Railways and Tramways of Australia
29 April
Damage trams 131 and 137 resulting from the resulting from the collision in Hobart, 29 April 1960. Photo: Tasmanian Police Museum Facebook page.
The front of Hobart tram 131 following the runaway accident and collision, 29 April 1960. Photo: Tasmanian Police Museum Facebook page.
Brave conductor
Hobart’s worst tramway accident occurred on 29 April 1960.
An electric passenger tramway system operated in Hobart from 1893 until 1960. It was originally owned by a private company but was taken over by Hobart City Council in 1913.
Tram no. 131 was a single-deck saloon car. It was heading towards Springfield on the day of the accident. While it was proceeding along Elizabeth Street at around 4.50 pm, it collided with a truck near the corner of Warwick Street. The tram driver was injured, and damage to the tram caused its controller and brakes to stop working. Subsequently it rolled backwards down a steep gradient for a distance of third of a mile (about 540 metres). The tram reached a speed of 40 to 50 miles per hour (64 to 80 km/h).
The tram’s conductor, Raymond Donoghue, tried unsuccessfully to stop the tram by applying the handbrake. He stayed at the rear of the tram and moved the passengers back as far as possible. Donoghue stayed in his position, calming passengers and ringing the bell to warn traffic. However, it collided with around 20 motor vehicles as it continued downhill.
Tram no. 137, another single-deck saloon tram, was following, and near Bathurst Street the two trams locked together before rolling backwards around a further 130 yards (119 metres). They finally stopped at the corner of Elizabeth Street. Raymond Donoghue was killed instantly when the trams collided and 43 passengers were injured, four seriously. Both trams were severely damaged.
Raymond Donoghue was posthumously awarded a George Cross for bravery. Fifty tramway men formed a guard of honour at his funeral, and all trams were stopped to observe a minute’s silence.
Conductor Donoughe bravely lost his life while protecting others.
Bibliography
S Brimson, The tramways of Australia, Dreamweaver, Sydney, 1983.
Graham Clements, 'Donoghue, Raymond Tasman (1920–1960)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian
National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/donoghue-raymond-tasman-10032/text17687, published first in hardcopy 1996, accessed
online 26 April 2026.
IG Cooper, Hobart tramways: a centenary commemoration review, Transit Australia, Sydney, 1993.
R Harris, ‘Hobart tramways: a brief history 1893 – 1960’, Australian Railway History, no. 997, pp 26–30.
‘Tragic Hobart tram collision’, vol. 15, no. 6, Electric Traction, June 1960, p 7.
Raymond Donoghue, Hobart tram conductor who died in a tram accident on 29 April 1960, undated. Photo: Australian War Memorial, 081390.
Internal damage resulting from the collision between trams 131 and 137 in Hobart, 29 April 1960. Photo: Tasmanian Police Museum Facebook page.
