The Cawalcade of City Transport

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 33, 8 February 1935, Page 20 (Supplement)

The Cavalcade of City Transport

, v -"r ■ „** *«""«y ou., now m use on the Hutt Road. On the right is "Fiducia," the latest design in Wellington tramcars.

■"(~7*yHERE'.Was no public pas- \£} senger transport service in ".... the "early days" of Wellington; the town had to grow before even the first "cabby" could live. But as the population grew and the town extended, passenger service became desirable; and in time the usual reaction followed: easy transport made the town grow. A steam tramWay company was formed in 1877, •; 7pnd v this service was followed by 7:}iWse-drawn cars, which ran la WelZlingiph South, and had other vehicles as "feeders." Only a single \ 7Vne7^irac\ was used, even in Lamb- ;■ ZionQuay. In 1904, the electric 7tramrvqy system was inaugurated, and this event may be said to have y marked the real beginning of the suburban developments now to be' ■ seen in all directions. The contract .madej^^ the construction, 6f the system provided fbrrbvilesfrom Thorndon to Newtown Park; and also to Berhampore, ;: Upper Willis Street and Aro Street, 7 and as far as the gates of the Botanical Gardens by way .of Molesworth Street arid ZTihakbri Rodd. Services r : y were commenced to: Island yßqy in ZKilbirniein:l9o7Z "; - ; These tgaye ■ a tremen- ■ - dpus •iippeius;to residential develop- , meniih the areas so served, and the .limits of Wellington proper moved, 6u{ still further in the next few years ,' when lines were laid to', Miramar , North,- to Seatoun (previously • served by ferry steamer), to Karori, to Wadestown, and from Kilbirnie to ' the Lydll Bay waterfront. Other extensions havi since taken place, including that to Northland , (J929), and many single lines have been duplicated: •Bus services have supplemented 'the tramways. The City Council runs a considerable number between the city and suburban areas; the ; Eastbourne Borough Council runs a bus service, supplementing its ferry steamers; the Railways Department has a large fleet which runs at brief - intervals to Lower Hutt and less often- to Upper Hutt; and privately owned buses run to the Western suburbs and townships via the Kaiwarra arid Ngahauranga Gorge roads. Old time buses Were neither hdnd- ■ some nor comfortable; the typical modern vehicle is roomy, fast, and easy Tiding, and a fine example of successful engineering.