Registres du personnel des compagnies des chemins de fer, Tasmanie, Australie, 1903 à 1977

About This Collection

The earliest railways in Tasmania were established by private companies, but those companies were largely unsuccessful and eventually Tasmania's railways were taken over and run by the Tasmanian Government. The Launceston and Western Railway Company began construction on Tasmania's first line in 1868. This line, between Deloraine and Launceston, opened in 1871, went bankrupt by 1872, and the Tasmania Government took over its operation in 1873. In 1876, the Tasmanian Main Line Company opened a line from Hobart to Evandale, which was soon after extended to connect with the Launceston and Western Railway line, and then extended to Devonport in 1885. In 1890, the Tasmanian Government bought the Tasmanian Main Line Company and created the Tasmanian Government Railways, which was absorbed into the Australian National Railways Commission in 1978 and renamed TasRail. TasRail was sold by the Tasmanian Government to the Australian Transport Network in 1997, then to Pacific National in 2004, and then back again to the Tasmanian Government in 2009. Today it is managed and owned by the state-run rail company, Tasmanian Railway Pty Ltd, though still known and traded as TasRail.

This collection consists of Railway Classification Lists of the Tasmanian Government Railway for the years 1903-1977. These lists were published annually in the Tasmanian Government Gazette from 1912 to 1977, and included the names of all employees of the railway. In addition, the lists typically provided the following details on each employee:

• Number
• Office
• Salary or other pay details
• Date of birth or age at last birthday
• Length of service
• Date appointed to present class or grade
• Classification of work (division and class)
• Maximum salary or wage of class or grade