Tram Shelter No. 4 (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 two-post design being constructed in the period 1925-1940.

In 1930, the line was extended to Rainworth with the terminus located on Boundary Road 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 (of a 1932 design) were constructed to encourage usage. Built during the Great Depression, they were constructed as part of a Brisbane City Council works program to alleviate unemployment. This particular shelter is marked on a BCC map for 1939-40 and is classed as a ‘standard small type shelter shed’.

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 skillion roof is sheeted with corrugated iron and is supported by three-square timber posts and timber brackets. Timber seating is propped against the structure.

This type of shelter appears to be an earlier design that could have been replicated. It could also have been an existing shelter relocated from another site. The shelter is currently in fairly good condition, but needs some maintenance work and covering/removal of graffiti.

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

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