Addresses
Type of place
Tram / bus shelter
Period
Postwar 1945-1960
Style
Arts and Crafts
This is an image of the local heritage place known as Tram shelter (former)
Trolleybus Shelter (former)
Addresses
Type of place
Tram / bus shelter
Period
Postwar 1945-1960
Style
Arts and Crafts
This trolley bus shelter is situated in McIlwraith Avenue outside ‘Eulalia’ and dates from the early 1950s. The electric trolley bus route ran from Woo1loongabba to Carina, passing McIlwraith Avenue. The hipped roof pavilion shelter erected at this stop was known as the P.1008 design, created by the Brisbane City Council Works Department and used for both tram and trolleybus shelters. This shelter includes a rear infill screen. Brisbane’s trolleybuses were decommissioned in the late 1960s and replaced by diesel buses. The bus stop is still operational.
Geolocation
-27.484753 153.067933
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Construction
Roof: Corrugated iron;Walls: Timber
People/associations
Brisbane City Council (Builder)Criterion for listing
(A) Historical; (E) AestheticInteractive mapping
Geolocation
-27.484753 153.067933
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Construction
Roof: Corrugated iron;Walls: Timber
People/associations
Brisbane City Council (Builder)Criterion for listing
(A) Historical; (E) AestheticInteractive mapping
History
Norman Park was largely settled in the interwar period, though ‘Eulalia’, the property behind this shelter, was built in 1889. The suburb was serviced by the Norman Park railway station from 1911, a short-lived Belmont tramline from 1912-1926 and by a new tram service from 1926, but the stops and stations were fairly removed from McIlwraith Avenue.
Increased vehicular traffic in the 1950s led to the introduction of the trolley buses on many routes as these were considered to be more trafficable on the increasingly busy city streets. Cavendish Road tramline was closed in 1955 and the entire length of the road serviced by electric trolley bus.
After the formation of the Greater Brisbane Council in 1925, the Council took over the tramway system and instigated immediately a programme of route extensions and shelter construction. For example, provision was made in the budget for construction of shelters for the comfort and convenience of passengers.
Brisbane’s association with trolley buses began in 1947-48 with an order by the Brisbane City Council for thirty electric trolley buses. In some cases the trolley buses provided an extension of the existing tramline, such as that on Cavendish Road. As the 1950s progressed, trolley buses began to be the preferred transport for servicing new routes. For example the bridging of Norman Creek and expansion of East Brisbane allowed the extension of the trolley bus route out to Carina and down the length of Cavendish Road.
Trolley bus shelters were identical to tram shelters. There are several remaining types to be found in Brisbane. The most common is the four-posted ‘standard waiting shelter’. The ‘standard small-type’ two-posted shelters is also found, with the six-posted inner city shelter less common.
All types were built of timber with either terracotta-tiled roofs (during the earlier period) or corrugated iron roofs. They were built to service not only tram routes, but also trolley buses and, later, buses. Referred to as ‘A’ type shelters, their construction was phased out by the Brisbane City Council during the 1960s with the introduction of aluminium and steel shelters, known as ‘J’ type shelters.
This trolley bus shelter is still in a serviceable condition and continues to be part of the Brisbane bus system.
Statement of significance
Relevant assessment criteria
This is a place of local heritage significance and meets one or more of the local heritage criteria under the Heritage planning scheme policy of the Brisbane City Plan 2014. It is significant because:
References
-
Brisbane City Council City Architecture and Heritage Team, citations
-
Clark, Howard & Keenan, David. Brisbane Tramways: the last decade, Transit Press, Sydney, 1977
-
Ford, Gary R, Brisbane Tramway Centenary: a brief chronology, Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland, Vol 12 Issue 2 (1985), pp283-4
Citation prepared by — Brisbane City Council (page revised June 2022)