Levuka tram tracks
The entire Levuka Township is a living museum and has remarkably maintained its original look of the yester-years, though it may be at a huge cost to the owners. While the visitors may admire the building structures and the bridges a well-kept secret lies partly hidden under the bitumen of the roads in the town centre. This town gave birth to the first road system and quite interestingly it also had a tram track that linked the Queen’s wharf to the major warehouses within close vicinity.
In 1884, the Levuka Tramway Company operated the 2 feet and 6 inches wide tramway along the streets of Levuka to connect warehouses with the wharves and the other storage venues. The cart trucks on the track were horse-driven and hand operated and required manual labour to push it for mobility. The tracks were extended through to the entire length of the Queen’s wharf that catered for the visiting tall ships and later towards the late fifties it became a major source of transportation of copra and other goods but this mode of transport faded when the motor vehicles were used. At that time there were actually three routes leading into the port from the town end.
The push carts had wooden platforms where the cargo was loaded and physically pushed either way to its destination. This became a major source of employment for the strongly built locals where a lot of effort was needed to move the carts under the watchful eyes of their supervisors.
The tram tracks were first installed about a hundred and forty years ago and have remained substantially unchanged since they were first laid out. The application of engineering science then needs to be admired as the infrastructure is still very much intact and visible at some places.
The road repair works is slowly taking its toll as this very valuable asset is covered with layers of bitumen in a subterraneous condition. It is advisable to the visitors to pay a closer attention along the portion of the road near the Post Office to witness the antediluvian piece of our history. Every effort must be taken by the road maintenance team to ensure this antique does not disappear forever.