Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Tim Fischer, NLA Publishing, $39.99.
“Steam locomotives were the workhorses of Australia’s railways for over 100 years. While the popular anecdote is that Australia rode to wealth on the sheep’s back, we should consider instead changing the analogy, as Australia rode to wealth behind the locomotives of our railways. “
In the foreword, Andrew Moritz, Chief Executive Officer of Transport Heritage NSW, says without the railways, the locomotives that operated on them and the men and women who worked them … none of that wealth and prosperity could have been created.
Many of us are familiar with Tim Fischer as a politician and diplomat, but may not be conversant with the fact that he’s also a train enthusiast. The former leader of the National Party, deputy prime minister and author, happily wrote a ‘bright and breezy narrative’ after being approached by the National Library of Australia. He found the photos to be “unique”. The chronicle runs alongside 300 photographs, many from the NLA’s Buckland Collection.
For more than seven decades, trains have been a line of continuity in the life of the former parliamentarian, army officer, farmer and probably Australia’s best-known ‘railfan’.
Tim’s dedication to trains stretches back to his boyhood growing up in the Riverina, going to school; travelling by train, of course. Noted as a tireless advocate for rail transport, Steam Australia is clearly researched and provides an absorbing insight into locomotives and their important part in shaping Australian history.
More than that, Fischer offers a convincing account of the ‘great tapestry of transport’ traversed by steam locomotives in this country. It details how the nation was stimulated by the economic growth steam trains delivered and shares the stories behind some famous named express trains hauled by steam locomotives over the years: Puffing Billy, Robert Gordon Menzies and The Ghan. There are also a number of captivating stories and awareness of some important characters.
Steam Australia is a beautifully presented book and an insightful contribution to a fascinating story of the development of Australia’s railways, the locomotives that operated and the way they impacted on our social history and development.
