Wellington Cable Car Museum - What's On Display

From opening day onwards, the cable cars proved enormously popular. Between 1902 and 1903, 425,000 people - well over 1,000 per day - travelled on the cars, so that extra carrying capacity was urgently needed.

The Kelburn and Karori Tramway Company Ltd saw a timely solution in 1903, when the advent of electric trams made a number of the city's old 'Palace' type horse-drawn trams redundant. Three of these vehicles were purchased from the City Council and converted into trailers. When paired with a grip car, they boosted the carrying capacity of the Kelburn line from 32 to 62 seated adult passengers per journey. A third grip car was also purchased in 1904. This meant that full services could be maintained when one grip car and one trailer were out of service for maintenance.
Eager to add another attraction to their successful enterprise, the Company constructed an ornate, twin-turreted tea room on the other side of the tracks from the Botanic Gardens. The Kelburn Kiosk, completed in 1904, soon became a popular leisure spot, where customers could simultaneously enjoy refreshments and a spectacular view. By 1914, the land surrounding the power house had been attractively landscaped.


	Top: Entrance to Cable Car Lane, c. 1930's - Alexander Turnbull Library Bottom: The orginal steam plant, c. 1920's - Evening Post

Kelburn: a growing concern
    When building sites in Kelburn were first offered for sale in 1902, their ample size, magnificent views and the fact that owners could quickly commute via cable car were key selling points. Sections were snapped up and in less than a decade attractive villas lined the new suburb's streets.
    In addition to gracious residences, the cable car and the Botanic Gardens, Kelburn was also soon home to Victoria College. Since opening in 1899, the College had searched unsuccessfully for a suitable site. In 1901, Charles Pharazyn offered 1,000 pounds towards a new building, provided it was located in Kelburn Park Reserve. Pharazyn was a director of the Kelburn and Karori Tramway Company and was heavily involved in the development of Kelburn.
    The gift was gratefully accepted, though some questioned the donor's ulterior motives. Pharazyn dismissed such claims as an "absurd misconstruction"; yet his generous offer proved anything but bad for business. Victoria College (later University) added another string to Kelburn's bow, and its students furnished an ongoing supply of cable car passengers.

Successful and safe
    As Kelburn and Wellington grew, so did the number of people riding the cable car. Annual passengers rose from 425,000 in 1902 to over a million in 1912. By 1926, the figure had doubled to two million.
    Fulton's system also proved remarkably safe. This was largely attributable to innovative design: the cars had three types of brakes and were attached to two separate cables, while the main haulage cable only pulled at a small proportion of its breaking strength.
   However, by the 1930s local residents were becoming increasingly unhappy about the smokestack. Although a familiar landmark and a useful weather vane that was visible from much of the city, its incessant smoke was an unwelcome nuisance in Kelburn.

Electric and civic
In 1933, electricity replaced steam as the power driving the cable winding gear. Electrification involved no mess or muck and considerably reduced labour and operating costs. It also gave drivers more control. Gripmen had formerly rung a bell to signal the engineer to start the winding gear, but with electrification the motors could be controlled by switches in the cars' cabins.
Electrification of the cable car brought benefits to the Kelburn & Karori Tramway Company. Less beneficial was the Wellington City Council's Karori and Northland bus service, which the company considered unfair competition. By the early 1940s, this issue evoked heated dispute and in 1945 was taken to the Supreme Court. A solution came in 1946, when Wellington City Council finally agreed to buy the company. It voluntarily dissolved on 13 February 1947 and the cable cars became city-owned and operated.


The cable car, c. 1950's - Graham Stewart Collection

Compliments and complaints
The cable cars' potential as a tourist attraction was becoming increasingly apparent to the Council by the late 1950s. In 1957, it upgraded the Lambton terminus and in 1962 added the city's coat of arms to adorn the sides of the cars. These measures reflected a growing recognition that the cable cars were firmly identified with Wellington and one of its most popular features. In 1964, when trams were removed from the capital's streets, "Kelburn's old faithfuls" remained the only surviving link with a bygone era.
This link with the past drew both compliments and complaints. From the mid 1960s onwards, some local residents and city councillors urged that the old wooden vehicles be improved, upgraded and modernised. But if the cable cars provoked some criticism, they also inspired considerable loyalty, affection and civic pride.