The very first street tramway in Australia was a short lived horse tramway running along Pitt Street in Sydney. This was however a short lived operation, only running for six years between 1861 and 1866.

The very first trams in Australia began operating in Sydney on December 23, 1861. This initial line was a horse-drawn tramway that ran along Pitt Street from the old Sydney railway station to Circular Quay. It was designed to help passengers and freight move more easily from the ships to the trains. However, this first experiment was short-lived and controversial; the rails protruded above the road surface, causing numerous accidents with horse-drawn carriages and pedestrians, leading to the line's closure in 1866. It wasn't until the late 1870s that steam-powered trams were introduced, eventually followed by the massive electric tram network that would make Sydney's system one of the largest in the world by the early 20th century. While Melbourne is now the "Tram Capital" of Australia and the world, its first horse-drawn tram didn't open until 1884, with its famous cable tram system following in 1885. Today, in 2026, Sydney has come full circle with its modern Light Rail network, but it all started with those first, somewhat disastrous horse-drawn tracks on Pitt Street over 160 years ago.