2. History of Trams in Hobart

Public transport in Hobart today is provided almost entirely by the state government owned bus system – Metro Tasmania. This however was not always the case as up until the early 1960s the city was served by a municipal tram and electric trolley bus network. There was also a regular state passenger rail service from Hobart to the northern suburbs and beyond. This was closed down in the mid 1970s.

Fig. 01: Postcard from c1917 of two HMT round front double deck trams at the Sandy Bay terminus.

Starting in the early 1880s there were moves for the introduction of tramways in Hobart. However it would not be until September 1893 when scheduled services of the newly created Hobart Electric Tramway Co Ltd. provided operation of the first successful electric tramway system in the Southern Hemisphere. The early network consisted of three tramway lines: Railway Stn to Cascades, General Post Office to Sandy Bay and Railway Stn to New Town, with a fleet comprised of 20 double deck vehicles built in the UK and assembled in Hobart.

In 1913, after ratepayers had voted to authorise it, a purchase of the tramways was made where a loan of £250,000 was raised and by July of that year the Hobart City Council formally took over the tramway system, thus becoming the Hobart Municipal Tramways. In the following decades there was steady development of the network and rolling stock. However, and like many cities world wide, Hobart eventually removed its tramways in favour of buses and motorized individual transport.

Fig. 02:  Map showing full extent of the Hobart Tramway System as at 20 Dec 1937 (Hobart Tramways - Ian G. Cooper 1993).

Fig. 03: Hobart Central area from 1954 with its suburban and regional railway station terminus. All that remains of it today is the ABC Southern Tasmania studios. Solid red lines indicate tram routes while the long hashed are electric trolley buses and hashed regular buses.