Transportation and how it has changed through the decades—Tricia McGill

 

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Here I am again deep into research about certain aspects of the 1800s, especially Australia in the 1860s, and because of seeking a particular type of horse-drawn vehicle I became engrossed by the differing means of transport throughout the years and how it has changed. I grew up in North London, so our travelling from one destination to another was by the underground (what we called the ‘Tube’) or a good old double decker bus. I regularly used the underground and to this

day in my dreams where I often seem to be lost, I follow my mother’s advice
and search for the nearest tube station to find my way home. People who study the meaning of dreams no doubt have an explanation for that, but that’s something for another day.

In Book One of my Settlers Series, Mystic Mountains, I had my characters making the horrendous journey from Sydney to Bathurst in 1823 across what became known as the Blue Mountains, a journey that would take weeks instead of hours as today. At that time bullocks pulled the drays carrying the settlers’ belongings as well as the wool bales among other things. Of course horses went along on this journey, but the oxen were more sure-footed and reliable across rocky and unsafe territory.  

Horses pulled the various types of carriage, whether it be a two wheeled cart or a four wheeled carriage. The mail was delivered between colonies first by a horse rider and later by the mail coach, perhaps sometimes more reliable than the current postal deliveries. A man who was a’ courting would likely drive a one-horse jig or cart, its rate of splendidness depending on the owners standing in the society.

My mother was born before 1900 so would recall the horse drawn buses in London. I often wonder how she would cope with the traffic in this modern day and age. I find it depressing at times. Everyone is in such a hurry as they rush around in their huge four-wheel-drive vehicles which would have certainly made life a lot easier for the early settlers as they set out across unchartered territory. She hated motorbikes and it worked out that two of my early boyfriends owned one. Her warning as I left home to go jaunting with them was to ensure they did not speed while I was riding pillion.

I think I would have probably been better suited to those far off days, or perhaps not. No running water—especially hot when needed, would not sit well with me, or no proper sewerage system. But I could certainly cope with the idea of riding or driving a small buggy to the nearest store. In this current climate with the rising cost of fuel, who knows, perhaps we will eventually regress and return to horse transport.

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