More than a century ago a man dreamt of building a private railway line – all that remains of the line today is a trail depicting its movement through the city of Glen Eira.
The well-known suburb of Carnegie has a history so vast that the locals are undoubtedly unaware of.
Entrepreneur, William Ross, had a dream to construct a railway line dedicated to transporting processed sugar from a mill – which he had built earlier – to Elsternwick. So he did exactly that.
Rosstown, the suburb named after William Ross, stood where Carnegie now does, with the Caulfield council re-naming the area in the early 90’s. The area was re-named in an attempt by the council to secure funds for a library from the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The attempt, however, was unsuccessful while the name remains.
Marara Reserve
Picture; Original
The dream – The reality
Ross dreamt of accessibility and success – neither of which came into fruition. He desired to construct a sugar mill that was both close to the city and had a dedicated railway to transport the sugar to Elsternwick.The sugar mill was built by Ross in 1875 and was located on, what is now known as, Neville and Miller Streets in Carnegie.
The construction of the railway began eight years after the completion of the mill in 1883. The railway was completed in only two months but as a result of poor workmanship and design it failed to gain the necessary approval for its use.
The railway remained futile for four years until Ross began to correct the issues and was finally completed in 1888, five years after its commencement.
The project was infested with issues right from the beginning – issues that ultimately resulted in its disuse.The railway line was never used for its intended purpose. In fact, it was never used at all. Ross claimed that he ran one train on the railway line in November of 1888 – but this claim was never substantiated.
“The dream itself was interesting if misguided. Seemed like a little boy wanting a large train set,” Glen Eira Historical Society, Carol Stals, said.
The mill unfortunately suffered the same fate as the railway line. Locals, including local market gardeners, were riled by the water use that the mill required – ultimately causing it to fail. Ross was unable to re-sell the building and it was demolished, thirty-four years later, as a result of contact with thieves and disuse.
The man behind the dream
William Murray Ross was born in 1825 in England. Ross emigrated to Melbourne at the age of twenty-seven where he quickly made a name for himself, becoming both a Magistrate and a state MP.
The life of William Murray Ross on Dipity.
The businessman and his wife moved to the country district of Caulfield to get away from city life.
Picture; Original
The couple bought and lived in a house termed “The Grange” – located between what is now known as Grange, Leila and Wild Cherry Roads. ‘The Grange at Carnegie’ apartment block references the history of the area.
It was here where Ross bought an extensive amount of land – naming the area Rosstown, after himself. Ross became a landowner of 1000 acres in Caulfield.
He decided to build the sugar mill and the railway line in the hopes that this would further increase the value of his estate.
Rosstown Road and the Rosstown Hotel (on Dandenong Road) are the only remaining public references to William Ross.
“Those that know of him all seem to look on him as a bit of a fool and dreamer. Not realistic and pushing his dream when it was so obviously not realistic,” Ms. Stals said.
“I am greatly amused by the ego of a man who calls a suburb after himself. The name was changed to remove the taint of failure, yet another story there,” she said.
The rail trail
Now, in respect of the obsolete railway line, the Glen Eira council has created a honourary rail trail. Locals can walk, cycle or drive along the route of the former railway line.
“The Rosstown Rail Trail charts the original course of the private line, which was the lifelong dream of William Ross,” Recreation Development Coordinator for Glen Eira City Council, Matthew Barbetta, said.
A plaque located in Marara Reserve
Picture; Original
“Although there are no remnants of the railway existing today, the railway can be followed along off road trails, through parkland and beside housing that has since been built on what was once intended to be a thriving railway,” Mr. Barbetta said.
Picture; Original
The trail route begins in Riddell Parade, Elsternwick and follows along until the pedestrian level crossing on Warrigal Road.
The trail is a total of 8.5km, with an optional detour being 3.1km. It takes about three and a half hours to complete on foot, and about half that to cycle.
“Not enough people know about this [history]. I don’t have an answer to how to enlighten them. The Glen Eira Council have put plaques along the Rosstown Railway line walking path and they did produce a wonderful fold out history, complete with photos and a map, but this is now out of print,” Ms. Stals said.
To find out more about the trail visit the council’s website.
Carmelene Greco 