History
WHEN SORRENTO HAD A TRAM By Lance Hodgins
I
n the late 1800s it was a very special outing to cross Port Phillip Bay to Sorrento by paddle steamer and take the tramway to the Ocean Beach. Over 50,000 would enjoy this experience each season, which lasted from early November to Easter. The paddle steamers Ozone and the Hygeia, both about 300 feet long, could transport passengers in comfort across the Bay in excess of twenty knots. The Journey At Sorrento, passengers disembarked and walked along the pier where they encountered waiting horse-drawn “cabs” – or they could take a footbridge to Tramway Hill where a waiting steam train was blowing its whistle. The return trip cost six pence (the equivalent of about $25 today) and, once boarded, it was a short haul up a hill to the Continental Hotel before turning right down the main shopping street on the one mile journey to the Ocean Beach Park. Passing by huge guest houses, the steam locomotive and its carriages finally stopped on a curve high above the Back Beach and disgorged its passengers, who could take refreshments and promenade along the spectacular beach and coastline. After several hours, a warning whistle announced that it was time to return to the pier and catch the steamer home. continued next page...
E ssence
63 | PENINSULA
July 2020