Bendigo Tramways has been in operation since June 1890. From that time, the citizens of Bendigo have experienced battery, steam and electric traction as the principal modes of propulsion for their trams.
We operate the best working collection of heritage trams in the world. We currently have 45 trams in our fleet, 15 of which operate our Vintage Talking Tram service.
Bendigo Tramways is an asset of the City of Greater Bendigo and is managed by Bendigo Heritage Attractions.
Bendigo Heritage Attractions, originally The Bendigo Trust, was established in 1970 as a response to the Bendigo City Council’s plan to restore, conserve and manage the Central Deborah Gold Mine—which had closed its doors as an operating gold mine in November 1954.
Today, Bendigo Heritage Attractions continues to run the Central Deborah Gold Mine, as well as some of Bendigo’s other cherished historic assets, including the Bendigo Tramways which had operated in Bendigo since 1890, and the Bendigo Joss House Temple which was constructed in the 1860s.
While the Bendigo Tramways, Central Deborah Gold Mine and Bendigo Joss House Temple make up the core business of Bendigo Heritage Attractions, it also has some responsibility for the Bendigo Gasworks which was closed in 1973, and Victoria Hill which is the site of some of the earliest gold workings in Bendigo from the 1850s.
Interestingly, The Bendigo Trust (Bendigo Heritage Attractions) was responsible for the establishment of Bendigo’s first Visitor Information Centre, a service now provided by Bendigo Tourism, and from September 2002 – July 2015, The Bendigo Trust took responsibility for the Discovery Science & Technology Centre, one of the premier regional science centres in the country, and the oldest centre outside a metropolitan area.
