Horses

Wonderful finds. I have never seen the second or third photos before.

The second is captioned misleadingly.
The railway dated from 1853-54, but only to Port Elliot.
The extension to Victor Harbor came in 1864.
The further extension, to Granite Island, came in 1875.
The photo was taken at the Granite Island wharves/jetties, probably after 1879.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

...don't know anything about the tram in the window in reply 88....but the pub across the road looks pretty good

Re the preceding post, Corio is my favourite hotel in Goolwa, athough I also patronise Goolwa Hotel. Both are packed at times when I am there (Wooden Boat Festival). Corio is named after an early paddlesteamer.

From the Yahoo group TramsDownUnder:
* The modern horse tram at Victor Harbor is a replica of the 1894-1956 one, but with practical refinements, notably rollerbearings to make the horse's job easier (RSPCA had concerns).
* Traditionally Clydesdales were found to be too heavy, and caused too much damage to the streets (which often had not been paved). A crossbred horse was developed and they were called 'Tram Ponies', same physical strength as a Clydesdale but a leaner more muscular physique which allowed them to work a 3 h shift without becoming exhausted.
See the Friends of Hawthorn Depot website.
www.hawthorntramdepot.org.au
All the articles are worth reading: not just tram history, but social history and Melbourne history. For horse trams direct:
www.hawthorntramdepot.org.au/papers/horse.htm
www.artnet.com/artists/john+crawford-win...cXch9rKmPZ_luOnpYbg2
trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/2329342
Modern Clydesdales, not tram ponies (but with vintage cars and military vehicles too):



This post is a repeat of one just placed with hearses: horse hearses are dual.

Sitting under the front canopy of the Wantirna funeral parlour, Heritage & Heritage has its now-retired horse hearse. I asked about it, and was told that insurance was prohibitive.

Enclosed also is a copy of a photo in the entry foyer, showing it in use when the company was Heritage & Harper.

Heritage & Heritage, Wantirna (Melbourne, Vic.): Horse hearse. Tues.16.4.13. (Roderick Smith)

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

Smithy
Gudday M8

az Google az me friend ne dug these up

http://dictionaryofsydney.org/files/wide/248f8224f7122d9e4823ea2bb1f81ab081ba251a
Horse-drawn tram outside General Post Office, Sydney c1865

1854: The First Railway

During the first two decades the transport of produce from inland to the sea for export became increasingly important to the economy of the colony. Because it was difficult and dangerous for steamers travelling the River Murray to pass through the Murray Mouth to the sea, in 1851 work commenced on the construction of a railway between the River Port of Goolwa and Port Elliot 11km away. In May 1854 the first public railway in Australia became operational. Horses were used, instead of steam engines, to contain costs.

The First Island Tram - No. 7
The first tram to be used on the Causeway was a six-windowed double ended, double deck car built in England by "Brown Marshall" of Birmingham.
It had originally been delivered to the Goolwa Railway in 1879, then transferred to the Moonta Horse Railway in 1887, then stored at the SAR's Islington workshop from 1891 until it was sent to Victor Harbor in 1894.
Car No. 7 continued in service until 1931

Just to side step a little

the 1st electric tram twaz BoxHill to Doncaster
Station St - Tram Rd

The first electric tram service in the Southern Hemishere.

From 14 October 1889 until 6 January 1896 this electric tram service ran between the Box Hill Post Office (located on the corner of Whitehorse Road and Station Street) and a terminus near the intersection of Elgar and Doncaster Roads, Doncaster.

cya

not to doubt what you say but a few years ago on the tram in Bendigo and was told they had the first electric trams ran on batterys but I could by wrong Paul

The Bendigo battery trams commenced public service on 14.6.1890, and so were beaten by Box Hill - Doncaster. Bendigo was a technical and financial failure.
Doncaster was a shoestring operation.
IIRC, it was using equipment which had been brought to Melbourne for the 1888 great exhibition, and was sold at the end of that famous event.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

I don't have sufficient to create a new thread.
This one was scanned from a family album. It is Melbourne zoo, and was taken by my father in the late 1930s or mid 1940s. Somewhere hard to find I have a family photo of the same zoo (same elephant too?) in the early 1950s, when I was riding. IIRC a larger howdah, possibly with a canopy.
I don't recall taking any elephant photos in commercial service overseas: they have been used for logging as well as transport. Apart from game parks, I have seen them wandering in streets, unharnessed.

There are some scenes in the 1950s film 'Around the world in 80 days': both riding one, and having one tow a funeral juggernaut.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

.....hey, i thought this was a horses topic .....

.....who let the elephants in : :

I didn't have enough for an independent bullock thread either.

What did the girl say when an elephant came through the window?
'There's an elephant coming through the window'.
What did she say when it came back, wearing sunglasses?
Nothing, because she didn't recognise it.

There are more ones from my time as a year 8 student.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

....or how do you get four elephants in a Mini Minor?....

...two in the front .......and two in the back : : :

Copy Detecta...
now you got it started..
Do ya know the difference between an Elephant and a Cabbage...???


chocs