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By Matt Austin The gold mining city of Bendigo lies 100 miles north of Melbourne, Australia. The scene of gold discoveries in the 1860s, Bendigo had grown to a become a rather prosperous town by 1887, and the city fathers felt that a tramway was required, for reasons of transport and prestige. The rival gold-mining city of Ballarat was at this time installing a horse-drawn tramway, and Bendigo was not to be left behind. The city council of Bendigo, along with the council of the nearby borough of Eaglehawk, some five miles away, agreed upon a tramway to be operated by storage-battery powered trams. The work of Sprague and Van Depoele had not yet been enough to allow practical operation via overhead wires and the hilly surroundings precluded horse-cars. The company that won the tender suffered frustrating delays, but eventually installed tracks and a depot, and the one tram from the order that had arrived from England made its first run on April 10, 1890. This run was a portent, the car derailed on a curve and almost burst into flame due to excessive motor arcing. 'Regular service' commenced that June, although frequent breakdowns and tram failures resulted in the service being withdrawn a mere fourteen weeks later. The following year, another company purchased the assets, and with the support of the humbled city councils, rebuilt the battery cars as trailers and bought five Baldwin steam tram motors to tow the cars. The second incarnation of the system commenced operations on February 1, 1882, and the trams were well patronised. The British Insulated Wire Company, the group that had just obtained the local electricity generating concern, purchased the company in 1897 and made great improvements. A dozen open Californian-combination cars was ordered, a new depot built and lines laid north to Lake Weroona, south to Golden Square, and east to Quarry Hill, a total system of around nine miles. April 15, 1903 saw the grand opening (or re-opening) of the Eaglehawk line, the others following later. The creation of the State Electricity Commission (SEC) by State parliament in 1918 saw the local power generation companies unified under State control. The Bendigo tramway system became State run after 1929 when the SEC obtained the power to operate tramways and the private franchise ran out in the early 1930s. The thirty years of operation had resulted in a rather worn-out condition so the SEC undertook a rehabilitation with some new track, mostly new overhead and second-hand trams purchased from Melbourne and Adelaide, including four of only eight Australian operated Birney cars (later six). During the Second World War, the Lake Weroona line was extended to North Bendigo to serve the local munitions factory. This stub terminus remains today, where it turns off the road to avoid a railway line, with workers having to walk across the railway to reach the factory (photos B12 and B14). Cars were periodically exchanged between the three SEC tramway systems of Bendigo, Ballarat and Geelong (Photo B4), with Geelong being abandoned in 1956 and the two Geelong Birneys that had been bought new in the 1920s coming to Bendigo, while other cars were divided between Bendigo and Ballarat. By the 1960s, the SEC had lost the desire to operate a financially burdensome pair of tramway systems, and after several attempts, was granted parliamentary permission to abandon the systems. Ballarat was closed in September 1971 and Bendigo on April 19,1972. When closure was announced, a group of concerned residents formed the Bendigo Trust, and they lobbied to keep a section of the system as a convenient way of running tours of the historic streetscape of the city. The State government saw this as undesirable, the premier describing the whole concept as 'corny and gimmicky'. Strong lobbying overcame the difficulties, and on December 9, 1972, the first run of the new 'tourist tram' service took place. The original depot, and about one third of the trackage was retained, along with all of the tramcars. This latter fact caused some controversy, as some of the trams had been promised to various organisations, but the Bendigo Trust managed to keep all of the trams in Bendigo, to maintain the historical authenticity of the system. The line was cut back, the North Bendigo terminus was retained, being walking distance from a 'joss house', a Chinese museum and temple, which showed some of the history of the Chinese inhabitants of Bendigo, going back to the early days of the goldfields. The line south to Golden Square was cut back about half a mile, and a new terminus built next to the last remaining goldmine, with its poppet head and other displays, which is also operated by the Bendigo Trust. The Eaglehawk to Quarry Hill line was removed or covered over. Since 1972, the Bendigo Trust has obtained a handful of ex-Melbourne W2 class cars (Photo B2), along with a W6 car which has been converted into a mobile café. This continues the Bendigo trend of purchasing second-hand cars from other systems. These Melbourne cars help to take some of the pressure from the Bendigo cars, as some of these cars are over eighty years old, and daily service can be quite a burden on these vehicles. The twenty three cars 'on the books' at closure are gradually being restored to show the changing history of the system, and a handful of bodies have been recovered. These bodies are of cars that were disposed of prior to the closure, and include a battery tram/steam trailer and an original 1903 combination car. These are in the restoration queue. The cars are of four main types. The single-truck cars are generally enclosed for one-man operation (Photos B4, B5 and B7) The maximum-traction cars (B1, B3, B6 B9, and B12) are dropcentre, two-man cars, with the exception of No. 18, which has been converted to a saloon car. The Birney cars, (B10), and four-motor ex-Melbourne W series bogie cars (B2, B8 and B11) make up the remainder, along with an original 1913 open crossbench 'summer' car. Service on the system operates daily, from 9.30am until late afternoon, and without the service and hard work of many loyal volunteers, would probably not run at all. The drivers and staff have been, in my experience, quite helpful and sympathetic to the enthusiast. The Bendigo system is a reminder of the turn of the century electric tramway system that dotted the world map. It is a fine example of vintage trams operating in their natural habitat; with enough for the enthusiast, but thanks to the on-board taped commentary, enough for the general visitor as well. The future is bright, with the centenary of permanent electrification three years away, there is plenty in store for the traction fan.