Tram history on track to live on

WHEN ninety-nine-year-old Jim Maher made a visit to the Royal Mail Hotel recently, he was met by his forty-six-year-old self.

As part of the Discover Historic Sebastopol project, a 1970 photograph of Mr Maher, a former tram driver, has been made into a mural and installed on the side of the pub.

He is pictured with tram 37, and conductor Marty Cahill, outside the hotel which was the last stop on the Sebastopol line.

Previously a qualified cook, Mr Maher gained employment on the Ballarat tram network where he wore badge 40 on his cap for 13 years. He was not only a driver, but at times a “connie.”

“There was a roster to come out on this line every week, or Victoria, or Mount Pleasant, and so on,” he said.

“It was a very good job, and at that time, it was good pay for anyone who didn’t have a trade.

“The passengers were very good, and you got to know a lot of them because they were regular riders to work every day in those days.”

The last tram ever to run on the Ballarat network, tram 40, was conducted by Mr Maher, travelling out to the Sebastopol Royal Mail terminus and back into the Wendouree Parade depot in September of 1971.

Mr Maher and his wife Mary moved to Sebastopol as newlyweds in the late-1950s, having met at a dance at Elaine, and the Borough has since been his home for 65 years.

He said having a permanent version of himself in the community, who is 53 years younger, is quite amusing, but being part the neighbourhood storytelling initiative is special.

“I think it’s great,” he said. “It’s history, isn’t it.”

Aileen Loader, Mr Maher’s daughter, said people often remark that they have fond childhood memories of her dad on the trams.

Her family is “chuffed” that the photo is being shared and enjoyed by others, as her dad approaches his 100th birthday in 2024.

“Often people who are in these photos don’t get to see themselves, but dad has been able to see himself up there,” she said. “He’s very much a storyteller, he’s lived a lot of life.

“He’s worked in shearing sheds, travelled a lot… People seem to gravitate to him to hear those stories, not just about the trams, but in general.

“From his perspective, keeping history going is important. The whole extended family are so excited, as are dad’s friends, and the parishioners at St James. They’re so rapt.

“It’s an honour.”

Sebastopol Historical Society president Bruce Harris said Mr Maher has been his neighbour, “a grand old fella and friend” for more than 30 years.

“His real-life stories are vital in preserving our local history from a bygone era, lest they be lost to both the present and future generations,” he said.

An inset photo of a horse-drawn tram making its way along Albert Street is also part of the mural, and beside the imagery are information boards about both the Sebastopol Line and the Royal Mail Hotel.

Discover Historic Sebastopol is a Ballarat Neighbourhood Centre initiative funded by the State Government as part of the Spotlight on Sebastopol project.

In an aim to revitalise the area, and increase community pride, artwork and history signs sharing stories of the suburb are being installed.