Clydesdale who pulled historic horse-drawn tram remembered as gentle giant

In short:

One of the horses that pulls the Victor Harbor Horse-Drawn Tram has died.

Albert, an 18-year-old Clydesdale, became unwell last Friday and died Saturday morning.

What's next?

The horse-drawn tram will continue to operate as normal as Albert is remembered.

One of the Clydesdales of the Victor Harbor Horse-Drawn Tram has died after a short illness.

In a statement released yesterday, the staff of the Victor Harbor Tramway said Albert, an 18-year-old strawberry roan gelding, had died on Saturday after becoming ill on Friday.

Veterinarians have confirmed that tumours were the cause of his illness and death.

Albert had been part of the team that pulls the historic horse-drawn tram from Victor Harbor to Granite Island for 13 years.

At 17.3 hands high he was one of the tallest members of the tramway's herd and was often used to help train new horses and drivers due to his calm nature.

Meg Whibley, general manager of the Victor Harbour Horse Drawn Tram Authority, said Albert was her "go-to" horse when it came to training new staff.

"He was very forgiving," she said.

"We just trusted him in so many ways."

Albert is also being remembered for his unique personality.

Unlike most of the team, he disliked wearing blinkers, preferring to see everything around him as he made the 650-metre causeway crossing between Victor Harbor and Granite Island.

However, he always regarded fishermen along the causeway and their rods and buckets with suspicion.

"He'd just look as if to say, 'No we need to get past here,'" said Britt Jablonski, the tramway's head trainer.

Albert was named after the nearby Lake Albert and was described as being best friends with fellow tramway horse Murray, the two often seen grazing and sharing hay together in the tramway's large paddocks just outside of Victor Harbor.

Ms Whibley said since Albert's death Murray had been getting special attention and had been paired up with another of the authority's horses so he did not get too lonely.

The community has been asked to be mindful of the impact of Albert's death on the staff and volunteers of the tramway.

It comes after a difficult period for the tramway, after it was forced to stop running because of a mystery flu-like illness in some of its other horses in April and May and reduced income in recent years, due to the impact of South Australia's algal bloom.