Wednesday, May 16, 2012

A tram bound for Avondale



Purchased via TradeMe -- Tram No. 93 of the Auckland fleet, looks like a DSC, Cousins & Cousins-built (Auckland) tram, c.1909 (compare with No. 89 at MOTAT). I wanted this for two reasons. 1. The tram is heading to Avondale (which is of course the core interest for me and Timespanner). 2. I've identified where this was taken -- outside what is now Pigeon Park in Karangahape Road, with the Caledonian Hotel on the left (built c.1870, demolished 1980), and the tram stop toilets to the right on Symonds Street. So this tram's route was up Queen Street, past the Town Hall to K'Road, then along to Symonds Street, up to New North Road, then along New North through Kingsland, Morningside, Mt Albert to Blockhouse Bay Road, along to Rosebank Road, and down to the terminus just before Great North Road and the shops.

MOTAT apparently also have No. 91 (just two numbers away from this one) -- on the grass beside Cropper House Restaurant.

13 comments:

  1. I'm just old enough to remember walking to the Harp of Erin on the Great South Road and catching the tram into town. Compared to the later trolley buses, trams were noisy, draughty and uncomfortable, but they had a special quality about them. If you've ever ridden one of the old wooden clunkers in Melbourne or New Orleans, where they still have a few, you'll know what I mean. It's a pity Auckland embraced modernism so enthusiastically.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cheers, Dennis. That's actually reason no. 3 why I got the card: I love trams. Rattly, drafty, seats hard-as on the bum, but -- they have style. We should see more of them, rather than just at MOTAT and Wynyard Quarter.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Interesting arrangement at the base of the tram between the wheels. Some kind of side protection? Maybe to stop people slipping under the tram?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think you're right, Andrew. Short of someone in the know popping by, that does look like an extra safety precaution.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Very very cool post! Great to see you got that great postcard!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Does the photo have a date on it?I see a Fordson light truck in the background of the style that was made form 1938 to 1957.As you probably know trams stopped running to Avondale in 1956.They would go suprisingly fast at times but definately wobbly and rattly.When one stopped all other traffic had to stop as they could not move to the kerb.Another problem was they could not pass each other.In some places several routes shared the same track until a junction.Totally impractical in todays conditions.Thats why they replaced them with buses in the fifties.Like them though. Stephen.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Stephen,
    No date on the postcard, sadly, but I'm estimating it to be anywhere from late 1940s to mid 1950s. As you say, we have an end date of 1956. Anyone with further ideas as to how to narrow the range, that would be appreciated. Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Just thought to check when Battersby hats closed, but it wasn't until the sixties when it amalgamated.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This tram would have started it's trip from Meadowbank going into the city via Parnell before heading to Avondale.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for that. There's a photo of a New North Road tram heading cityward with Meadowbank as a destination in Around Auckland by Tram in the 1950s. That would have been one heck of an interesting trip. These days, all we have that's similar is the 007 cross-country bus to St Heliers. Not the same.

    ReplyDelete
  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Very interesting. You'll enjoy reading this page from the Auckland Star in January 1930 (http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=AS19300118.1.12). It is quite poignant as it is the first time that a proposed tunnel from Auckland Station under the city was rejected by the Government. What is interesting is how the Mayor of Auckland George Baildon immediately manoeuvred to transform loss into gain and justify proceeding with the long awaited extension of trams to Avondale.
    There is information about those trams in Graham Stewart's book Always a Tram In Sight. They were the M class. 99 were built and they were the mainstay of the fleet until the 1920s. No. 93 was ordered from DSC & Cousins & Cousins in Kitchener Street in April 1910. She was the first car built with the simpler design at the ends, and panel sides rather than tongue and groove. The guards between the bogies were a later addition.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for that, Angela. The more things change, the more they stay the same (in terms of government, Auckland, and rail loops) eh?

    ReplyDelete