Office of Economic and Statistical Research discover more about historical Queensland Q150 Digital Books Section Details Name: Queensland Past and Present: 100 Years of Statistics, 1896 1996 Section name: Chapter 6, Transport, Section 1 Pages: 167 179 Printing notes (Adobe Acrobat): For best results Page Scaling should be set to Fit to Printable Area. Auto Rotate and Center should also be checked. Licence for use: This document is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au. You are free to copy, communicate and adapt the work, as long as you attribute the authors. Return to Q150 Collection:http://www.oesr.qld.gov.au/q150 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/ The State of Queensland 2009
CHAPTER 6 TRANSPORT Transport has always been a vital element in the growth and development of Queensland. The main modes of transport have changed several times with advances in technology and the spread of settlement. Early transport was by ship and horse. The development of rail and road transport was followed by air transport. The isolation caused by Queensland's great distances was largely overcome by developments in the transport and communication industries. Much of the transport technology introduced in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was imported and adapted to local conditions. These innovations occurred at a significant stage in Australia's development when economic self-sufficiency coincided with political selfdetermination. As Blainey stated: 'Innovations which had come slowly over many years in the northern hemisphere were telescoped into a few years in Australia. The long era in which distance was a tyrant seemed suddenly, but mistakenly, to be fading away'. 1 ROAD TRANSPORT Horse and buggy days In 1840 the last commandant of the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement, Owen Gorman, led an exploration party to the Darling Downs. Gorman, in his report of the journey to the Colonial Secretary in Sydney, stated that 'no drays with any sort of loading can pass thro' "Cunningham's Pass", but that drays may pass with very little difficulty carrying about a ton and a half each on the route I went'. 2 Gorman's report pointed out the difficulty of the terrain for the main transport of the daylumbering bullock draysand the need to find suitable passes through the coastal ranges. Bullock teams brought grain to railheads and sugar cane to mills. The great advantage of the bullock team was its strength in hauling drays and wagons over rough tracks and unmade roads. For example, in 1898 a team of 26 bullocks hauled 123 bales weighing more than 12 tonnes over a distance of 300 km from Woolerina Station to Mitchell. 3 In 1910 the Wilkinson Brothers' wagon carried 144 bales from Hamilton Downs to Nelia. In 1913, 118 bales were brought from Thylungra Station to Charleville by a wagon hauled by 16 bullocks. 4 On the Cloncurry road a wagon pulled by 51 bullocks lifted 140 bales. 5 Alongside the drays were pack horses and pack mules that carried minerals, for example, tin from Irvinebank and Herberton, and mail. As the condition of roads in the more closely settled 167
QUEENSLAND PAST AND PRESENT Mitchell railway station, 1898. Twenty-six bullocks pulled a carriage of 123 bales of merino wool, weighing 12 tonnes. districts improved, the bullock lost its supremacy to the horse. Clydesdales and Percherons were quicker, easier to handle and capable of travelling 30 or more kilometres at a time. In farming districts the availability of hay supplied by farmers at cheap rates provided food for the horses. The lone mailman riding hundreds of kilometres was a feature of the far north. Generally, the mailman required a team of six or more packhorses and a coach or wagon, and the service continued through floods and droughts. The last horse mail run serviced Coen, north-west of Cooktown, and finished in 1951. 6 While many carriers were family concerns or small firms, others organised themselves into companies such as the Western Carrying Company based at Rockhampton, which had 400 shareholders and where the directors were teamsters. The company organised a complete forwarding service from shed to ship. Carriers' contracts specified loading and delivery details as well as penalties for late deliveries. A Carriers Union was formed to regulate the industry. The largest branch was based at Charleville with a membership of 500-600, each of whom contributed 1 a wheel a year. 7 Their power was challenged in some instances by station owners using motor vehicles, as occurred at Longreach in 1912 during a Carriers' Union strike. In the far west camels carried goods, including the mobile emporiums of the Afghan hawkers. By 1900 the camel dominated transport in nearly half the Australian continent, operating in areas too dry for teams of horses or bullocks and too sparsely populated to attract railways. Like the bullock and horse teams, strings of pack camels met trains at the railheads and loaded goods for towns and stations further inland. Camels were difficult to work, but were economical as they could live off the land, eating mulga, salt bush and a variety of thorny and pod-bearing bushes. They could travel for long distances without water, could work for several years without long spells and could walk for weeks on stony ground without hurting their hooves. Most of the camel drivers came from areas that are now part of Pakistan, but in Australia they were known as Afghans. Many of them worked the Birdsville track from Maree and Farina in 168
TRANSPORT South Australia to Cloncurry in Queensland. Towns where they assembled had their mosques. The Afghans were highly trusted: Mohammedanism, surprisingly, was the camel-man's asset. Their religion forbade them to drink alcohol and they were therefore entrusted with carrying of beer and rum and gin to outback hotels whose owners or agents were wary of entrusting the same precious cargo to thirsty Australian teamsters. 8 The demise of coaching Personal travel in the early days was by foot, horseback or horse-drawn vehicle. Cobb & Co began in Queensland in 1866 and by the late nineteenth century its network of coach routes covered much of the State. Services to country towns continued through periods of significant drought. Coach services soon found themselves competing with railways and, later, motor vehicles. Rather than compete directly with the advancing railways, Cobb & Co coaches met trains to convey goods and passengers beyond the railhead. By 1900 the railways were expanding ever further into traditional Cobb & Co territory, with coach routes from Charleville to Cunnamulla and from Winton to Hughenden being terminated. The progress of the railway westward from Cairns caused the Cobb & Co service to Georgetown and Croydon to move from Port Douglas to Mareeba, then to Almaden and finally to Forsyth. When business declined to the point that the run was no longer viable, Cobb & Co sold its Forsyth to Georgetown run to a local contractor, J. S. Love, in 1907. Camels that were used to carry minerals to the smelter on the coast, Mount Garnet, c. 1901. 169
QUEENSLAND PAST AND PRESENT A picnic in the Aramac district, 1900s. Cobb & Co., Cloncurry area, c. 1908. 170
TRANSPORT Coach travel was expensive and beyond the means of the ordinary person. In 1917 the 220 km journey from Cunnamulla to Thargomindah cost 3 10s, and 5 shillings extra for a box seat. 9 Natural hazards such as flooded creeks and rain made travel difficult. Male passengers were expected to open gates, assist when coaches were bogged, and even walk beside the coach on part of the route. By the 1910s more efficient motor vehicles were putting further pressure on the coaches survival. Roads were still poor but motor vehicles with high ground clearance, large wheels, long-stroke motors and low-geared transmissions could negotiate difficult tracks. In the early 1920s permanent airmail services were established in rural areas, further reducing the viability of horse-drawn coaches. Competition from a combination of trains, motor vehicles and aeroplanes meant the end of coach travel. In 1920 the Charleville Coach and Buggy Factory closed. By 1921 Cobb & Co had lost all its mail contracts out of Charleville, and had contracts for only three services: Thallon to St George, St George to Bollon and Yuleba to St George. The 'romantic days of coach travel, with magnificent horses, gleaming harness and skilled drivers who were heroes and champions to all' came to an end when the last coach ran from Surat to Yuleba on 14 August 1924. 10 The early 1920s were therefore unique in the history of commercial transport in Queensland. Passengers and freight were conveyed by horses, bullocks and camels; by a network of government-owned railways, supplemented in some areas by private tramways; by motor vehicles; by overseas, interstate and intrastate shipping; and by air services. Urban transport Trams were a feature of early urban transport in Queensland, with both Brisbane and Rockhampton having urban tramways. A private company operated a tramway in Brisbane from 1885. The system was electrified in 1897. The network expanded, and the company and its 80 km of track were taken over by Brisbane City Council for 1.4m. n The tramway was well patronised, with local bus services conveying passengers to tram terminals. Trams then took them to the city. When the council took over the local bus services and provided direct links to the city, fewer people travelled by tram. The heyday for Brisbane trams was shortly after World War II. In 1947-48 Brisbane trams carried 132.1 million passengers (table 6.1). By 1966-67 the number of passengers had fallen to 48.5 million. The tram network in Brisbane ceased operation in 1969. The closure of the tramway network led to an increase in the number of journeys by bus and train, although total passenger journeys continued to fall, declining to 75.1 million in 1981-82 before increasing to 87.9 million in 1995-96. The number of journeys per head of population has fallen throughout the post-world War II period, from 423 in 1947^18 to 58 in 1995-96. Cab services developed in Brisbane and other centres. Early Brisbane cabs were two-wheeled wagonettes popularly known as 'Molly Browns'. Later a wide variety of conveyances including hansom cabs and four-wheeled vehicles provided cab services. Motorised taxis gradually replaced horse-drawn vehicles. Taxi ranks were established in Creek Street, Brisbane, before World War I. Motorised taxis multiplied and supervision of the industry was undertaken by the Queensland Taxi Council, established in 1949. Urban centres continue to be serviced by various taxi companies which run sedans, station wagons, high-roofed vehicles for wheelchair 171
QUEENSLAND PAST AND PRESENT Table 6.1 Public transport: Passenger journeys by mode of transport, Brisbane, 1933-34 to 1995-96 Passenger journeys Year Train (a) Tram '000 Bus (b) Total (b) per capita (b) (c) number 1933-34 1947^8 1954-55 1961-62 1966-67 1971-72 18,071 23,157 29,712 22,890 23,703 30,184 69,976 132,107 101,849 72,664 48,525 14,759 34,825 33,431 29,225 58,724 88,047 170,023 166,386 128,985 101,453 88,908 294 423 331 217 130 102 1976-77 1981-82 1986-87 1991-92 1995-96 29,296 32,592 38,886 40,080 39,200 47,830 42,525 41,066 43,185 48,700 77,126 75,117 79,952 83,265 87,900 (a) From 1966-67 to 1986-87, figures are for Brisbane Statistical Division. From 1991-92 rail figures include passengers from the south-eastern region which includes Toowoomba to the west and Gympie to the north. (b) Excludes private bus transport. (c) Estimated from population of Brisbane City at census to 1961-62; from 1966-67 estimated from population of Brisbane Statistical Division at census. Source: ABS, Queensland Year Book, various years; ABS, Census of Population and Housing, various;queensland Rail, Annual Report, various years; Brisbane City Council, unpublished data. 81 73 68 62 58 A family with a newly purchased bicycle, 1898. 172
Bus lanes on the Gold Coast Highway between Surfers Paradise and Burleigh Heads improve travel time and help to increase public transport patronage (Source: Queensland Transport, Annual Report, 1995-96). TRANSPORT access, and stretch limousines. While taxis are more expensive than other forms of urban public transport, they are often more convenient. Bicycles are a form of mainly urban transport whose popularity has fluctuated since their introduction in the 1880s. Early bicycles such as penny farthings were somewhat cumbersome and impractical. The popularity of bicycles increased in the first half of the twentieth century due to low cost and better roads. After World War II their use declined along with public transport as an increasing number of families could afford motor cars. Traffic congestion and health and fitness concerns led to a resurgence in bicycles in the 1970s. By 1996 Brisbane City Council had constructed 350 km of bikeways. Despite the cheapness of bicycles and most public transport, motor vehicles have become the most popular means of transport due to convenience and often necessity. In rural areas they are often the only means of transport. Motor vehicles The first motor vehicles were rare sights and occasioned articles in the press. They were expensive and confined to the professional and wealthier classes, and were regarded more as novelties than as serious modes of transport. They were usually imported, or produced in limited numbers by small engineering shops: The English firm which made the Wolseley sheep shearing machine, devised by an Australian pastoralist, F. Y. Wolseley, branched into the motor industry with relative ease. Even a few Australian engineering shops for a time made motor cars. 12 Petrol was expensive, and a lack of fuel depots and mechanical organisations meant that cars had to carry their own petrol, tools and parts. As motor vehicles became more numerous, these facilities soon developed. In 1907 the Master Carriers of Brisbane was established, the predecessor of the Queensland Road Transport Association. The Model-T Ford was brought to Australia in 1909. Some station owners had cars before World War I. Motor vehicles were 173
QUEENSLAND PAST AND PRESENT much lighter than traction engines and could use the same roads as animal-drawn vehicles. However, roads often became quagmires and impassible after heavy rain. Bullock-wagon and horse-drawn carriers opposed motor vehicles. But as they became cheaper and more widely available, they challenged and then consigned to history the lumbering bullock dray and the horse and buggy. They also threatened rail and sea transport. Only air transport would seriously challenge the position of the motor car and motor truck. Motor vehicles proved themselves in the remotest parts of the country. In 1910 the first motorised mail-truck in Australia undertook the mail contract between Isisford and Ilfracombe, and in 1917 the first regular motorised truck freight service was established. A motor vehicle travelled north from Normanton in 1915 and, with the use of ropes, crossed the Gilbert River. In 1928 a Baby Austin crossed Cape York Peninsula from Cairns. Organisations such as the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland, founded in Brisbane in 1905 to advance the interests of motoring, and the Queensland Government Tourist Bureau, established in 1910, actively promoted touring by car. Motorised vehicles steadily replaced horse-drawn vehicles for private and business use. The 1920s was the transition decade from horses to motor vehicles, although the last regular horse dray service ran until 1956. Services and occupations so long dependent on animal power slowly disappeared, including those of drivers, way-station owners and employees, blacksmiths, coach builders, saddlers, harness makers and repairers, feed merchants, livery stables, horse bazaars, veterinary officers, stock keepers and small hotels. Some businesses adjusted to the changing technology of the motor vehicle. Certain carriage makers adapted their skills to making and repairing bodies for motor vehicles, including pantechnicons and motor buses. Later, motorised milk and petrol tankers, refrigerated vans, concrete agitators, mobile cranes and A motor car and horse and dray outside the post office, Torrens Creek, 1916. The two modes of transport co-existed for some time, although how the car got to Torrens Creek is not known. It may have got there by train. 174
TRANSPORT Table 6.2 Road transport: Length of constructed roads, motor vehicle registrations and revenue, road traffic crashes, and death and injury rates, Queensland, 1935-36 to 1995-96 Year 1935-36 1940-41 1945-46 1950-51 1955-56 1960-61 1965-66 1970-71 1975-76 1980-81 1985-86 1990-91 1993-94 1995-96 Length of constructed roads (a) km 53,549 82,233 91,556 114,946 125,870 128,759 132,897 138,405 150,188 157,305 161,962 n.y.a. Motor vehicles On register at 30 June (b) number 107,600 128,400 143,300 240,800 326,300 418,600 563,400 726,500 1,012,200 1,355,600 1,567,400 1,787,000 1.975.000 2,154,694 Revenue collected (c) $'000 1,430 2,065 1,935 5,200 10,675 15,385 25,326 41,892 76.071 113,521 266,089 496,885 617,508 n.y.a. Total crashes (e) 6,040 8,537 7,233 15,884 37.803 17,506 29.885 31.168 29.201 16.485 16,294 18,169 20,828 20,623 Road traffic crashes (d) Casualty Persons Deaths per Injuries per crashes Persons injured 10,000 of 10,000 of (f) killed (g) population population number rate - 2,266 2,878 2,854 4,557 165 147 169 218 2,652 3,405 3,656 5,512 1.7 1.4 1.6 1.8 27 33 34 46 7.116 5,424 7,037 8,194 8,183 7.724 7,183 8,642 10,915 11,479 298 353 475 580 600 559 481 395 422 385 9.170 7,607 10,099 11,440 10,950 9.951 9,333 11,278 14,389 15,121 (d) Data from 1985-86 is from GSO, A Statistical Summary of Road Crashes, Queensland, 1996, and uses a different definition of road crashes previously used by the ABS. From 1985-86 figures apply to calendar year ended six months later than years shown. (a) At 30 June. Figures from 1980-81 are from the Commonwealth Grants Commission. Prior figures are from local governments. (b) For 1995-96 figure from Queensland Transport. (c) From 1980-81 includes all revenue except fines and service charges. (e) All accidents were reported until 30 June 1957. After that, only accidents resulting in death or personal injury or causing more than a prescribed value of damage were included; the value of damages was $50 from 1 July 1957, $100 from May 1969, $300 from 1 January 1976, $1,000 from 1 October 1978 and $2,500 from December 1991. (f) To 1955-56 all accidents; from 1960-61 only accidents causing death or requiring medical treatment were included. (g) To 1955-56 all accidents; from 1960-61 only accidents requiring medical treatment were included. Source: ABS, Queenland Year Book, various years; Commonwealth Grants Commission, unpublished datg GSO, A Statistical Summary of Road Crushes, Queensland, 7996; Queensland Transport, unpublished data. drill rigs appeared. The earlier concept of road trains was revived successfully and these carried up to a thousand shorn sheep or several hundred head of cattle in double-decker trailers. New industries to support the growing needs of motor vehicles emerged: petrol stations, garages with skilled mechanics, spare parts dealers and motor traders. The number of cars multiplied in both urban and rural areas. By 1930 Australia had nearly 600,000 cars, a figure that was exceeded in Europe by only three countries: the United Kingdom, France and Germany. 13 In Queensland in 1936 there were 107,600 vehicles travelling on 53,549 km of roads (table 6.2). Restrictions applied to the acquisition of motor vehicles during World War II, but purchases again escalated in the postwar period. The number of motor vehicles increased by more than 10-fold from 240,800 in 1951 to 2,582,000 in 1996. Total length of roads doubled from 82,233 km in 1951 to 161,962 km in 1994. The expense of constructing and upgrading major roads fell to the State Government. The Main Roads Board (later the Main Roads Department) was founded in 1920, and roads competed with railways for Treasury loan funds. Local government was responsible for minor roads and bridges. Coordination and planning of road, air and sea transport was undertaken by the State Department of Transport established in 1947 as part of postwar reconstruction. A program was undertaken by 2.2 2.3 2.9 3.2 2.9 2A 1.8 1.3 1.3 1.2 67 51 61 63 53 43 36 38 45 45 175
QUEENSLAND PAST AND PRESENT Motorised mail service, Muttaburra, 1927. The truck was a 1924 Buick and serviced the Hughenden to Muttaburra to Longreach run. Bicycles left outside the old city baths, Saturday afternoon, Queen's Park, Maryborough, c. 1940s. 176
The Charles Barton Bridge at Townsville was completed in 1995-96, providing a four-lane divided carriageway to ease local and highway traffic congestion. (Source: Main Roads, Annual Report, 1995-96). TRANSPORT Commonwealth and State Governments to produce all-weather roads in Australia. Wilbur Smith & Associates were commissioned to study Brisbane transport and in 1965 recommended a network of freeways and new roads. Motor vehicles freed people from reliance on public transport. Suburbs developed beyond the railways, and main roads were lined with petrol stations and factories. People could reside in one part of a city, work in another part, and spend their leisure and social life in other parts. Suburbs became 'dormitories with television sets at one end and car ports at the other'. 14 Availability of cars enabled people to spend more time at beaches and other places that were previously accessible only by lengthy journeys by train or horse. Interstate travel was more feasible as the condition of roads improved, and holiday resorts were established along the coast. The Gold Coast developed as an area accessible from Brisbane by car and was promoted in the southern States as a major resort centre easily accessible by car and later by air. Farmers benefited from motor vehicles but the new transport also contributed to the decline of some farming areas and country towns. Tractors and mechanised farm machinery enabled greater areas of land to be cultivated and harvested. Cars meant that people could travel to larger, more distant towns for a greater range of supplies and services. Small towns became stagnant and country stores could not compete with chain stores and larger shops. Cars increased the self-sufficiency of individuals but not always of the nation. Oil was the basis of the motor industry and, increasingly, of the shipping fleets and railway locomotives. Australia produced no commercial crude oil or rubber and became dependent on overseas supplies. Oil shortages became crucial during World War II when supplies were threatened. Prices of oil quadrupled during the OPEC oil crises of the 1970s. Despite high expectations from deposits at Roma in the 1930s, it was not until the 1960s that Australian oil reserves became commercial. These were on the north-west shelf off Western Australia and in Bass Strait. The discovery of oil at Moonie in 1962 briefly made Brisbane the oil capital of Australia. 177
QUEENSLAND PAST AND PRESENT Table 6.3 Road transport: Total and average distance travelled by type of motor vehicle registered in Queensland, 1971-1995 12 months to 30 September Type of vehicle 1971 1976 1979 (a) 1982 1985 1988 1991 1995 million km Total distance travelled Passenger vehicles Motor cycles Light vehicles (b) Rigid trucks (b) Articulated trucks Other trucks (c) Buses Total Average distance travelled Passenger vehicles Motor cycles Light vehicles (b) Rigid trucks (b) Articulated trucks Other trucks Buses Total (d) 16,898 161 2,092 1,287 20,439 15.1 5.5 28.3 14.6 14,730 14.6 5.3 17.4 15.0 35.7 18.7 14.4 12,461 411 3,465 688 337 40 17,404 14.6 5.4 16.3 14.4 47.7 12.4 14.5 15,691 473 3,686 1,303 450 33 21,636 '000km 15.6 5.4 14.9 20.0 53.8 13.6 15.3 16,280 446 4,241 1,184 517 43 22,710 6.2 16.5 17.6 63.4 15.9 15.5 17,870 424 4,498 1,217 610 39 249 24,908 7.1 17.5 18.6 75.6 12.3 34.0 16.0 19,029 389 4,860 1,212 714 73 286 26,562 15.0 6.7 16.9 20.3 79.7 19.8 34.7 15.7 24,727 402 6,486 1,399 1,042 56 304 34,417 (a) Calculated from average kilometres travelled and the number of vehicles on the register. (b) Due to definitional changes figures to 1988 are not strictly comparable with figures for 1991 and 1995. See explanatory notes to the ABS, Survey of Motor Vehicle Use, 30 September 1991, Cat. no. 9208.0. (c) For 1971 includes all trucks. (d) For 1971 excludes buses. Source: ABS, Survey of Motor Vehicle Use, 1971-1995, Cat. no. 9208.0. A higher volume of motor vehicles led to an increase in traffic accidents and fatalities. The 1970s was the worst decade for traffic fatalities in Queensland, with 580 persons killed in 1970-71 and 600 in 1975-76 (table 6.2). Since then the road toll has fallen, with 391 fatalities in 1995-96. Deaths per 10,000 of population peaked at 3.2 in 1970-71 before declining to 1.2 in 1995-96. The number of injuries per 10,000 of population was 47 in 1995-96, only slightly higher than the rate of 46 in 1950-51 when there was less than a tenth the number of motor vehicles. Thus, cars: altered the work of policemen and law courts, gave more work to doctors and hospitals and florists, influenced the design of houses and theatres and hotels, made the ancient practice of walking unfashionable, and made the art of flying feasible. 15 The ABS Survey of Motor Vehicle Use shows that in Queensland the total number of kilometres travelled by motor vehicles increased from 12,700 million km in 1971 to 34,417 million km in 1995 (table 6.3). Both total distance travelled and average distance travelled per vehicle increased for all types of vehicles. Passenger vehicle travel increased from 15,100 km per vehicle in 1971 to 16,300 km in 1995. Queensland had the lowest average number of kilometres travelled for passenger vehicles of any mainland State in 1971, but the highest of all States in 1995 (table 6.4). Since 1976 the average distance travelled declined in all States and Territories except Queensland. 16.3 5.9 19.2 21.9 92.5 19.4 34.0 17.1 178
TRANSPORT Table 6.4 Road transport: Average distance travelled by passenger vehicles by State and Territory, Australia, 1971-1995 1 2 months to 30 September 1971 (a) 1976 1979 1982 1985 1988 1991 1995 NSW 16.1 15.6 14.8 16.1 14.2 13.7 Vic 16.4 15.7 15.6 15.2 16.0 16.4 14.2 14.2 Qld 15.1 14.6 14.6 15.6 15.0 16.3 SA 16.1 15.0 15.0 14.9 14.2 14.4 13.5 13.4 (a) For 1971 New South Wales includes Australian Capital Territory. Source: ABS, Survey of Motor Vehicle Use, 1971-1995, Cat. no. 9208.0. WA '000km The 1995 Motor Vehicle Use survey found that 25% of all travel in Queensland, including commercial usage, was to get people to and from work in private passenger vehicles. This proportion is higher than any State or Territory except Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. Passenger vehicles used to travel to and from work in Queensland covered an average of 8,200 km a year for this purpose. 16.4 16.0 15.9 15.6 16.0 15.7 14.4 14.6 Tas 14.3 13.7 12.9 14.4 14.2 13.9 12.3 13.0 NT 16.6 15.5 14.5 14.8 16.5 15.3 13.8 ACT 17.3 16.6 17.1 15.6 15.7 16.3 16.4 Ausl 15.9 15.1 15.3 15.5 15.8 14.3 14.4 RAILWAYS Early developments The railways provided efficient passenger and freight services that were unchallenged until after World War II for both directness and speed. The first railway in Queensland was built in 1865, six years after separation from New South Wales. Most railways were constructed, owned and managed by government. The individual interests of each Australian colony led to the development of separate railway systems. Queensland used a 1,067 mm gauge for most of its lines while New South Wales adopted a 1,435 mm gauge and Victoria 1,600 mm. Passengers and freight were transferred between systems at Wallangarra near the Queensland-New South Wales border and Albury on the Murray River. But the size of Queensland, and Australia, meant that linking all communities by rail was impossible due to the cost: Timeless types of transport flourished in Australia at the start of the twentieth century. While railways were like a web in the south east corner of the continent, elsewhere were vast gaps where no rails would ever be laid. Many places on the coast and innumerable points in the interior were hundreds of miles from the nearest railway. Many adult Australians had never seen a railway. In 1900 one could travel along half the coastline of the continent, from Geraldton (W.A.) to Cooktown (Qld.) and find only two short railway lines in the intervening country. 16 In 1896 Queensland had three main, and separate, rail systems: the Western Railway from Brisbane to Cunnamulla, the Central Railway west from Rockhampton and the Great Northern Railway from Townsville to Hughenden. A line also ran south from Brisbane to Wallangarra providing a rail link to Sydney. Brisbane had a rudimentary suburban rail system, and separate systems centred on Maryborough, Bundaberg, Mackay, Bowen, Cairns, Cooktown and 179