition and let a contract for construction of 2.25 miles (3.6 kilometres) of earthworks and track. Second-hand rails from Tasmania were used for the standard gauge line. There was some opposition from locals who objected to construction of the tramway on the grounds that it would supplant the need for a railway to Doncaster and bring 'undesirable tourists'. The hilly route through private property followed what is now Station Street and Tram Road; the line between Koonung Creek and Doncaster was particularly steep and winding. The Union Electric Company of Australia Limited was engaged to erect overhead wiring, install the power generating equipment and operate the line for a period of six months. The combined engine house and tram shed was erected on the south bank of Bushy Creek (just north of Wimmera Street). The creek was dammed to provide water for the steam-generating plant. After considerable obstacles were overcome, the line was finally opened on 14 October 1889 by a local Parliamentarian and Government Whip, Ewen Camero