Friends of Hawthorn Tram Depot
About Friends of Hawthorn Tram Depot
The Friends of Hawthorn Tram Depot Incorporated (ABN 11 293 508 607) has been established by VicTrack to assist with the operation of the Melbourne Tram Museum @ Hawthorn Depot. It is a volunteer-based non-profit group established under the Victorian Incorporations Act (incorporation number A00467102). It is composed of representatives from VicTrack, Heritage Victoria, honorary appointees with recognised expertise in tramway history and preservation, and elected representatives of its volunteer workers (friends).
VicTrack is the government-owned entity that manages the rail-based property and infrastructure owned by the State of Victoria, including many of its historic rail locations and heritage railway/tramway equipment.
All staff at the Melbourne Tram Museum @ Hawthorn Depot on open days are volunteers.
Our purpose is to:
- establish and operate a volunteer group to assist in the development and maintenance of the depot and its exhibits and to staff the facility on open days
- acquire, store and exhibit objects and information illustrating the history of Melbourne’s tramways and related matters on behalf of the Victorian people in perpetuity
- maintain and develop the display of historic tramcars and associated objects
- promote Melbourne tramway heritage initiatives
- arrange and promote heritage tram operations
- provide information on the heritage of street tramway services in Melbourne.
Our relationship with VicTrack:
- VicTrack owns the depot and the majority of the exhibits – some exhibits are on loan from other tramway preservation groups.
- VicTrack provides some funding for museum operation and capital expenditure. Other funding comes from our membership, and donations from the public.
We need volunteers (Friends) to:
- staff the museum on open days
- support the preservation and interpretation of Melbourne’s tramway heritage through development of exhibitions
- preserve heritage tramway items associated with Melbourne through development and operation of our collection management policies and practices
- promote the Melbourne Tramway Museum @ Hawthorn Depot
- assist in maintaining the facilities at the depot.
Do you have any tramway memorabilia?
We are always interested in receiving donations of tramway material related to Melbourne or Victorian trams, including photographs, film, tickets, documents, uniforms and other ephemera. If you have any such items you wish to donate, please contact us or call in on one of our open days.
Genealogists and family history
Friends of Hawthorn Tram Depot receive a large number of queries from genealogists and family historians requesting details on individuals who worked for one or another of the tramway organisations operating in Melbourne.
Unfortunately we are unable to assist with the vast majority of these queries as we do not hold any records regarding individual tramway employees. Most of the still extant records in this category are held at the Victorian Archives Centre of the Public Record Office Victoria located in North Melbourne.
The other primary source of information on individual tramway employees is through union records, which may be accessed through the University of Melbourne Archives located in Parkville. The records of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) and its predecessors now form part of the Australian Trade Union Archives held by this institution. However, access to these records may be restricted to scholars, or require prior consent from the RTBU.
A valuable source of material on Melbourne tramway history is the Department of Transport Library located in Melbourne, especially the Peter Duckett Collection that is held by this institution, although this does not include information on individual employees. Similarly, the State Library of Victoria also holds a significant amount of similar material on Melbourne tramways.
