Before electrification, Ballarat boasted a double-decker horse-drawn tram, which had patrons seated both inside the tramcar and on top.

Now it is the oldest working tram in the country. 

The Ballarat Tramway Museum marketing manager Peter Waugh said in the first few weeks of operation the line for the tram extended from the station to the gardens and the tramcar carried about 10,000 people per day. 

“They had done a test run three or four days earlier with the mayor on the horse tram, but it opened for public service on Boxing Day when everybody used to come to the gardens,” Mr Waugh said. 

“They thought they were going to make their fortunes.”

In those days, while the rich might have had a horse and cart, many people had to make do on foot.

The tram made the city more accessible for Ballarat citizens and was also a tourist attraction. 

“They (visitors) would come up by train and then come to the gardens,” Mr Waugh said.

“So the garden route was seen as the number one priority and that was specified in the contract with the company that that would be the one opened first.”

Mr Waugh said trams could have arrived in Ballarat even earlier, but the city had to wait for Melbourne’s cable car network to be approved first before it could get the legislation passed.

Calls for a Ballarat tramway began in 1880, while Melbourne’s network was not established until 1885. 

“It shows that Ballarat was very early in setting up the system of public transport and what makes it significant now is that we still have some of that network left and we still have one of the original trams that ran on it,” Mr Waugh said.

“There are only two others that are older, one is in the Melbourne Museum and one is in Adelaide’s museum, neither of those are still working.”

The horse tram will be back in action on Australia Day to celebrate the significant milestone, joining about five other electrified trams. 

The tram will use horses from Sovereign Hill and can hold about 40 people, with its upper section open for the best views of the gardens. 

The Ballarat Tramway Museum, which plays an integral role in preserving the trams and their history, is entirely volunteer run and relies on tram ticket sales and donations.