The perfect story to launch the summer holidays!

This Friday at 11am will see Lindsay Honeyman cutting a ribbon in front of the city's much-loved horse-drawn tram, allowing the vehicle to rumble towards another summer on Granite Island.

But why Lindsay Honeyman?

"I started driving the trams in 1937 when I was 12," says Lindsay, "And I finished as driver in 1954. It was my grandfather, George, who began the tram rides back in 1896, and he let me drive at weekends for a bit of pocket money. I used to make five shillings a day."

The Honeyman family ran a farm overlooking Waitpinga Beach, where they kept Clydesdales and heavy stockhorses used for pulling the tram across the 630m wooden Causeway linking Victor Harbor to Granite Island.

"Originally, the trams were leased off SA Railways. My grandfather charged tuppence for adults and a penny for children. In my day it was a shilling for adults and threepence for kids."

After 1954, the Causeway rails fell silent for 32 years, until 1986, when the Victor Harbor council re-commenced the attraction – the world’s only 7-day horse-drawn tram service.

"The trams we use have been specially made for us in Adelaide. They're a little larger than the originals, with automatic brakes, but otherwise they're faithful. But they're also kept in the purpose-built tram barn next to Warland Reserve: the original timber trams were never kept under cover by SA Railways and many of them simply rotted away."

Lindsay knows his way around the vehicles and happily explains how they operate to curious visitors. "A lot of people ask about the weight the horses are having to pull, but the trams are actually very light and the wheels are on special bearings. Once the tram starts rolling, there's very little pulling required. I remember, as a demonstration, we had a couple of eight-stone girls push the tram along the Causeway – after giving them a start, they did the distance in 14 minutes!"

The tram covers the last part of a commercial rail route. Until the 1890s, goods were taken from Murray River paddlesteamers berthed at Goolwa, to Victor Harbor and then on to Granite Island, where they were loaded onto clippers at Screwpile Jetty.

Today the only sign of commercial activity is a restaurant and a penguin sanctuary, with much of Granite Island returned to its natural state (the recently opened Kaiki interpretive trail offers 2.9km of stunning natural vistas).

Lindsay however recalls a succession of initiatives on the curious granite outcrop.

"There's been a number of attractions on the island," he says. "There was a chairlift in the sixties. There was also a strange cage that was hoisted up a 40ft pylon and dropped – it was called a Space Steeple, a sort of early thrill ride. And for a while there were wallabies on here, but they denuded the place and had to go. The biggest events were always the New Year’s Day celebrations held on the island. There'd be 30,000 people, all swimming, picnicking, partying…"

Driving the tram is still possibly one of South Australia's happiest jobs – one which Lindsay recalls fondly. "I enjoyed it immensely. The biggest attraction for me was meeting people from all over the world. There's only one other horse-drawn tram operating and that's on the Isle of Man, so people literally came from all over to ride our tram. Not everybody knows this, but in Athens, there was a mural of the Victor Harbor tram – in a museum or an art gallery, I think. Apparently, Victor Harbor people used to go to Greece to see it!"

Asked if he ever encountered any problems as a driver, he replies, "Yes, hats! On a windy day, there'd be all these bowler hats blowing across the surface of Encounter Bay. We must have lost hundreds!"

According to Mayor Mary-Lou Corcoran, " We’re incredibly lucky to have someone like Lindsay still living in Victor and I can’t think of a better person to welcome in the summer season. He told me recently he’s only been outside of the town for three years of his life – and that was to live in Strathalbyn!

"Summer is a great time of year in Victor. Our population of 13,000 typically grows to around 35,000 people, so the town is full of life and holiday atmosphere."

If you would like to attend the opening of the Victor Harbor Summer Season, Mark Przibilla will be happy to make arrangements for your visit. Contact him on (08) 8551 0520.

Victor Harbor research figures released by Tourism Committee

A visitor survey carried out by Victor Harbor Tourism Committee and Flinders University Cultural Tourism Department has provided an interesting ‘snapshot’ of visitors to one of South Australia's oldest holiday destinations.

Key findings include:

• 62% of visitors originate in SA with 12% hailing from overseas; this latter is 9-10% higher than the regional average, and reflects strong interest among internationals for whale watching.

• 38% of respondents stayed overnight, 17% stayed two nights.

• Those who found out about Victor Harbor did so through ‘word of mouth’.

• 76% of respondents had been to Victor Harbor before -- 45% had visited more than 20 times!

• 96% indicated that they would visit Victor Harbor again.

• Of activities undertaken, most people cited ‘walks’ (17%) and ‘visiting Granite Island’ (15%).

• 47% of respondents indicated that they thought Victor Harbor was ‘lovely’ and/or ‘loved the ambience’ of the location.

• Asked ‘What are your suggestions to improve Victor Harbor as a tourist destination’, 26% responded ‘leave as is' ...

For more information and media images, contact Mark Przibilla.

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Mark Przibilla
Tourism Marketing & Events Co ordinator
City of Victor Harbor

Ph: 08 8551 0520
Fax: 08 8551 0521
Mobile : 0417 809 194
Email: mprzibilla@victor.sa.gov.au
Web: www.tourismvictorharbor.com.au