On Walkabout On: Bendigo’s Talking Trams

There are a variety of ways to check out one of my favorite cities in all of Australia: Bendigo, but seeing the city by car or by foot is no where near as fun as seeing the city by talking tram:

Bendigo at one time had an extensive and widely used tram network that covered most of the city. The trams first began operations in 1890 and served as a means of mass transportation in Bendigo until 1972 when it was no longer economically feasible to keep the trams running due to the rise of the automobile. A new economic model needed to be created and 1972 the trams were transformed from being a system of mass transportation to one being used for tourism.

The trams operators kept one line of track open that runs from the Central Deborah Gold Mine, through downtown, and ends on the outskirts of town at the Chinese Joss House:

This route proved popular with tourists and is still a key tourist attraction of Bendigo today. Times and fares for the tram can be found here, but overall the round trip takes about an hour and forty minutes and you can get off and on the tram to see different sites if you like and then just jump on the next tram:

A nice addition to the tram system is that the tram stop for about 30 minutes at the tram station where you can get out and see the different trams they have in operation in the city:

At the station you can also see the different restoration works the workers there have been doing. The workers there actually restore trams from across the world and sell them after restoring them. For example many of the trams in Melbourne were done by the workers here in Bendigo.

The results of the restoration work is really incredible:

The inside of the trams looks just as good as the outside:

The tram’s driver gives commentary throughout the journey and it a good way to see the city while learning a bit about Bendigo’s history and many buildings. A ride on the tram should really be included as part of any visit to Bendigo.