Editing Trams in Melbourne (section)

===The tramway trusts===
[[File:Bourke St East by George Hyde Pownall 1912.jpg|thumb|Painting by George Hyde Pownall showing trams running down Bourke St in central Melbourne in 1912]]
Due to demand for better public transport in Melbourne's inner suburbs of Prahran and Malvern the [[Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust]] Act 1907 was enacted. Councillor [[Alexander Cameron (tramways administrator)|Alex Cameron]] of Malvern, who led the push for a municipal tramway service, was elected chairman of the trust by both Malvern and Prahran councils. Construction began on its first tram line in 1909 with the first passenger service commencing on 30 May 1910. Using overhead wires to feed electricity to the trams, the network continued to expand greatly and profitably.<ref name=mmtb>{{cite web |url=http://www.hawthorntramdepot.org.au/papers/pmtt.htm |title=Steady as she goes: the Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust |author=Russell Jones |year=2008 |work=Friends of Hawthorn Tram Depot |access-date=23 October 2011 |archive-date=8 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008025649/http://www.hawthorntramdepot.org.au/papers/pmtt.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Alex Cameron: father of Melbourne's electric trams">{{cite web |url=http://www.hawthorntramdepot.org.au/papers/cameron.htm |title=Alex Cameron: father of Melbourne's electric trams |author=Russell Jones |year=2009 |work=Friends of Hawthorn Tram Depot |access-date=23 October 2011 |archive-date=22 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110822235533/http://www.hawthorntramdepot.org.au/papers/cameron.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1913, the region covered by the PMTT was extended and, thus, representatives of the [[Hawthorn, Victoria|Hawthorn]] and [[Kew, Victoria|Kew]] councils were also included on the board. In 1916 [[Camberwell, Victoria|Camberwell]] council representatives were also included.

Following the PMTT, the following municipal trusts were formed:
*[[Hawthorn Tramways Trust]] – 1914 (Municipalities of [[City of Melbourne|Melbourne]], [[City of Richmond|Richmond]], [[City of Camberwell|Camberwell]] & [[City of Hawthorn|Hawthorn]])
*[[Melbourne, Brunswick & Coburg Tramways Trust]] – 1916 (Municipalities of [[City of Brunswick|Brunswick]], [[City of Coburg|Coburg]] & [[City of Melbourne|Melbourne]])
*[[Fitzroy, Northcote & Preston Tramways Trust]] – in process of construction when taken over in 1920 (Municipalities of [[City of Fitzroy|Fitzroy]], [[City of Northcote|Northcote]] & [[City of Preston (Victoria)|Preston]])
*Footscray Tramway Trust – in process of construction when taken over in 1920 (Municipality of [[City of Footscray|Footscray]])