Talk: Hobson's Bay Railway Co. and Victorian Railways
Location
Brighton Historical Society
About
Brighton has always been defined by its railway. In this talk, Royal Historical Society of Victoria Vice President Paul Fearon takes us back to the colonial days of rail.
In 1883, the Victorian Railways Commissioners Act created Victorian Railways, a much-loved institution now recognised as the first government business corporation in Australia, and arguably in the world. Its creation also set the template for the publicly owned, independently managed statutory corporation that would dominate Australian utilities and transport throughout the twentieth century.
Paul traces the evolution of Victoria's colonial railway management from 1853, when the first private companies were authorised to build railways, through to the creation of VR. The standard story holds that private railways failed, and that government was forced to step in. But the largely forgotten history of the Hobson's Bay Railway Company tells a very different story. For a quarter of a century, this private company ran its line profitably and well before it was acquired by the government in 1878.
The talk will be followed by afternoon tea.
In 1883, the Victorian Railways Commissioners Act created Victorian Railways, a much-loved institution now recognised as the first government business corporation in Australia, and arguably in the world. Its creation also set the template for the publicly owned, independently managed statutory corporation that would dominate Australian utilities and transport throughout the twentieth century.
Paul traces the evolution of Victoria's colonial railway management from 1853, when the first private companies were authorised to build railways, through to the creation of VR. The standard story holds that private railways failed, and that government was forced to step in. But the largely forgotten history of the Hobson's Bay Railway Company tells a very different story. For a quarter of a century, this private company ran its line profitably and well before it was acquired by the government in 1878.
The talk will be followed by afternoon tea.