Tram Pole

Statement of Significance

The tram pole is a surviving artefact from the extensive and efficient tramway system that operated in the district and linked it to central Perth, between 1898 and the late 1950s.

Physical Description

An unadorned circular pole rising to a bracketed collar, formerly used to support overhead tram wires, topped with a spherical cap.

History

Trams had replaced horse-drawn buses in the 1900s. The first tram service north of Perth was inaugurated in 1900, by Tram No. 15 which ran from the Weld Club corner (Esplanade) in Barrack Street and in Beaufort Street and Walcott Street. This was a double track with a crossover at each Terminus and at the Town Hall corner. The tramway was extended northwest along Walcott Street up to York Street in 1906. In 1916, the Walcott Street line became the Mount Lawley Line, numbered 19. The population was centered in the vicinity of the railway line, spread along Walcott and Beaufort Streets. The Beaufort Street shopping strip developed during this period to cater for the needs of the local residents. At the time, all trams were driven by electric motors and tram poles were erected along the tram lines to support the electrical distribution system. The subject tram pole, at the corner of Walcott Street and Raglan Street, was the remnant of the tramway system. The trams were phased out when trolley buses were introduced in the 1930s. The Walcott Street line ceased operation in 1953. The last Tram Service in Beaufort Street was closed in 1958, with Tram No. 66 leading a parade of people on its last trip to Barrack Street, closing the tramway system.

Integrity/Authenticity

Moderate

Uses

Historic Themes

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