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Ornamental Tram Wire Supports

Other Name

Tram Gantries

Location

Wallen Road Bridge,, HAWTHORN VIC 3122 - Property No B6640

File Number

B6640

Level

State

Statement of Significance

The ornamental overhead tram-wire structures on the Wallen Road Bridge and the Hawthorn Bridge are of State significance as a rare and decorative remnant of the early phase of electric tramway development in Melbourne.
Built by the Hawthorn Tramways Trust in 1916 with the construction of their two lines connecting Hawthorn and Camberwell with the city, they are also one of the more prominent reminders of the many independent suburban electric systems that operated before their amalgamation into the Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Board.
The structures along with those erected on Victoria Road Bridge, Kew by the Prahran and Malvern Tramways Trust, exhibit a unique method of holding up the electrified wires. The supports also reflect the ormamental design of 19th and early 20th century street furniture, now relatively rare.
Classified: 14/09/1994

Group

Transport - Tramways