The W.A. Timber Company constructed the 12-mile (19 km) long Ballaarat tramline in 1871 between Lockville and Yoganup. Governor Weld officially opened the railway on 23 December 1871.[1][2]
The tramline was the first railway in Western Australia. It also included the Ballaarat Bridge – the first bridge constructed to conduct a steam locomotive in Western Australia.[3]
The tramline's name originated from the locomotive that operated on the railway, named Ballaarat by the Mayor of Melbourne on the original spelling of the Victorian town of Ballarat where the locomotive was constructed.[3][4]
The W.A. Timber Company was liquidated in 1888 and its assets auctioned.[5]