Cheltenham Beach

Still further down the road, the tramway reached its Cheltenham Beach terminus. Here and at Victoria Wharf, the tramcar’s horse would be detached from one end of the car and reattached to the other to reverse the journey. Where McHugh’s restaurant sits on the beach today, in 1886 the area was barren. Nonetheless, Cheltenham had been a primary attraction since the 1860s, when William Cobley laid out magnificent gardens on an adjacent 40-acre lot. He named them after Cheltenham Gardens in England, and developers jumped at the opportunity to sell nearby properties for baches and weekend homes.

During a picnic at the beach after the inaugural ride, company chairman Graves Aickin promised that the party “had on that occasion seen but a portion of the line, which was to be extended considerably as funds would permit.” Indeed, plans from the beginning promoted branches to Lake Pupuke, Narrow Neck, and Stanley Bay. He guaranteed that the “portion already constructed would certainly pay, and when extended it would pay better.” And then he asked that “all interested in the district would come forward and take a few shares.”

Aickin was not naïve. He understood that the tramway would not be an immediate success and argued that, “although the times were very dull, there was good reason to hope for the future success of their undertaking, for as the North Shore was one of the most beautiful localities around the city, there was sure to be an increase of population there, if anywhere.” He was correct, but about two decades ahead of his time.

In the end, the Devonport and Lake Takapuna Tramway failed to convince investors or the public. By February 1887, lawsuits and debt forced the company to dissolve. The franchise was taken over by R. & R. Duder, local merchants, but they quickly gave up on the tramway. The tracks languished until December 1894, when they were taken up. Despite several efforts to resurrect the project, Devonport never again built a tramway.