Perth Trolleybuses Australia's First and Last Fleet 1933 - 1969

Leyland trolleybus #10 heading west in Stirling Highway, Claremont, approaching the stop at Bay View Terrace.

The first generation: 1930s and 1940s In 1933 a trolleybus service was established from East Perth to Leederville station, running via Wellington St and Cambridge St - the first permanent trolleybus system in Australia. The original fleet contained just three Leyland three-axle trolley buses. Although regarded initially as an experiment, it was perceived that trolley buses had greater flexibility than the trams. This and the increasingly worn condition of the tram system made it seem likely at one stage that the trams would, in time, all be replaced by trolleybuses. In 1938 and 1939 the trolley bus system expanded. Trolley buses had by 1940 replaced trams - to East Perth (Trafalgar Rd) to Claremont via Mounts Bay Road, extending to Swanbourne. along Cambridge St, extending to Lissadell St. Also a new route, not previously a tram line, branched off Cambridge St at Gregory St and travelled along Grantham St to Reserve St. By 1940 the fleet comprised 22 Leyland three-axle trolley buses. A further 18 two-axle Leylands arrived to help with the overloaded wartime public transport system, taking the fleet total to 40. These additions, with bodies built at the WAGR workshops, were part of an order originally intended for Canton, but diverted due to war conditions.

Trolleybus #4, as built, in England
Trolleybus #1 and the first of the "Canton" trolley buses, #23, seen in similar poses near the Carbarn.

Restoration work by the Bus Preservation Society of W. A. shows us the interior of Perth Leyland trolleybus #38, as introduced in the 1940s:
Interior looking towards the rear.		Looking from the front door to the driver's seat and controls.

The second generation: 1950s and 1960s Trams crossed to the southern side of the Swan River via the Causeway, to Victoria Park, Welshpool, South Perth [Zoo] and Como, and it had been planned to replace these with trolley buses. Fifty two-axle Sunbeam trolley buses had been ordered for the replacement service. However, when the Causeway was reconstructed in 1950, it was decided that trolleybus overhead wiring on the new Causeway would be unsightly, so the South-of-the-River tram services were replaced by motor buses. The 50 excess trolley buses were then used in 1951 to replace trams on the Mt Hawthorn line (terminating in Scarborough Beach Rd at Kalgoorlie St), and in 1954 to extend the Cambridge St and Grantham St routes. A further major expansion of the trolley bus system occurred with the closure of the tramways in 1958, when trams were replaced by trolleybuses on the Inglewood route. A new branch was opened along Grand Promenade. The Walcott St branch, which had closed as a tram route in 1953, reopened with trolley buses.

Sunbeam trolleybus #50, on Mounts Bay Road en route to Claremont. Crawley Baths, on the Swan River, are in the background		Sunbeam trolleybus #51 travelling east along Wellington Street, Perth, at the intersection with Pier Street.

Trolley bus route closures began soon after these last expansions: most were officially associated with various major roadworks around the city. A significant economic factor was that the Sunbeam vehicles by then forming the fleet had entrance-exit doors only at the centre, and so were not suitable for one-person-operation. The Claremont route via Mounts Bay Road closed in 1959 - difficulties connected with the new Narrows bridge over the Swan River were cited. The Mount Hawthorn route closed in 1963. All of the services along Beaufort St were closed in 1968, when the one-way road system in Perth's main business district was being altered. The remaining group of lines, to Wembley and Floreat, closed on 29 August, 1969 - by then Australia's last remaining trolleybuses.