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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-05-01 Daily Xml
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St Kilda Tramway Museum

Mr FULBROOK (Playford) (15:32): I rise to say a few enthusiastic words about the Tramway Museum in St Kilda, which over the weekend celebrated the 50th anniversary of its operating tramway. I must own up to being a bit of a fan of pretty much everything that runs on rail, so the opportunity to be there was one to savour. I was joined by Salisbury Mayor, Gillian Aldridge, and local councillor, Sharon McKell, and we had a great time meeting with volunteers, enthusiasts and even railway safety inspectors for the occasion.

I want to be clear that the weekend's event signified half a century of tram rides at St Kilda. The invaluable work of volunteers predates this, with the Australian Electric Transport Museum being established in 1957. During the 1950s, enthusiasts across Australia were beginning to set up tram collections following the establishment of the Australian Electric Traction Association, an advocacy group with the noble interest in retaining and expanding electric transport systems. We initially saw the Sydney Tramway Museum separate from this group and establish itself as a separate entity to avoid confusion between advocacy and preservation, leading to it becoming the Australian Electric Transport Museum.

By 1957, Adelaide's preservation group became the SA branch of the Australian Electric Transport Museum, later incorporating in its own right. It was in 1967 that the museum in St Kilda opened to the public with static displays, before council secured funding from a 1972 Whitlam government employment scheme to lay the 1.6 kilometre tramway from the museum to St Kilda, giving visitors the opportunity to enjoy trams as they had been intended. I understand the museum houses 26 trams, one tram-hauled horsebox, five trolleybuses, two horse trams and one diesel bus.

Events on the weekend served a dual purpose, with the relaunch of Bib and Bub, also known as A-type trams 14 and 15. For over two decades, these units have been faithfully restored and officially came out of the workshop and into the open for their first public run in decades. Bib and Bub trams are significant pieces of our state's history and were amongst the first type of electric tram introduced to the system when it first opened in 1909.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, labour was in short supply, but trams still needed to be driven. To address this, A-type trams were pushed out of retirement in 1940 and coupled in pairs, allowing greater passenger capacity without a second driver. Coupled together, they were affectionately known as Bib and Bub trams, named after the popular comic strip Gumnut Twins, characters from popular children's author May Gibbs.

It was a joy to ride them on their first official run into St Kilda, and I really want to thank and congratulate everyone who helped make that happen. This includes museum president Nic Ben, secretary Bailey Underwood and the museum's historian Colin Seymour. All three were perfect hosts on the day to my son and I as well as the hundreds of people, some from interstate, who gathered for the occasion. In saying thanks, it is not going to be possible to name members past and present, but I do feel that Ron Jenkins should be made the exception. Fifty years ago, when the track opened for the first time, Ron was there on the first day driving trams. Fast forward to 2024, and he was there to drive the first official run of trams 14 and15 into St Kilda and back again.

Like so many South Australian assets, the Tramway Museum would not survive without volunteers. I want to thank those past and present who have played their role in building a bridge to our proud past. It is often said that history is studied to learn from yesterday's mistakes. With the resurgence of Adelaide's tram network, arguably the efforts of these volunteers helps to shine a light into the future. While there is a lot to be proud of, we cannot go past the fact that this is a museum, with volunteers and donations being its lifeblood. If you are able to contribute, I am sure that Nic and his great team will be most appreciative.

I hope I have given a few people interest in making the worthwhile trip into St Kilda, maybe taking the opportunity and teeing it up with some fish and chips and a trip to the nearby Adventure Playground. Noting that opening times normally fall between 12 to 5pm on Sundays, thanks to the contribution of volunteers over the past eight decades, there remains a lot to enjoy in this exciting part of Adelaide, and I would encourage everyone here to pay it a visit.

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