By Brendan Rees
Melbourne’s historic yellow and green trams could be coming to the City of Casey.
The retired trams – including the iconic W-Class – which transported millions of Victorians are now up for grabs with Casey councillors putting their hand up for 10 of them at their Tuesday 15 May meeting.
City of Casey Deputy Mayor Cr Amanda Stapledon, who moved the motion for council to make an application through VicTrack said there would be “so many wonderful opportunities” for the community.
She said they could be used for varying uses, including as cafes and on display in public places.
“There are a number of groups that are really keen to assist in the restoration of these trams,” she said.
“Cranbourne Casey Men’s Shed – they would like a project of restoring a tram, keeping it on site as a workshop – not only for their Men’s Shed but for the 200 people with a disability who are at that centre.”
She said other Men’s Shed groups based at Hampton Park, Endeavour Hills, as well as Berwick TAFE have already agreed they would love to be part of the restoration of the trams.
Casey Fields and Livvi’s Place in Lyndhurst would also be perfect places for a café, Cr Stapledon said.
Of the 237 retired trams, 134 will be made available for the public pending an application.Schools, community groups, not-for-profit organisations and other public institutions will be able to access a tram for free under the Retired Trams Strategy released by the State Government last week.
Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan said the trams were an integral part of Victoria’s rich heritage.
“These Victorian icons will now be available to come to life once again and preserved for future generations to enjoy,” she said.
“If they’re not going to be used on the network, we want to keep these trams accessible to the community.”
Applications for the trams close on 6 July with a report will come back to Council in June outlining agreed sites, projects and community groups.
Trams including the Art Trams, Advertising Trams, and a small number of other trams will be preserved for potential re-purposing in the future and are not part of the EOI.
