The pioneering spirit of the people of Doncaster was probably never seen to a better advantage than when they pioneered the first electric tramway service to Box Hill in 1889, it surely ranks as one of the most adventurous undertakings ever attempted in the state and deserved success.
The service originally commenced from White's Corner and branched in an easterly direction to Frederick Street and later ran on the present site of Tram Road. It is believed to be the first in the Southern Hemisphere, and was in operation nearly 4 years before the celebrated electric tramway that ran along Military Road, North Sydney. In America electric trams were introduced as early as 1881, and there were some 350 miles in operation when the Doncaster line was commenced. Electric trains first ran in Berlin in 1879.
The tram was originally imported by the Great Southern Electric Company and was exhibited by W. H. Masters & Co. at the Melbourne Centenary Exhibition of 1888, it was a six bench car and powered by a 12 H.P. electric motor built by the Ball Electric Co., Eire, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. At the exhibition it ran on temporary rails in the Carlton Gardens parallel with Carlton Street and next to a switch-back railway. It earned the sum of £106 in 6d. rides and was awarded a First Order of Merit by the Jury of the exhibition.
The first to suggest the establishing of the tramway at Doncaster is believed to be a T. T. Draper Esq., who sold the idea to a Doncaster Land company and the Box Hill - Doncaster Electric Tramway Company was formed, the Southern Electric Company no doubt welcomed the idea as they were having trouble in disposing of the tram. The principle shareholders in the venture were C. J. Taylor, a barrister of Chancery Lane, Richard Serpell, William Meader and William Sell. The company had a nominal capital of 15,000 £1 shares and a paid up capital of £6,000. The tram made its first trip on October 15th, 1889 when it carried 35 V.I.P's from Box Hill to Doncaster in 20 minutes and didn't slow down to less than 5 miles per hour on the steep Doncaster incline.
A grand banquet was held in conjunction with the opening at the Tower Hotel, a telegram was read from the Premier, the Hon. Duncan Gillies, regretting that an urgent cabinet meeting would preclude his attendance, but the Legislature and the different Councils were well represented in the persons of Mr. E. H. Cameron, M.L.A., the Hon. C. J. Ham, James Balfour M.L.C., Messrs. F. Stewart and C. J. Dixon. M.L.A's., Cr. Hicks, President of the Boorondarra Shire, Cr. Houghton, President of the Nunawading Shire and Cr. Hunter, President of the Bulleen Shire.
In the course of his remarks, Mr. Cameron said he was secretly glad that the Premier had been unable to attend, specially in view of the withdrawal of the Doncaster Railway Bill, as it was probable that some members of the audience would have asked embarrassing questions. Some local residents, he said, seemed to believe that the tram had given the Government an excuse to postpone their railway bill, but he thought that such an idea was entirely erroneous and he was certain that the bill would be re-introduced again at the next Parliamentary Session. Prof. Kernot, in responding on behalf of the Union Electric Company, commented that it probably would not be long before electricity was used in place of steam locomotives on the railways.
The fact that a large majority of the shareholders of the Company were from Doncaster tends to suggest why Doncaster should have been the venue for the idea, but it is surprising that a more popular area was not found for the tramway, particularly in view of the fact that the directors certainly showed no lack of business acumen in conducting the business of the company. The first half-yearly balance sheet shows that the company made a profit of £58. 7. 2 after paying expenses and allowing for depreciation. In April, 1891, the directors were so confident of the success of the company that they purchased a second glassed-in car for £800, the upward spiral of the land boom, however, appears to have proved their undoing. The South Doncaster Land Company had sold the company a strip of land in consideration for shares, and holders were most anxious to repossess in view of the high prices for Real Estate; late in 1891 they side-stepped the law and notified the company that, if the service did not cease immediately, "forcible action would be taken to see that it did." Thus the Doncaster Tramway Company had no option but to close down their business and give the land company back their land.
The directors, however, were not to be discouraged and a second company was reformed from the ruins of the old a few months later and, for a time, the tram ran again. This time it was known as the Doncaster Electric Road Company and the rails were relaid along the present site of Tram Road, but again success did not smile on the venture. The failure of the land boom and the closing of the E. S. & A. C. Bank struck the company within a few months and caused the takings to fall away drastically. In desparation, the company offered the service to the engineer and driver, Mr. H. J. Hilton, for a nominal yearly rental until times improved.
Mr. Hilton succeeded in effecting a 25% saving by taking off the heavier glassed-in car, and, by operating the dynamo and by doing the necessary car and track repairs himself, for nearly 2 years he worked night and day to keep the service running, but with no prospects of any permanent improvement he was at last compelled to inform the company that he was unable to continue the service longer and the tram made its last trip on January 6th, 1896, much to the regret of the public spirited citizens who had made a commendable struggle to keep it running. The horrified local press commented as follows :-
"We cannot refrain from expressing our conviction, that this is one of the greatest calamities that has yet occurred in this district. What might have been ultimately a source of great wealth to Doncaster, with all its beautiful scenery, and its popularity as a resort for pleasure parties, is thus allowed to slip past. That its wealthy residents should permit the service to cease instead of coming to the aid of those who have for so long stood by their patriotic venture, surpasses our comprehension. We understand it will regenerate at Rutherglen."
A glance at the company's accounts over the last two years showed that the tram paid wages but no more, the takings being in the vicinity of £350 which allowed approximately £200 for wages and profit, though it fell away alarmingly over the last 6 months of 1895; it also gave satisfactory service mechanically, though towards the end of its career it became rather unreliable, owing to frequent breakdowns which was probably due to lack of maintenance, but, on the other hand, there is the instance of Easter Monday, 1893, when it carried more than 1,500 people bound for the Doncaster Picnic Races, time and again it negotiated the steep incline laden with people.
In 1899, Mr. Hilton returned from West Australia and there was some talk of reopening the service as the rails still remained in Tram Road, but it came to nothing. The shareholders later made a strong bid to get the Doncaster and Nunawading Councils to compensate them for the metal the had put on the road; the Councils, however, declined to allow them anything.
Efforts to induce the Government to build a railway through the district came to the same melancholy failure as the tram; approaches were made time and again and on more than one occasion the Railways Standing Committee visited the district to collect evidence but always they either passed the buck or else said it wouldn't be worth the expense involved. Efforts to have a railway constructed through the area date back to the year 1869, when the Upper Yarra Railway League was formed for the purpose of having a line constructed to Lilydale via Heidelberg and Anderson Creek. For many years an enterprising Railway League existed at Warrandyte with William Oldham as Secretary and Captain Alfred Selby as President. The proposals varied rather widely. In the 1880s plans were drawn up for a line from Canterbury, via Balwyn to Doncaster, East Doncaster, Deep Creek and Warrandyte. In the early 90s it was proposed to build a line from the Kew Railway Terminus, by means of a tunnel under High Street. In 1908 another suggestion was made to build a line from Victoria Park via the Kew Mental Hospital and North Kew, it being suggested that the Kew Mental Hospital should be transferred to Warrandyte. The proposal was investigated thoroughly by the Standing Committee, who estimated the expenditure to be £190,000 and that it would result in a working loss of £7,500 a year for the first few years; this, coupled with the fact that the Doncaster orchardists were unable to assure the Government that they would use the service as most of their fruit was going to the North Melbourne Market and it would probably be more convenient to continue with road haulage, told against the scheme and the committee recommended that a street tramway would be more suitable for Doncaster.
During the year 1890 the Doncaster Riding decided to sever from the Shire of Bulleen and form a separate Shire. The decision was hardly unexpected and was partly due to the fact that Doncaster possessed rather more than half the rateable value of the Shire and partly to the continued deadlocks that existed at the Council table. Criticism of the Secretary, Mr. T. O'Brien being one of the principle bones of contention. The Doncaster Riding Councillors charged him with being incompetent and stated that he received £150 a year for two days' work a week. A determined bid was made to remove him from office in September, 1889, which was only averted on the casting vote of the President, Cr. Hunter, but it was not an end to the unfortunate business. In November the auditor's report came to hand certifying the correctness of the accounts and Cr. Smith proposed a vote of confidence in the Secretary. The Doncaster Councillors said they would be unable to support it, but Cr. Smith insisted on moving the motion and Crs. Meader, Sell and Goodwin left the table and said "What will you do now?" Cr. Hunter: "Adjourn the meeting for a week." Efforts were made to continue the meeting but the President declined and the Council was unable to pay its contractors or daymen for a month. Mr. O'Brien had a good deal of support in Warrandyte and things had reached rather an impasse between the different Ridings; Mr. William Oldham, a well known writer from the Riverside Village commented that Mr. O'Brien had given long years of faithful service to the Bulleen Shire and it would be better for Councillors to co-operate with him rather than insult their paid servant.
The first Doncaster Council elections were held in August, 1890, when the following were successful :- A. Zerbe Jnr., J. Tully, J. Smedley, W. Sell, E. Lawford and J. Winter. The first meetings took place in the Atheneum Hall which was granted free of charge by the Trustees. In December Mr. Richard Serpell made an offer of a piece of land valued at £500 as a site for the Shire Office and Mr. Tom Petty gave a donation of £50 towards the cost of the building. The Council at first declined to accept the offer, Cr. Zerbe in particular opposed the move, stating that he would rather see the money spent on the roads. On the other hand, the press sarcastically attacked the Council, saying that they were loafing on the generosity of the Atheneum Trustees. Two further offers of land were made by Mr. Lauer, of 66 ft. adjoining Whittens Lane, and by a Mr. Zelious who offered a 1/4 acre next to the blacksmith shop. Mr. Serpell's land, however, was considered to be the more suitable and he agreed to leave the offer open for 9 months.
Opposition to the building of the hall gradually mounted during 1891 and a petition signed by 92 residents was presented. The elections held in August that year were fought on the issue as to whether the hall was to be in Doncaster or at Deep Creek, the retiring Councillors were re-elected and Mr. Serpell's offer was accepted, but it was agreed that a clause should be inserted in the deeds, that the sum of £500 should be paid to Mr. Serpell or his descendents if the land ever ceased to be used for the purposes of a Shire Hall. A problem which confronted the Council was how best to accept the donation as there was every possibility that the opponents of the scheme would challenge the Council in the courts and cause them to spend a great deal of money on legal expenses. It was first suggested that the Council pay Mr. Serpell £5 deposit and the balance if they ever agreed to remove the Shire Hall, but it was later agreed that Mr. Serpell would give an extra 10 feet of land fronting Main Road and be paid £100 for the whole.
£5 was offered for the best design of the building and, it being won by Mr. Anderson, he was authorized to draw up the plans, and on December 14th, 1891, W. D. Herbert's tender of £496.10. 0 was accepted for the erection. Business was first conducted in the hall on June 3rd 1892; it had been proposed to hold an official opening ceremony but this was spoilt owing to mix up with the key. In August that year the Council decided to combine the positions of Secretary, Engineer, and Rate Collector and the services of Mr. F. Thomas, who had been Secretary since the Shire's inception, and Mr. Colin Phillips, who commenced as Rate Collector to the old Roads Board in 1867, were dispensed with.
On the 12th August, 1892, a mishap at the Antimony Hill Gold and Antimony Mining Company (whose workings stood near the corner of Thompson Road and Main Street, Templestowe) cost the lives of two miners, Lewis Dudley Grant, aged 30 of Anderson Creek, and James McRae Young, 45, previously of Reedy Creek. It was stated at the official inquiry that the two men went down the shaft at midnight on the Friday and commenced working on the 230 foot level, they sent up 3 or 4 buckets of mullock and, after firing some explosives, the braceman John Tierney, heard a sudden inrush of water. He ran and informed Charles Pooley the engine driver and then descended the shaft by means of the ladder and found the bottom full with rising water. Some time was lost in contacting the manager, Matthews, but when the story became known there was no lack of helpers, and the local residents bailed throughout the weekend until the bodies were recovered on the Monday morning. Lewis Grant was the son of the genial "host" of the Anderson Creek Hotel and was a very popular young fellow in Warrandyte. His funeral was largely attended. The company got up a subscription to benefit the next-of-kin of the two men, but it did not get so very far owing to the depressed state of the times. The reason for the disaster was stated to be the breaking through to the old workings used some 30 years before. The disaster virtually proved the end of the company's activities, a couple of years before the mine was employing as many as 30 hands.
The year 1892 was one of the most depressed in Victorian history, there being more than 20,000 unemployed in the colony, but strange to say, land values continued to rise at a very unhealthy rate, the local banks were well aware of the dangerous measure of inflation that had crept in and, as early as 1887, they had declined to lend on real estate security; financiers however had been easily found on the Scottish Market and the boom had continued unabated. The depressing year of 1892 was followed by the crash of the Federal Bank and several others in January, 1893, and retrenchments in staff was rife throughout the colony, but still a remarkable measure of confidence prevailed among the Doncaster and local land companies. On April 14th, 1893, the following article which spelt ruin to many local residents, appeared in the "Reporter" in screaming black headlines:-
"Suspension of the E.S. & A.C. Bank.Great excitement prevailed in Box Hill yesterday morning when it was known that the above bank had temporarily suspended payment pending formulation of a scheme for reconstruction, as the event was unexpected and the bank is the only one between Camberwell and Lilydale, a great deal of inconvenience has been occasioned to its numerous customers in the district who, we are glad to say, had great confidence in the institution, and are still of the opinion that it will be reconstructed on a firmer basis than ever.We regret that many unfair and unjust strictures have been passed upon Mr. Toon, the local manager, but we assure our readers that he is entirely free from all blame, and that it is not his fault that the present crisis has been brought about. He has at all times done his best for the bank and its customers and, if the same good management and forbearance shown in Box Hill had prevailed elsewhere, there would have been no occasion to suspend payment for one minute."
After the initial shock, the news was received with comparative calm, a letter officially notifying the Doncaster Council that the Bank had suspended payment was read at the following meeting of the Council and, on the motion of Crs. Petty and May, a letter was sent to the directors sympathizing with them in their troubles.
Economic conditions remained bad for at least 4 or 5 years, and several well known residents of Doncaster and Templestowe lost their properties, including a well-known member of the Council table, Cr. R. G. Cameron, who had made a very favourable impression during his three years in the Council and would have been a valued acquisition to the town.
Though the residents of the district suffered severely, there is no doubt that their lot was not nearly as bad as those of the more populous areas, and many praiseworthy efforts were made to assist the city folk. Local orchardists gave large quantities of fruit to needy families, while the young men of the district were known to cut loads of wood and cart it to the nearest railhead where it was transported to Melbourne free of charge by the Rail Department and sold in aid of the various charities. In July, 1893, the Mayor of Melbourne wrote to the Doncaster Council pointing out the distressing state of hardship which existed among a large proportion of the population of Melbourne and asking that the Council solicit donations to aid the various charities. The task was allotted to various young ladies in the town, who worked assiduously and succeeded in collecting the sum of £18.12. 9. Their names were :- Misses Schramm (2), Hislop (2), Furham, Petty, May and Buck.
The newly formed Doncaster Council faced a difficult year during 1894 when, by a peculiar set of circumstances, the whole Shire became deadlocked and the contractors and employees were unable to receive their wages for nearly four months. The trouble again arose over the services of the Secretary, Mr. McKenzie, whom several of the Councillors claimed was inefficient. Three times his services were only retained on the casting vote of the President. In that year Crs. E. Thiele and May left for West Australia without resigning, and it became necessary for the remaining 4 Councillors to be present at every meeting in order to preserve the quorum and the trouble coming to a head when Cr. Sell gave notice of motion that McKenzie be removed from the position of Secretary; later, in the same meeting, Cr. H. Thiele gave notice of motion that a rate be struck for 1894. Believing that Cr. Sell's motion re McKenzie would be carried at the following meeting, Cr. Petty left the table in order to spoil the quorum, and thus Cr. Thiele's motion re the rate could not be discussed. The same thing happened almost every week for three months, the President declining to allow Cr. Thiele's motion to be discussed first and Cr. Petty leaving the table in protest, and all the time the creditors and employees of the Council were left bewailing their luck. A deputation from the Council waited on the Minister of Public Works, requesting that he act as mediator in the dispute; he listened patiently to their doleful story and then said he couldn't help them; the best thing they could do was to go home, strike a rate, and be a happy family again and leave the subject of the Secretary until new blood came into the Council. However, the President still declined to accept Cr. Thiele's motion first and the trouble dragged on until McKenzie finally resolved the issue by sending in his resignation, the rate was struck, Mr. F. Thomas was re-appointed Secretary and the Council became a happy family again; for a little while anyway.
The burning down of the Tower Hotel took place on January 25th, 1895, and caused a great deal of excitement in Doncaster, brigades hurried from Hawthorn, Kew, and Surrey Hills but only managed to save the adjoining residential section. The proprietor, Mr. J. Nissen, was overcome by smoke and had to be carried to safety, within a few months a much larger building was erected (part of which still stands) and was taken over by Mr. Pierce, late of the Hill Hotel, Mitcham. The Tower Hotel was built by Alfred Humell. In 1885 he sold the hotel and picnic grounds to William Meader, who showed great drive and determination. In all, the hotel contained 39 rooms and had stabling for 20 horses, it was delicensed in 1917 and became a grocery store.
The subject of universal and woman suffrage was the topic of the day in the 1890s; the Trade Union Movement had gained considerable momentum in the economic chaos which followed the failure of the land boom; Universal Suffrage was recognized as one of the principal platforms of the infant Labour Party. On November 23rd, 1896, the Council received a letter from the Shire of Echuca requesting that the Council send a delegate to a conference in Melbourne to consider proposed alterations in the Constitution Act; particularly in regard to one man vote and woman suffrage with the view of appealing to the Legislative Council.
In opening the debate, Cr. Thiele said he thought it was inadvisable to send a delegate. It was a great mistake, he said, for Shire Councils to meddle in politics - it was outside their function altogether. Councillors could not claim to represent the ratepayers as far as politics were concerned; the people had placed that power in the hands of the parliamentary representatives, and it would be a foolish thing for Councillors to try and co-erce them. The best policy would be for the Council to simply receive the letter and mind its own business.
"I don't agree," said Cr. Stutt, "even though I am one of the oldest liberals in the colony, I do not believe in this one man, one vote business, or in giving votes to women, it is a monstrous shame that Sir William Clarke should be placed on the same level and have the same say as his boots."
Cr. Thiele interjected: "The chances are that the boots may be the better man of the two."
Cr. Stutt: "Anyway, as one of the oldest liberals in the colony, and as one who has spent a great deal in the cause of protection, I am opposed to putting property owners on the same level as swagmen. The present Government was supposed to be liberal, but it was being frightened by the Trades Hall into trying to alter the constitution. The women do not want votes, only a few fanatics and canting humbugs do that wish to gad about and neglect their homes."
Cr. Crouch then moved that the President be sent as a delegate, which was seconded by Cr. Stutt.
The President, Cr. Pickering: "I will not attend the conference to oppose the one man, one vote proposal or extending the franchise to women, I thoroughly believe in the principal of one man, one vote and one woman, one vote."
Cr. Thiele said he hoped the Council would have the good sense to let the matter drop, but it was finally decided, on the motion of Crs. Finger and Zerbe, to send Cr. Stutt to the conference.
In 1897, the Mayor of Melbourne made a further appeal to the Shire, this time for assistance for the famine stricken millions of India. A public meeting was held at the Atheneum on the evening of February 17th. The Rev. Max Von Schramm, in moving that the fullest sympathy be extended to the starving Indians, recalled the heart-breaking scenes of the Indian famine of 1877, when it was no uncommon sight to see parents offering their children for sale in the streets or even killing them to prevent them from suffering. The Rev. H. S. Hollow, in seconding the motion, said many voices were calling to them that night - the Mayor of Melbourne's conscience, the peoples of India and the voice of God. Only last Sunday the Ministers had thanked God for the good crops they had received whilst out there in India millions were starving. It was decided to leave the matter of raising funds in the hands of the Council, and the following young ladies were appointed as a committee to canvass the district for subscriptions:- Misses Rosa Smith, C. McDowall, Ethel Petty, Watts, Lizzie Taylor, Stone, Clay, Hislop and Zerbe. Unfortunately no records are available of the success that crowned their efforts.
The year 1898 is chiefly remembered for the founding of the Doncaster Recreation Ground, in that year the Doncaster Cricket Club was granted the right to use the Recreation Ground as their permanent home, and the following year they laid down their first concrete wicket and the Pavilion was erected by Mr. Johnstone in 1900 at a cost of £37.10. 0. In 1901, a second Recreation Ground was established at Doncaster when the Doncaster Heights Cricket Club was granted the use of Federal Park, a portion of which was formerly owned by the Education Department. The original site for a park at Doncaster was in Church Road; it was considered to be unsuitable and was sold by the Government in 1893 - the Council insisted on being reimbursed to the extent of £250 and the money was used to buy the Recreation Ground.
A Supreme Court action in the year 1899 over the erection of a large dam on the property of John Winter in High Street was both needless and unfortunate, and caused considerable concern to local orchardists who were erecting dams for irrigation purposes. In the litigation Martin Lyons claimed £1,000 damages and an injunction to restrain Winter from erecting a large dam on his property as he was obstructing a water course running through his property. Mr. Justice Hood, in his judgement, delivered on the 4th October, 1899, said he had carefully examined both the properties and the evidence and had formed the opinion that the plaintiff had no riparian rights, as the gully was only a water course in times of heavy rain and accordingly entered a judgement with costs for Winter.
The decade saw the passing of several of the first line pioneers of the district including Robert Williamson, Jane Petty, Gotleib Thiele and August Zerbe Snr., and also the death of the Shire Secretary, Mr. Frank Thomas on November 15th, 1900. He had filled the position of Secretary with credit to himself and to the benefit of the Shire; he was a keen follower of cricket and music and was Bandmaster of the Doncaster Brass Band for some years.
The close of the year 1900 was the close of the 19th Century, and the occasion was marked by the Doncaster Brass Band playing selections at Holy Trinity Church Gate until 11.30 p.m. on the evening of December 31st; the Band later retired inside the church where a special service was conducted by the Rev. Hollow to mark the dawn of the new century, the early years of which were destined to be very important in the development of fruit growing at Doncaster and Templestowe.
Source: We believe from handwritten notes in records that the following text is an unpublished manuscript in 2 volumes (Ch1-11 and Ch12-21) written by Louis Radnor Cranfield (1927- 14 Oct 1992) F.R.HIST.S. (Fellow of the Royal Historical Society). Find a Grave Record. National Library of Australia Record.
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