The new Metro will soon pass through North Sydney – under the ashes of the old tram lines.
Many people who work or live around the North Sydney CBD or Crows Nest will be aware of the huge construction sites related to the Metro train line that will connect Chatswood with the Sydney CBD. The link is scheduled to open in 2024, part of a resurgence in public transport aimed at providing an alternative to cars.
It has been a long time coming. Although early Sydney had the largest tram network in the southern hemisphere, built up over 70 years, historically, transport planners believed the future lay with the car. The first tram services in Sydney were closed in the late 1940s. The last, to La Perouse, was shut down in 1961. With ballooning car use after the World War II, it was deemed that the roads weren’t big enough for the both of them.
The end for North Sydney’s trams came in 1958 – 65 years ago. The last service ran on a wet wintry Saturday. The public buses which replaced them began running the next day and have jostled for space on the ever-congested roads ever since.
The transition was not a happy one. Over July and August 1958, commuters had to adjust to the fact that even double decker buses carried far fewer people than trams. There were fewer buses and they were often late because of the traffic. The newspapers carried many complaints. One from a Mosman resident was typical: “I tried to get a bus opposite the new MLC building. Many of my buses did not stop (because they were full), although some people went out on to the road to hail them. Then in teeming rain I moved to the stop at Victoria Cross where 40 or 50 people waited.”
Before it closed in June, the peak service from Wynyard had no less than 45 trams travelling north in one hour. Extra buses were running by late July to make up the shortfall, but to no avail. Former tram travellers resorted to trains, but those did not service the network of stops on the old tram lines.
Aware that the end was coming for their beloved trams, some enthusiasts set about documenting the doomed system. One-time North Sydney resident, Len Clark, took dozens of photographs and eventually wrote a book on the subject, North of the Harbour. Leon Manny took his life into his hands as he stepped out on to roads across the city to photograph oncoming carriages. As a result of his doggedness, Stanton Library has more than 300 prints showing the trams that serviced the area in 1958. Manny’s pictures are doubly valuable for they also show streetscapes that no longer exist.
Nothing will replace Sydney’s extraordinary tram network, but the Metro and light rail do have a hint of ‘back to the future’ about them.
Historical Services, North Sydney Council.
