View of the Goolwa and Port Elliot tram, the first public railway in Australia. The image shows Mr Scarfe, Clerk of Court, at the window of carriage and Eli Hillman with beard and tall hat at left of carriage.

The railway between Goolwa, on the River Murray, and Port Elliot, on the sea coast, was built in 1854 for the purpose of transporting cargo from riverboats to sea-going vessels. It was the first public railway on steel tracks in Australia. The line was extended to the safer harbour at Victor Harbor in 1864, after several shipwrecks at Port Elliot. Horses were used to pull the carriages until steam engines were introduced in 1884.

Bird, Kim. South Coast limited: a history of the Victor Harbor and Milang railway lines in South Australia, Adelaide: Australian Railway Historical Society, South Australian Division, 1972

Ramsey, John. The Victor Harbor railway line: pictorial review, Adelaide: Australian Railway Historical Society, c1984

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

SteamRanger Enthusiast Website See: Lineside Guides - Goolwa-Victor

Victor Harbor Tourism See: Attractions: Steam Ranger Cockle Train