An excerpt from Padd, Paddo, Paddington – edited by Dawn Buckberry, Paddington History Group.
Events – Fires, floods and other distractions
“Our local tram sheds (where the Woolworths shopping complex is now) were burnt down. It was a terrible sight – all the trams were burnt and the heat could be felt in our street, three streets away.” Mebel Stunden
“The sheds burned down when they were getting rid of trams and were bringing in buses around 1960. The burning was quite mysterious – there was a lot of local opposition to the buses. The trams came in off the road and the wooden pylons were about forty feet. The fire started in the front of the depot, so of course they couldn’t get any of the trams out to save them. They burned and burned for about three days. It’s a wonder people weren’t killed. There were fire brigades, there were people, dogs, children – the whole district was there. A tram would just be hovering on the brink and people started taking bets on then – how long this one would take to go and how long that one. I can remember the last one, it hovered and hovered.” Audrey Hansen
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