The dramatic celebrations of the opening of Australia’s first viable mainline railway on 25th June, 1857 By mid-1856, the railway from Geelong to Melbourne was
‘Discomfort, is something that the pioneers of civilisation have always to bear for the benefit less of themselves than the after-comers.’ Argus, 1858 What conditions
Navigating Issues and Interests in Rails of Gold A non-fiction book is not, generally speaking a story, even though historians may imitate the sense of
In the winter of 1861, along the stretch of track between Woodend and Malmsbury, hundreds of railway workers put down their tools. Stonemasons, stone breakers,