Goolwa to Port Elliot tramway, for names of passengers. Standing on the left with reins, Hillman, driver; standing on right Thomas Goode; J.P. Merot, Mayor of Goolwa; standing on the step in front T. Jones, traffic manager; on front seat in white trousers T. Taylor, customs officer at Goolwa. [The Post and Telegraph office, built in 1857, is visible behind the carriage.]

The Goolwa-Port Elliot railway was the first railway in South Australia, although it was horse-drawn not steam. It was only seven miles long. The railway was officially finished on 18 May 1854, and in 1864 was extended to Victor Harbor, after it was decided that the Port Elliot anchorage was dangerous. 

The railway had been first proposed in 1849. The successful navigation of the river by William Randell and Francis Cadell in 1853 gave urgency to the project, and despite labour and materials shortages, the line went ahead and was finished in May 1854. Goods from properties along the river could now be off-loaded at Goolwa, transported by rail to Port Elliot, later to Victor Harbor, and shipped to the world.

The line was finally converted to steam in 1885.

Thompson, Malcolm H. Rails and the river: a history of the southern railway system and the River Murray shipping, 1854-1885 Goolwa, SA: Alexandrina Council, 2004

Hays, W. Bennett Engineering in South Australia: being an account of the principal public works now executed, preceded by a historical sketch of the colony, from its foundation to the present time Adelaide: Libraries Board of South Australia, 1965 pp. 34-39

Along the line: Goolwa station

South Australia. Department of the Environment: Goolwa State Heritage area