From October 1889 until January 1896, an electric tram ran between the Box Hill Post Office, on the corner of Whitehorse Road and Station Street, and a terminus near the intersection of Elgar and Doncaster Roads, Doncaster. It was the first electric tram in Australia, and the southern hemisphere, to operate as a regular service. The history of this pioneer electric tramway is a story of technical innovation, initiative and perseverance by the early settlers at a time when Box Hill was a small but growing township.