THE Ballarat Tramway Museum has postponed this month\u2019s Tramway Celebration Day which was set to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the institution, and the last trip on the city\u2019s tram network.<\/p>\n
Board member John Whiting said the BTM was formed in 1971, four months before Ballarat\u2019s public tramway ceased operation on 19 September.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere had been plans for at least 10 years to close the network. This had its genesis post-Second World War. Private motorcar usage was on the rise, and television decreased Friday and Saturday night entertainment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople simply stopped riding on the trams for those reasons. The 19th signalled the end of tramcar operation in Ballarat, but it\u2019s also the tail end of a cultural shift, from trams being preferred public transport in cities large and small, to bus operation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The BTM\u2019s tourist service launched three years after the Museum first launched. Now in 2021, the institution is adding a building, but Mr Whiting said it\u2019s not just a shed extension.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis new building is helping us create a dedicated museum space where we can showcase tram cars, newspaper clippings and artefacts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to expand our feelers as central community hub for other likeminded people and groups, as well as maintaining our role as a tourist attraction.\u201d<\/p>\n
The postponed Tramway Celebration Day will be a festival of vintage transport, embracing this aim.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur plans include several local car clubs, the local modern railway and miniature railway clubs, and anyone who owns an old car, bus or truck.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a community day where all of us can band together to tell the stories of the trams, and the development of transportation from the early-20th century,\u201d Mr Whiting said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll also have a grand vintage transport cavalcade, from one end of the tram line to the other. We\u2019re trying to offer something for everyone, and we\u2019ll hold onto, and develop, these ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n