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\ THE FIRST TRAIN
Another Link Forged Between the States
!
OFFICIAL OPENING CEREMONIES
(By our Sjfecial Representative.)
BRISBANE, Saturday.
Airiidst a deafening, but joyous clamour of train whistles, motor horns and
cheei'ing crowds, and with enthusiasm at fever pitch, the first express train from
Sydney over the new line from Kyogle to South Brisbane, pulled in at South Bris
bane on schedule time of 4.30 this afternoon. The scene along the last ten miles
of the trip will live in the memery of those who were privileged to witness it. It
seemed as if the long pent up feelings of the Queensland people had. found ex
pression in what was fittingly referred to later on by the Premier (Mr. A. E. Moore)
as the breaking down of a barrier between two communities that had much in
common and who had hitherto, through want of railway connection ©n a uniform
gauge, been debarred from the full privilege of trading with their natural market
IflfY anrl r» rv
UiAVi k/uj XlJlg V>Ot
Speeding into Kyogle shortly before,
one o 'clock this afternoon, the ei/gine,
gaily bedecked with ribbons, passed
through a crowd of school children,
who held the ends of ribbons that
stretched across the line near the sta
tion, and came to a stand between
•crowds on either side of the platform.
Every vantage point was availed of
by those who could not«gct near the
platform.
Probably no train that has run be
tween the two capital cities has carried
such a distinguished number of public
men—Commonwealth ministers and
ministers of the two State Govern
ments, members of the Commonwealth
Parliament, and Dr. Etarle Page, ex
Commonwealth Treasurer. J .
CIVIC WELCOME
The citizens' band played "Advance
■ Australia Fair" and other • patriotic
none Help
THE TRAIN ARRIVING AT KYOGLE STATION
pieces as the train steamed into and
out of tlie station at Ky ogle. A civic
welcome was tendered the Ministerial
parties and the Commissioners by the
shire council president (Or. ii. J.
Moore), who said that'on all hands
there .was rejoicing at the arrival of
the first train from Sydney at J£yogle
on'its way to Brisbane. He" i'elt sure,
that the visitors would appreciate the
fine district they were passing through
and would be able to visualise the de
velopment that would follow the open
ing of the line. ©
Mr. Porde, assistant Minister for
Transport and Markets, in a brief re
sponse, said that he eould center fully
into the rejoicings of the people all
along the line ;on the consummation of
their railway connection on the uniform
gauge system. He commended the
, railways to the support of everyone
in the State. There was never a time,
ho said, when there was need" for" the
citizens to rally round their own rail
ways and help them successfully
through the time of . depression that
they were experiencing.
Mr. E. T. Ball, N.S.W. Minister for
Lands, said that he was especially
pleased to be .associated twith the
opening of the line as he was the Min
ister who piloted the enabling bill
through the House when the" construc
tion of the line was authorised. He
was delighted with the country they
had passed through that day, and hoped
that a new era of prosperity wo.ul'i
' come about coincident with the open
ing of the line.
UNDER THE RANGES
Steaming out of Kyogle station at
1.20, the train ran through the tun
nel under .McPherson's ranges, '29
miles from Kyogle, in less than au
hour. All the passengers, including the
Federal Commissioner : .for , Railways
(Mr. Gahan), were intensely interested
as the spiral section of the tunnel was
being negotiated. It was evident that
the experience was unique for some of
them, and it. seemed incredible when
looking back from the higher grade
that had been ascended that the train
'had negotiated the lower grade also.
The rugged mountain scenery in he
region of the tunnel, especially on the
Queensland side, was the subject of
admiration. As . the train raced to
wards Brisbane, erowds lined, the
banks of cuttings and cheered lustily.
At village settlements and at the big-"
ger centres of population the enthus
iasm was intensified. At Bromelton,
The Risk station on the New South Wales side cf the "border, to which all Upper Richmond and Upper Clarencei traffic from Woodenhong and Urhsn ville "will come. ■ - Help
The Risk station on the New South Wales side cf the "border, to which all
Upper Richmond and Upper Clarencei traffic from Woodenhong and Urhsn
ville "will come. ■ -
| tlie train pulled up to take in water
and the waiting crowd rushed- along
side the carriages and wanted to shake
hands with a7I the passengers. •. After
iruruiiga-Piliey was reached the crowds
grew greater. Tennis players, cricket
ers. and goliers forsook their recrea
tions and waved hats and cheered.
Good. natureti laughter greeted th:j
"wee trains" on the narrow gauge
railway from Kathdowney which was
passed, chugging merrily along under
the power of its Thorneycroft engine.
Scores of high-powered motor cars
had come out to meet the train in the
distant suburbs^ and with joyous toot
ing of horns 0raced parallel with it to
the South Brisbane station, where an
enormous crowd greeted its arrival.
MEMORABLE EVENT
Everyone with a camera seemed de
sirous of obtaining photographs ?is a
treasured souvenir of; a great event in.
the history1 of railway construction in
the two States. Assembled 011 tlxe
dais on the platform were the Premier
of Queensland (Mr. A. E. Moore) and
Mrs. Moore and members of his Cabinet
colleagues. In the unavoidable absence
of Mrs. Forde (wife of the Acting
Minister for .Markets and Transport),
Mrs. Moore cut the ribbon across the
line j.ust short . of where the train
should pull up on ordinary trips, and
Mr. Forde then mounted the engine
cab a,nd drove the train to the end of
the platform in Melbourne-street. The
band struck up ' ' Advance Australia
Fair" as the train began to move
under the Minister's guidance, and a
great outburst of cheers signalised
the application of the brakes and the
arrival at its destination of the first
train on the new line.
The formal proceedings of having
the line officially declared open were
held in the cloak room under the
station buildiaig. Every part of the
big room was crowded. A big sprink
ling of North Coast people from-New
South Wales was seen in the assemb
lage. On the platform were Mr.
Galian (Commissioner for Federal
Railways) who acted as chairman, Mr.
W. J. Cleary, Chief Commissioner for
Railways, N.S.W.; Mr. Davidson,
Queensland; Mr. Forde, acting
Minister for Transport and Markets;
I>r. Earle Page and J. G. Bailey,
M's.H.R.; Mr. R. T. Ball, Minister for
Lands, N.S.W.; the Premier of
Queensland (Mr. A. E. Moore) and
Cabinet Ministers and a number of
officials connected with the railways,
including Mr. Quinton, Northern Area
commissioner, N.S.W., and the con
structional engineering staff of both
[States.
! EPOCH IN CONSTRUCTION
Mr. Gahan said that without making
a set speech he wanted to say how
much he had appreciated the trip that
day on the first train to come through
on the first section of the uniform
j gauge line. He could easily realise
the difficulties that had to be over
come before the rugged country near
the border on both sides had been
successfully graded and made safe for
an express - railway service. The
public had been kept well in touch
with the work of building the line as
it progressed and were .lastly entitled
to look upon the running 6f the
train Ithat. day as an epoch in railway
■ construction.
Mr. Forde, before declaring the line
officially opened, said that he re
gretted that Mrs. Fordo had been
unable to attend to cut the ribbons
that/would enable the train to pull
into the station, but he was pleased
that Mrs. Moore, wife of the Premier
of Queensland, had been willing to
perform the ceremony on behalf of
Mrs. Forde. i He said that in the
future historical records of the Com
monwealth the event , they were cele
brating that day would be written
down as one of the most vital im
portance. It would go down in liistory
as' the first step in what must ultim
ately be the complete unification of
the trunk lines between the whole of
the States of the Commonwealth.
REAL PROGRESS.
Recalling the long period over which
negotiations had spread before the
agreement was arrived at to construct
the line, Mr. Forde said that real
progress was always slow. He > men
tioned that it was just 105 y.ears that
day since the first train ran between
Scotland and Carlingford and that for
many years prior to that, George
Stephenson- had unavailirigly been
trying to convince ,a sceptical world
that a-train' could be safely ruji by
steam. It was some compensation to
this great benefactor to humanity
that he afterwards came into his own
and received the honours due to his
name and memory. Stephenson,
through the successful invention of
the railway engine had altered the
Avhole course of history. The loco
motive had always stood for progress
and still1 led and pointed in that
direction, i
Mr/ Forde traced the history of the
negotiations between the Common
wealth and the States in connection
witlx the: construction of the line.
Although the ultimate goal—a' uni
form gaug6" line right through to
Western Australia—may . still be 0 a
long way off, it must come, in the
interests of national progress and
safety. They could feel encouraged
by the fact that the line opened that
I
THE TRAIN ARRIVING AT KYOGLE STATION Loco, works at Yeerongpilly, seven miles from South Brisbane, where the line meets Queensland's railway system and runs parallel with the Tweed Heads line to South Brisbane station. Help
Loco, works at Yeerongpilly, seven miles from South Brisbane, where the
line meets Queensland's railway system and runs parallel with the Tweed
Heads line to South Brisbane station.
clay represented not only the section
between Kyogle and South Brisbane,
but a long section of-rebuilt line from
Grafton to Kyogle.
OVER £4,000,000
The total cost of the whole work
was & 4,420,000. The increase over
the estimated cost was due to the
rough nature of a big section of the
country and also to the delays -and
extra.work caused by the heavy rain
fall during a portion of the time
occupied by the work. / It was a
matter for congratulation, said the
Minister, that the whole of the 801b.
steel rails used on the line had been
made.in New Smith Wales from iron
ore, the best in the world, that had
been mined in South Australia. The
sleepers used were ne;vn from 4 their
own splendid hardwoods. The whole
work as it stood completed, reflected
the greatest credit on the Railway
Commissioners who had formed the
Railway Council, upon the engineers
who had devised and carried out the
difficult engineering feats, especially
the spiral section of the tunnel
through which tlicy had passed, and
last but. not least, on the > splendid
workers who had toiled in all
weathers to complete +he work and to
provide railway connection between
the first and third great citics of the
Commonwealth, o \ ■
Touching on the immediate benefits
that were likely to follow the opening
of the line, Mr. Iforde said that rail
way journeys to be pleasant must not
be too long and tedious. In this re
spect a paving of six hours from Syd
ney to Brisbane • ought to make the
trip more attractive to the tourists
than the trip on the tableland' line.
PERISHABLE GOODS
With regard to the carriage of per
ishable products, Mr, JForde said that
under the old system' of having" to
shift the fruit on the trains at Wal-'
langarra and Alburj1-, the bananas
from Queensland, which were of ex
cellent quality when consigned at
Brisbane, were hardly fit for consump
tion very often when they reached
southern markets. Allowance was not
made ; by' consumers for the damage
caused in the journey down. Now,
however, that disability had been re
moved by the opening-of the line and
Queensland bananas and other fruits
would reach the markets in a saleable
condition.
: Mr. Forde went on to say that there
had beea a great expansion in the
fruit export trade from Queensland
arid as many a3 10 trains reached Wal
langarra station each week in the busy
times. There would now be further ex
pansion with , the better transport
facilities provided. ,
Referring to the chilled meat trade,
Mr. Forde said • that Queensland was
greatly interested in this trade as she
owned half the cattle of the Common
wealth. There was a big demand for
-this meat. Owing to the development
flinf. was cniTur tn take nlace in the
Glen App, the first station on the Queensland side of the border. Help
Glen App, the first station on the Queensland side of the border.
carrying of fruit, chilled; meat ancl
tropical products from tlie northern
State the line, would be of more im-.
portahcQ to Queensland than to N.S.
Wales, more especially to the southern
hinterland, of Queensland. The dis
tricts Scross the border in N.S.W.
would have almost a suburban train
service and "would reap great benefits
by having quick transport facilities
with their natural markets. '
KYOGLE DISiTUICT
Commenting upon the .Kyogle dis
trict Mr. Forde' said that he had^een
nothing better in any part of the world
than the rich dairying and farming
lands that they had passed through
that day". The scenery was magnifi
cent. It would be a good slogan for, the
railways to adopt. "See your own
country and scenery first" and "Do
pot take money out of Australia for
the sake of seeing inferior scenery
than that we »haye at home.'1 He.
said that a party- of Australian tour
ists who had travelled all over , the
world admitted when ' travelling
through Queensland after their return
that they' had not' seen any scenery
equal to the Barwon falls and the I
panoramic beauties of the country be
tween Cairns and Brisbane.
■' Concluding, Mr. Forde said that the
o
■whole of the Australian railways were
in a bad way just now. Motor trans
port and aviation competition had
bee'- partly responsible and there were
other factors. The financial pulse of
the States was reflected in the deficits
in the railway revenues which totalled
almost the amount of the deficits in
each State. Still, a spirit of pessim
ism or of restricted outlay by men
who had means; of helping by going
ahead with ^buildings and reproductive
works was not going to help them
through.; There was only one thing
that would get them out of their dif
ficulties and that was the exhibition
of the same spirit that sent. men to
fight in the war and the spirit that
enabled the pioneering settlers and
statesmen to overcome similar diffi
culties in days gone by. That spirit
would pull them through. Pessimistic
ARRIVAL OF THE SYDNEY-BK, "SBA2TE TRAIN" AT CASINO. Hundreds of people participated in the welcome there on Saturday. Help
ARRIVAL OF THE SYDNEY-BK, "SBA2TE TRAIN" AT CASINO.
Hundreds of people participated in the welcome there on Saturday.
utterances would onlj discourage
tliem and leave statesmen less fitted
for the task set them. Mr. Forde then
declared the line open amidst cheer
ing. .
| A FRIENDLY GESTURE
Mr. A. E. Mooro said that as head
of the Queensland Government, he
joined in heartily with all the rejoic
ings* of the day in connection with
the opening of this section of the uni
form gauge line or ;railway. The
opening of ^the line represented a
friendly gestuie from the people of
the two States who had much in com
mon and everything to gain" by be
ing brought ^into closer relationship,
both in a business and social sense.
The opening of the- line was more
than a cause for rejoicing on the
part of the two States; it was a Com
monwealth matter and must iiltimate
Jy lead to the completion of the
whole scheme of unification.
Mr. Moore reftried to the adoption
of tHe 3ft. 6in. railway" gauge by the
early Governments in Queensland as
part of a policy "that meant that it
was better for' the people to . liave
100.0 milos of narrow gauge lines than
to have only 100 miles-of the broader
gauge railways. The- policy served
the State well, but could be seen to
day as having been narrow in. its out
let from a national point of view.
Although it was admitted that thu
opening of the. line would mean; a
probable loss of a large amount of
revenue to the Queensland Railway
Commissioners, he felt sure that the
compensating advantage would moro
than balance this loss.
\ NEAREST MARKETS
Mr. Ball said that he had been
proud to have been associated with
the policy of allowing Victoria to
build railways into N.S.W. on the
southern border and this had resulted
in three or four such lines and tho
bridge over ^he Murray ; Kiveiv He
had to concede to every part of the
State the right for its producers to
send their produce to the nearest and
best market in tho most efficient
Snapshot taken from South Brisbane railway station. This suburb presents an attractive picture with its pretty tree-clad slopes, amidst' which the houses nestle. Help
Snapshot taken from South Brisbane railway station. This suburb presents
an attractive picture with its pretty tree-clad slopes, amidst' which the
houses nestle.
maimer and the lowest transport
costs. He had tried to hurry on
the completion of the uniform railway
gauge system by advocating the con
struction of such a line by the Com
monwealth GrO'Vernment from Port
Augusta to Broken; Hill at a cost" ^f
a mere fraction of a line from Bris
•bane to Perth. -
Mr. J. G. Bailey, said
he was -pleased to join with Mr.
Forde in congratulating all concerned
in the construction of the line upon
its successful completion. "The
event was too near to be properly ap
preciated. 'Future generations would
appraise its importance more correct
ly.
Amongst the jiassengers on the train
were a number of well-known public
men from Casino and Kyogle, who
were shown over the town hall by the
Lord Mayor (Aid. Jolly)-.
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