The electric tram line from Batman Avenue in the city to
Warrigal Road (then Boundary Road) along Riversdale Road opened in 1917, built by the
Hawthorn Tramways Trust. The
Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board took over the line in 1920, and in 1928, extended the line a further two kilometres to
Wattle Park. With the increase in suburban development and tram use, in July 1928, the Board approved the acquisition of a number of properties on
Camberwell Road, west of
Camberwell Junction, in preparation for the construction of a new tram depot. A tender for £31,990 to construct the depot was accepted on 1 November 1928 by the MMTB, with the depot opening in December 1929. It was designed by the Board's chief architect, Alan G Monsborough in a restrained Georgian style. The opening of Camberwell depot ushered in a multitude of operational changes in the eastern part of the tram network, including extended hours of tramway operation. The routes using the depot eventually became primarily the
Route 70 and
75. Traffic lights were installed on Riversdale Road, at the entrance to Camberwell depot in 1948, to increase safety. The traffic lights were in response to a large number of near misses, and were activated by trams. When the
Public Transport Corporation was privatised in August 1999, Camberwell depot passed to
Yarra Trams. ==Layout ==