Display first step in cable car restoration

Neville Jemmett with a picture of Mornington trailer No 111 which last ran in 1957. Photo by...
Neville Jemmett with a picture of Mornington trailer No 111 which last ran in 1957. Photo by Linda Robertson

The dream of returning cable cars to Dunedin's High St has survived the untimely death of its former chief advocate, Phil Cole. Now there is a new group, an updated plan and more money to find. Chris Morris reports.

The push to return cable cars to Dunedin's High St is shifting up a gear as a new group prepares to launch a multimillion-dollar fundraising drive.

The Dunedin Heritage Light Rail Trust has been formed to replace the Dunedin Cable Car Trust, headed by the late Phil Cole, who died late last year.

The new group's spokesman is Neville Jemmett, the founder of Christchurch attraction Orana Park, who now lives in Dunedin.

Mr Jemmett told the Otago Daily Times the new group - and a separate incorporated society to be formed next month - still aimed to advance the cable car project in stages.

The timeline had increased from five years to 10, while the required budget had jumped from $22 million to between $26 million and $30 million, but the first signs of progress were imminent, he said.

The trust had secured an agreement with the Tramway Historical Society, in Christchurch, to bring two former High St cable cars back to Dunedin on long-term leases.

The first, trailer 111, had already been restored, while work on a $100,000 fundraising drive to restore the second, a ''grip car'', was about to begin in Christchurch, he said.

The agreement to bring the vehicles to Dunedin was conditional on construction of a new building to house them in the city, Mr Jemmett said.

The trust had received an initial indication of support from council staff to build a shed on council land at the top of High St, near Mornington Park.

Fundraising drive 

It had now begun a fundraising drive to raise the $20,000 needed for its construction, and hoped the shed could be built later this year, he said.

The basic structure would provide enough room for two cable cars and a small section of track allowing the vehicles to be rolled out for public events on weekends, he said.

The shed would eventually be replaced by a two-storey, 2000sq m building, costing up to $2 million, which Mr Jemmett hoped could follow next year.

The permanent building would house up to six vehicles in a downstairs museum and display area, which would be converted to a cable car house once the facility was operational, he said.

The council was aware of the building plans, although had not yet endorsed them, and it was not yet known what resource consents would be required, he said.

The trust's new treasurer had recently submitted the group's first application to a funding provider, which was yet to receive a response, but planned to increase fundraising activities later this year, he said.

That could include seeking a community grant or other assistance from the council, despite the group's earlier opposition to any call on ratepayers, Mr Jemmett confirmed.

It was hoped any council support would come from within existing budgets, rather than driving up rates to help pay for the project, he added.

The trust also had offers of in-kind support, from within Dunedin and abroad, to help build the track, he said.

Mr Jemmett visited San Francisco last year to study its cable car network, resulting in an enthusiastic offer of help from its operator, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, he said.

The agency had offered to send specialists to Dunedin to help lay tracks, once the trust was ready to proceed, Mr Jemmett said.

That was likely to be years down the track, as Mr Jemmett estimated the entire project would now take 10 years to come to fruition.

In the meantime, the trust was keen to get its shed built and the first cable car on display, to show the public, and potential funders, the group was serious.

''That's the start. We needed some sort of image here that we're actually doing something ... and trailer 111 is definitely that.''

Public meeting 

A public meeting would be held on June 11 to form the new High Street Cable Car Incorporated Society, which Mr Jemmett hoped would have a seven-strong executive and a membership of at least 100. The society would be the operational arm advancing work on the project, while the trust was the fundraising vehicle to finance its activities, he said.

Mr Jemmett said it was the same model adopted for the development of Orana Park in Christchurch in the 1970s, and he was confident of repeating that success.

''Once it starts getting going ... you're going to get bigger support because people can see it's actually happening.

''People start to realise that this is going to happen.''

chris.morris@odt.co.nz

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