Tram Shelter No. 1 (former)

Brisbane’s association with trams began in August 1885 with the horse tram, owned by the Metropolitan Tramway & Investment Co. In 1895, a contract was let to the Tramways Construction Co Ltd of London to electrify the system. In 1897, the Paddington, Red Hill (Enoggera Terrace & Waterworks Rd) and Petrie Terrace lines were opened.

On 1 January 1923, the Brisbane Tramway Trust took over the Brisbane Tramway Company. During the period 1918-1922, no new lines or extensions were built, and few rolling stock constructed (in spite of growing traffic and serious overcrowding) due to the company nearing the end of its franchise. After the takeover, an urgent works program began, with most shelters of four poster design being constructed in the period 1925-1940.

In 1930, the line was extended to Rainworth with the terminus located next to Rainworth primary school. As with many suburbs of Brisbane, the arrival of the tram service encouraged further residential development in the area. Many fine examples of interwar homes can be seen along the tram route on Boundary Road. Waiting sheds were constructed to encourage usage. Built during the Great Depression, it was constructed as part of a Brisbane City Council works program to alleviate unemployment. This particular shelter is marked on a Brisbane City Council map for 1939-40 and is a ‘standard four-post waiting shelter’ or ‘A type’ built to a 1932 design.

Many waiting sheds were constructed by the Brisbane City Council as a direct result of petitioning by the community or progress societies. The Council would then complete a survey over several days to see if a stop was needed. Waiting sheds promoted the system of public transport by providing a comfortable waiting area protected from the elements, and were often internally lit. Letters of thanks to the editor of the Telegraph and Courier Mail record that this detail was appreciated by passengers who could read the daily paper while waiting for trams or at night. After 1945, the Council realised revenue could be gained from the structures, and many were adorned with billboards and illuminated signs. 

Two factors were responsible for the decrease in public transport usage after 1945: the end of petrol rationing in 1950 and the affordability of locally built cars such as the Holden. However, on 28 September 1962, the trams were dealt a blow from which they would never recover. The Paddington tram depot, a landmark in the district since 1915, was destroyed by fire along with 67 trams - 20 per cent of the fleet. To compensate for the loss, aging ‘Dreadnought’ trams and buses borrowed from Sydney were hurriedly brought into service. This incident forced the Brisbane City Council to consider whether to rebuild the trams or convert to buses.

By the 1960s, the car was unquestionably king of the road - this twentieth century phenomenon strangling the efficiency of trams and trolley buses. The Lord Mayor, Clem Jones, believed that diesel buses would provide the most effective service for the city

In 1964, the tide began to turn against the tramway system. Reduced numbers of passengers and rising losses forced cuts in the frequency of many services. Also, the State Government had commissioned the US town planning company Wilbur Smith and Associates, to carry out a comprehensive survey of Brisbane’s traffic requirements for the foreseeable future. The fate of trams and trolleybuses was sealed, as they stood in the way of proposed road widening and traffic islands and were seen to be inflexible, unlike the diesel bus. 

On the night of Sunday 13 April 1969, the last tram passed along Queen Street with a police escort on its final run to the workshops at Boomerang Street, Milton. On that day, 72 000 people travelled on the trams.

A number of former tram shelters have been moved or demolished for road works (eg. at the Normanby Five-ways). Those that remain provide an attractive shady shelter for bus passengers and make an aesthetic contribution to the streetscape. This shelter is still in use by bus passengers on the Boundary Road route.

The short-ridge roof is sheeted with corrugated iron (although most likely the original roof would have been either asbestos or terracotta tiles) and is supported by four square timber posts with solid, elongated timber brackets. Two rows of timber seating are fixed to the footpath and are facing each other.

The shelter appears to be in fairly original condition with its original seating arrangement. It is uncertain if the ‘Boundary Road’ signage on the shelter was part of the structure when built.

1. Brimson, Samuel. The Tramways of Australia. Dreamweaver Books, Sydney, 1983

2. Brisbane City Council Archives

3. Brisbane City Council Minutes and Meetings, 1915-1945

4. Brisbane City Council Water Supply and Sewerage Detail Plans

5. Brisbane Tramway Museum Society Archives, Ferny Grove

6. Clark, Howard. The Australian Tram: a selection of views depicting the development and operation of Australian tramways. Sydney: Australian Electric Traction Association. 1969

7. Clark, Howard & Keenan, David. Brisbane Tramways: the last decade, Transit Press, Sydney, 1977

8. Greenwood, Gordon. Brisbane 1859-1959 A History of Local Government. Council of the City of Brisbane, Brisbane, 1959

9. Larkins, John. Romance of Australian Trams. Adelaide: Rigby Press. 1977

10. Steer, G.R. “Brisbane Tramways: Their History and Development”. Historical Society of Queensland Journal, Vol 3, No.3, May 1944, pp.209-233

11. Tyrrell, S. The Trams of Brisbane, The Brisbane Tramway Museum Society, Brisbane, 1971