At its peak in 1937, the Ballarat tramway network was the largest in Australia operating outside one of the capital cities,[1] with 7 principal routes and more than 24 kilometres of track.

The six mile (9.7 km) standard gauge line ran from Sturt Street to the gardens and around Lake Wendouree.

[7] In November 1900, the Ballarat City Council gave permission to the British Insulated Wire Company Limited to build an electric tram network.

A bluestone power station was built at the corner of Ripon Street and Wendouree Parade in 1901 to provide the electricity supply.

[11] In 1936, the state government proposed to extend the Lydiard Street route to the Ballaarat New Cemetery and Ballarat North.

From 1962 onwards, the SECV and the Victorian government attempted to close the system but did not have the required parliamentary support in the Legislative Council.

After winning control of the Legislative Council in the 1970 election, the Bolte government had the numbers to close the tramways in both Ballarat and Bendigo.

In September 1971, a large contingent of the Ballarat population turned out to farewell the last trams after the government systematically shut down the network.

In May 1971 the Lake Wendouree Tramway Museum Committee began negotiating with the SECV to continue to maintain a section of track.

Proposed destinations include Ballarat railway station, Sovereign Hill, Lake Wendouree loop, Bridge Mall and Sturt Street.

[20] Submissions relating to the reinstatement of trams along Sturt Street during the City of Ballarat's CBD Strategy consultation in 2009.

The project had been costed at $70 million and deemed as too expensive and inflexible for the local council to maintain in the final report.

[21] The Sturt Street route proposal was dismissed by Ballarat MP and Regional Australia Minister Catherine King in the lead up to the 2013 Australian federal election, claiming that at a cost of $90 million, the project would be too expensive, indicating instead a preference to invest in local sporting facilities.

[22] Calls were renewed in August 2014 with news that a feasibility study would be undertaken to extend Bendigo's network.

[23] However, this proposal once again met with ambivalence from the council and members of parliament over issues such as the route and cost, and no commitment to a project was forthcoming.

At its peak, the Ballarat network included seven main routes some of which shared the same sections of track: The operation was mostly running recycled rolling stock from both Adelaide and Melbourne with a wide variety of tram models in service.