Tram tracks resurface
With a little imagination, Waverley Council is in the unique position to formally recognise, in a small way, the iconic and world famous “Bondi Tram”.
While this has already been done in a replica fashion with the mock tramlines in the Bondi Junction Mall, at the Adelaide and Oxford Streets intersection the original lines are starting to emerge once again in the roadway.
This is a non-pedestrian area and would only require removal of the very thin lining of bitumen to expose the lines. There would be practically no roadway level change.
If the lines are exposed, a plaque could be installed on one of the corners. There are footpath plaques throughout the junction commemorating sites and buildings that once existed, but we now have an opportunity for the real thing, which would certainly attract great interest. Even a trial uncovering would be worth doing to see how things worked out.
These lines were re-laid in mass concrete through the Junction in the mid 1950s and only saw service for some six years, prior to the last Bondi tram which ran (now 50 years ago) on 27 February, 1960.
In fact the lines (including turn-ins) are still in situ under the bitumen from the Waverley Bus Depot (former tram depot) down to Newland Street. A large section of the Bronte line also remains intact from the Tea Gardens Hotel right through to the top of Macpherson Street.
When the first mall was constructed in the late 1970s, several sections of line were removed for planter boxes. The Westfield development and the upgraded mall (with tramway theme) saw the removal of all the lines in that area. Fortunately a number of lengths were secured by the Sydney Tramway Museum. The tracks then continue from approximately the Eastern Hotel along Oxford Street to the beginning of Bondi Road.
It was in the mid 1980s that Waverley Council acquired from a country property an R Class tram No 1808, which was subsequently restored by the council with 1988 Bi-Centennial funding. The tram was then displayed for a time in the forecourt of the Boot Factory in Spring Street.
Plans to actually operate the tram on the original lines were also considered. In fact, in June 1991 the council flew the Melbourne Manager Tram Track to Sydney to inspect and report on the lines, a section of which had been uncovered by council employees. The subsequent report indicated that after bitumen removal and cleaning, the lines were fit for further use. But these plans did not eventuate and R 1808 was transferred to the Sydney Tramway Museum.
In January 1992, the lines were actually classified by the National Trust of Australia: “these lines lay intact under the bitumen and are one of the last complete sections of the former tramway (many other sections of the line have been removed). The world famous notoriety of the Bondi Tram is an important element of Sydney’s transport heritage. The section of line has the potential to be a publicly accessible tangible remnant of this famous line.”
– By Chris O’Sullivan
