I was travelling to a banned destination with an A-list researcher yesterday
(ie he is A list, researching other topics; he is not researching A lists),
and asked about famous visitors from the past who may have commented about
Melbourne's trams. He provided the link to this gem.

'Three years in Melbourne', by Clara Aspinall, published in 1862. She
dedicated the book to her brother in Australia, who had provided the
hospitality for her extended stay.
She counted as a wealthy tourist, and saw a great deal of the upper end of
Melbourne. She wrote comments about many aspects of life, and these formed
the basis of the book.
She was too early for the first horse tram (early 1880s, only just ahead of
the first cable tram), but she made several comments (favourable) about
horse buses, particularly on p122 & 123.
She also noticed that suburban railways had arrived.
Her visit ran from Mar.1858, so she must have left just before the
government railway reached Ballarat and Bendigo. She made no comment about
travelling on mainline railways (Geelong was a prospect). She used Cobb &
Co for her Bendigo foray during a Castlemaine stay, and must have used Cobb
to Avoca.

The whole is available online from State Library of Victoria, Image vp0993
www.slv.vic.gov.au/vicpamphlets/inter/27969.shtml

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor