Page 14 - 1978 NAB Calendar Early Australian Maritime Life Part Two
P. 14
A RAILWAY PIER IN MELBOURNE
JUNE The pier reached its greatest length of 2,171 feet in 1861 and functioned
This engraving of Sandridge Pier in Hobson’s Bay, Victoria, illustrates with remarkable efficiency until the 1880’s, considering that it had ’been
Melbourne’s growth and prosperity in the 1880’s. However, it appears to designed for ships of only 1.000 to 2.000 tons.
be based on similar earlier works showing the pier in the 1860’s and By the 1870’s neither Sandridge nor Williamstown, the alternative port
1870’s. area, could handle Melbourne’s shipping. The Melbourne Harbour Trust
During the boom period in these decades the pier would often have been decided to develop modern facilities on the Yarra River rather than on the
crowded with people and shipping; it was a popular meeting place as well shores of Hobson’s Bay, and Sand- ridge’s significance as a port
as a vital part of the colony’s transport system. diminished. However, it was to come into its own as a passenger
terminal; Station Pier, which replaced the Railway Pier in 1922, was the
The Railway Pier was constructed by the Melbourne and Hobson’s Bay first experience of Australia for many immigrants in the period after World
Railway Company in the early 1850's to alleviate shipping congestion in War II.
Hobson’s Bay. The railway line on the pier was connected to the main
Melbourne to Sandridge line. Nothing is known of the engraver.
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