How people travelled

Image: Cobb & Co: the history of coach class Information source: Pocket Oz Pocket Guide to Sydney (n.d)

Stage Coach

Once a day, a stage coach would travel 2-3 hours between Hornsby and Milsons Point (where the future Harbour Bridge would be), mostly through rough bush tracks and then returning. The horses were changed at Lane Cove. This was after 1819. The journey would eventually become the Pacific Highway.

Horse Bus

The horse bus was a very popular way for the public to travel in Sydney for about 100 years. They were often full, with passengers on top as well as inside. Horse buses delivered letters and small parcels to the post offices in the suburbs and further distances.

Source Lane Cove Library Info source

Private transport

The horse and cart was how most people travelled from early to mid 1800s. They were will very popular until the arrival of the motor car in 1900.

Source Lane Cove Library Info source

Boat & Ferry

Access to the Lane Cove area, for early residents, was only by water. Some ferry services were tried from the 1830s. The image above shows one of the old Lane Cove River ferries, part of a service which continues today.
Image Source

Bridge

Fig Tree Bridge was the first bridge to cross Lane Cove River. It opened in 1885.

Train

In 1890, the north shore train line from Hornsby was opened. The railways carried farm animals, food as well as people.

Source

Motor Buses

Images: Old bus 1925; double decker 1938, single level 1947, Lane Cove.

Source Lane Cove Library

Electric Tram

In 1909 the North Sydney electric tramway service went to Lane Cove and had a terminal on Burns Bay and Longueville Roads. The tram service closed in 1958. The photo above is from 1957.

Image Source

1910

Cars

The first motor cars in Australia were built here in the 1890s, but it took 20 years before they were became more reliable and popular.

Photo: Lane Cove, 1925 Source: Lane Cove library and 1945

Getting petrol

Getting petrol was different in the early days of cars. In the 1920s, petrol pumps were right next to the road and drivers stayed in the cars whilst petrol station attentents filled your car up with petrol. You didn't drive into the petrol station. There were a lot of queues, traffic and sometimes accidents as drivers pulled out from the kerb without looking.

This photo is from 1937, on Burns Bay Road.

Source: Lane Cove library Facebook - Throwback Thursday.

Fire Brigade

Before horse were trained (e.g. they had to know what the fire alarm meant), it was humans who pulled the fire cart.

Source: 1905, East Willoughby fire station

Fire carts carried stem fire pumps.

Late 1800s to 1920s.

Source: Powerhouse museum

In 1925, NSW firebrigade replaced horses for motor engines.

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