South-East Asia and Australasia by Michael Frewston

Author:Michael Frewston [Frewston, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-04-19T04:00:00+00:00

Western Australia however was not devoid of Standard gauge railways in the State’s early years after the formation of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The newly formed federal government initiated the building of the trans-continental line between Port Augusta (in South Australia – see below) and Kalgoorlie, a distance of 1700 km. This line was the major inducement to get Western Australia to join the Commonwealth of Australia – almost exactly paralleling the Canadian federal government’s efforts to entice BC into staying in Confederation in 1871.

Notwithstanding that Western Australia’s railways west of Kalgoorlie were to 1067 mm gauge, as were those in South Australia east of Port Augusta, the decision was made to build this new link between east and west Australia to 1435 mm Standard gauge, as a direct result of Lord Kitchener’s scathing comments during his visit in 1911 (see above).

The line, opened in late 1911, and originally known as the Trans-Australian Railway, crosses the famous Nullarbor Plain, and holds the record of having the longest stretch of straight railway line in the world – 478 km without the merest hint of a bend. If nothing else, it is testament to the surveying skills of the original builders working under the direction of engineer Henry Deane.

At Kalgoorlie, the western terminus of the Trans-Australian line, there was of course a break of gauge as the line met up with the original 1067 mm gauge line from Perth. It would not be until 1970, as noted above, that Standard gauge trains would reach Perth.

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