1898 The Directors of The Upland Estate Company set up The Kelburne & Karori Tramway Company to provide transport facilities in the form of a Cable tram between their proposed residential subdivision and the City.
1899 Work on the tram line begins using prison labour from The Terrace Gaol. Three shifts worked road the clock to construct the system, including digging 3 tunnels with pick and shovel.
1902 Work is completed and the Cable Car starts operation on 22 February 1902 and proves an instant success with over 425,000 passenger trips on the cable car in the first year.
1904 Palace horse trams purchased to be converted to trailers to increase passenger capacity. Tea kiosk built at Kelburn on the site now occupied by the Skyline Restaurant.
1905 The converted Palace trams are added to the grip cars on the uphill side. This increases capacity to 62 seated passengers. Kelburn Park and the Dominion Observatory completed.
1906 Fire guts the registered offices of The Upland Estate and the Kelburne & Karori Tramway Company situated in Grey Street opposite Cable Car Lane and early company records lost.
1912 Annual patronage increases to over 1 million passenger trips.
1933 Electricity replaced steam in powering the winding gear. The smokestack which had been a Kelburn Landmark from the start is removed.
1935 The slipper brakes are removed from both trailers – a move which would prove to have serious ramifications 40 years later.
1941 Company accuses the council of running buses in direct competition and asks the council to purchase the company or stop competing. Council refuses to purchase claiming ageing stock and limited potential earnings
1946 Still claiming unfair competition the company takes its case to the supreme court. Council agrees to purchase company. Kelburn and Karori Tramway Company was voluntarily dissolved in February 1947
1957 Lambton Terminal upgraded
1973 A serious accident involving a construction worker who accidentally stepped in front of a cable car leads to a Ministry of Works investigation.
1974/5 There are a number of upgrades to the system and the trailers carriages are removed. However despite these modifications the Ministry of Works advise the cars only have a maximum lifespan of a further 10 years. The council decides to invest in a new fully automated system.
1977 Tenders close for new cable car system and contract is awarded to Habeggar AG of Switzerland.
1978 On 22 September 1978 the old cars made their final run.
1979 The new cable car system opened on 20 October 1979
1987 The control system was replaced after several years of the system being unreliable and passenger numbers dropping as a consequence.
1991 Following deregulation of the bus industry the cable car ownership and that of the overhead power network for the trolleybuses passed to the Wellington Cable Car Company – a council controlled organization. Harbour City Cable Car Limited won the tender to operate the cable car. Stagecoach won the tender for the maintenance contract.
1994 The Wellington Cable Car Company takes the maintenance contract in house.
1996 The data communication system was upgraded
1997 Serco (latterly Transfield) take over the contract to run the Cable Car
2006 Lambton Quay Terminal renovations and new ticketing system
2007 The operation of the cable car is taken in house by the Wellington Cable Car Company
For more history visit the Wellington Cable Car Museum