11 April 1935

WHEN SOUTH AUSTRALIA TRIED TO SELL ITS RAILWAYS 

No Satisfactory Offers Received

The record of railways in Australia since the War has not been a particularly satisfactory one, financially— a fact that the present controversy between the Commonwealth and South Australian Governments regarding the construction of the Red Hill-Port Augusta line has but served to emphasise. There was a time, however, when the railways of all the States more than paid their way. 

It will therefore be news to many persons that the South Australian Government at one time tried, without success, for more than a year to sell or lease its lines. That was in 1865, nine years after the first line had been opened for traffic. 

The railways were showing a profit at the time, and the officer in charge of them was opposed to the Government parting with them. Ultimately the Government decided to retain them, mainly because it could not obtain what was considered a satisfactory offer for them. 

The following announcement in the 'Government Gazette' in February, 1865, gives the Government's attitude at that time:— 'Notice is hereby given that tenders will be received until 19th August next from parties willing to purchase the lines of railway in South Australia from Adelaide to the Port, and from Adelaide to Kapunda.' It was signed by W. Milne, Commissioner of Railways, and issued from the Public Works Office.  At that time those two lines were the only steam operated railways in the State. 

The estimated cost of works, permanent way, stations, and rolling stocks was £775,000 for 56 miles of line. In 1864, the advertisement sets out, the profit on the Port Adelaide line was £29,653 15/4. more than double that of 1861. 

The revenue under the heading 'passengers, parcels, dogs, &c.' amounted to £34,478 16/2. The goods traffic on the lines was handled by contractors, and from all reports it was a most profitable under taking.

A special Act of Parliament (Act 15 of 1864) had been passed to enable the railways to be sold, and no question of the legality of the sale was raised. The advertisement said that the purchaser would have the 'same powers as the Commissioner of Railways by virtue of Acts which vested power in him.' The permanent way and stations could be taken over on payment of 20 per cent, of the purchase price; the remainder to be paid within 10 years, with 6 per cent. interest. Engines, spare parts, tools, machinery in shops, and rolling stock were to be bought at valuation. Half of the cash for them had to be found when the agreement was signed and the other half within 12 months. The telegraph services between stations 'could be either purchased or rented.' 

At that time there were only four stations on the Port line besides Adelaide. They were Bowden and Hindmarsh, Woodville, Alberton, and Port Adelaide. The Adelaide station had 12 rooms, 'a massive porticoed verandah,' and a 'bell tower rising from the roof, with a good clock striking the hours.' It had one main line, and two goods tracks. 

The only other large station was at Port Adelaide, where there were 'one large booking office, 35 ft. by 18 ft.; one general waiting room 15 ft. by 19 ft.; one stationmaster's office, 14 ft. by 11 ft.; one ticket clerk's office. 14 ft. by 15 ft., and a stationmaster's residence of five good rooms.' Among the facilities for handling goods traffic were 'two cranes of two tons lift, and one of Walley's patent weighbridges, capable of weighing 20 tons at once accurately.' 

The list of rolling stock was given as follows:— 30 stone waggons, old and much worn; 50 goods, ditto, old; 49 ditto, ditto; 31 ditto, new; 40 covered vans, old; 26 ditto; 1 ditto, new pattern; 9 timber trucks, 6 stockade waggons; 2 horse boxes; 2 break (sic) vans; 20 coal waggons, iron; and a number of others of varying types.' There were two first class carriages, seven seconds, three thirds, six composite ones; and one saloon. Of the 13 engines, there were three Fairbairn's, eight Stephenson's, and two Slaughter and Gruning's. 

Although the State had spent £758,000 on its railways, and considered that they had not depreciated, the best offer was £322,500, received from J. T. Bagot and H. R. Fuller. The offer was much below what had been expected and the inspector of Railways, in reporting to the Commissioner of Public Works, advised that the State should retain them, not so that the State could develop itself through railways, but so that it could take all the profits which railways appeared certain to make. 

'In view of the increased plant and the new line (3½ miles of which has been relaid), he reported, 'and the fact that the whole line has not deteriorated since its opening in 1860, when it cost £758,000, with the exception of the Gawler and Light bridges (wooden), for which, if we deduct, say, £8,000, the worth would be £750,000, at which price I should put it, and at which price I think, at the present time, it would be difficult to replace it.' 

He admitted that 'the railways might be more advantageously worked by a mercantile company than by the Government,' but thought that the Government should retain them on account of the wealth they were likely to bring in. 

'If my ideas are right (and I think they will be realised),' his report stated, 'the Government which now gets 3 per cent, will receive 6 per cent., leaving the railways without cost to the colony, and shortly, I think, to return interest on the original outlay.' This is but one optimistic prophecy which has not been realised. 

When they found that they could not sell the railways at what they considered a satisfactory price, the authorities called for tenders to lease them— 'Tenders will be received until noon on the 15th October next for leasing the Government railways in the event of the same not being sold in terms of the advertisement of February 23, 1865.' 

Various other stipulations were made, so that the Railways Commissioner had the right of entry into all railway buildings, and had some control. Henry Hill & Co. offered to continue with the handling of the goods traffic at freights 15 per cent, higher than previously. 

After much argument, this plan was accepted. Three offers ranging from £15,000 to £16,000 a year, were made by persons willing to lease the railways. They were all declined, as was also a further offer to buy them, made in March, 1866. 

Despite efforts to dispose of them extending over more than a year, the Government ultimately decided to retain them. Whether that decision was a wise one or not has been the subject of keen debate ever since, and probably will continue to be one for many years to come.— C.V.H.

A Shattered Dream

At the beginning of the century several attempts to establish telephonic communication between Victoria and Tasmania were made by means of the newly laid cables, none of which met with any success. However, towards the end of 1901 an elderly man, whom we shall call Mr. X, intimated to the postal authorities in Melbourne that, if granted the facilities, he was positive that his experiments would prove successful. 

The PM.G.'s Department, much impressed by the old man's story, approached the cable authorities to ascertain whether the cable could be made available for the test. Permission was readily given, and Mr. X, rightly delighted, departed at once for Flinders, where the cable station was situated. 

The cable company gave Mr. X every assistance, and on the following Sunday, when the cable was closed for regular traffic, placed all the necessary resistance boxes, condensers, and other instruments at his disposal at both ends of the cable. 

It took Mr. X two or three hours to get everything into position, and the office was so upside down that it seemed as though it had been struck by an earthquake.  Georgetown eventually reported 'All O.K.' for the experiment; the crossover was made to the telephones, and the scene was finally set for the great event. 

Now one of the cable probationers, Chester by name, was very keen on playing practical jokes, and, sensing a golden opportunity for one on this occasion, secreted himself behind a door, which was adjacent to the telephone, and awaited events. 

Mr. X, after making necessary adjustments, approached the telephone, quivering with excitement. Placing the receiver to his ear he spoke tremulously into the mouthpiece. 

'Are you there, Georgetown?' he piped. 'Yes, Flinders,' whispered Chester from his hiding place. The old man. thrilled beyond words, did a war dance round the office, shouting, 'I've got them! I've got them!' and then dashed back to the telephone. 

'Can you speak a little louder?' he cried out, his voice quivering with emotion. Chester increased his volume a trifle. 'Still louder, if possible,' almost shrieked the old man into the telephone. 

'Hello, Flinders,' yelled back Chester, walking out from behind the door. It was a cruel joke, and the old fellow's face was pitiful to see. Gathering up his few belongings, he dashed out of the office, his hopes so brutally shattered, leaving us to replace everything. That was the last we saw of him. 

He at least always had the satisfaction of knowing that where he had failed, no one else ever succeeded. — 'Corstep.'

Knew Its Master Was Returning 

When the War broke out in 1914 my brother, who was working on a farm about 30 miles from Adelaide, had an aged Cairns terrier, of which he was very fond. 

When he enlisted he brought the dog to our home, about 14 miles from the farm on which he had been working. The dog soon settled down in its new quarters, and seemed quite contented. 

My brother was in camp several months before he left for the front. He had been gone several months when one day we discovered that the dog was missing. 

A few days later, however, we received word from the farm where my brother had worked that it had returned there, and that it would be looked after. 

My brother was absent from Australia for about three years, during which time the dog remained at the farm. Being badly wounded in 1917, my brother was sent back to Australia. Within two weeks of his landing at the Outer Harbor we received a letter from the farm, stating that the dog had disappeared. We were very distressed at the news, knowing how fond my brother was of it. 

Consequently we were overjoyed when two days later the terrier turned up at our home again, where it was waiting to welcome my brother on his return home a week or so later. — 'Sister Sue.'

Fight In Council Chamber 

It is a rare occurrence for a fight to take place in a council chamber, but such, an event happened in a country town in South Australia some years ago. 

The mayor, who was unpopular with some of the members of the council, had occasion to leave the town for a week. During his absence one of the councillors circulated the canard that he was in gaol.

When the mayor returned he called a council meeting. The ratepayers mustered that night in great force, expecting some fun, and they were not disappointed. 

The mayor stood up and said, 'I am sorry to have to address you as gentlemen; but which cur among you said I had been in gaol?' At his question pandemonium broke out, and he was unable to restore order.

He then ordered the public to leave the building, and told the clerk to lock the door and hand him the key. The clerk refused to do so, therefore the mayor locked it himself, and put the key in his pocket. 'I'll get the right one, for I'm going to punch the lot of you,' he shouted. 

One elderly councillor made a dart for the door, but he was promptly knocked down. Two of the other councillors leaped through the window. The next day the mayor was fined for riotous behavior. He remarked in the court that it was the only way he could get even.— A.D.

Working In His Sleep

An old miner told me the following story, which he said was perfectly true. One of his workmates, whom we will call Hawke, had a bad habit of becoming drowsy on night shift. 

"He was particularly bad during the week in question, as in the day time, when he should have been getting his rest, he was hard at work building a house. On shift he was holding the drill while his companion did the striking, but every three or four blows his head would sink low, and only a heavy knock above his head with the hammer could bring him to his senses.

Eventually he was changed to the hand-fan which forced air by means of pipes from the shaft head to the tunnels. This could be manipulated only by hand, and had to be kept in constant operation, other wise the men below would, have to breathe bad air. The man on this job was usually left by himself, consequently his task was an onerous one. 

At 'change over' Hawke was still going strong, and when the air continued to flow freely everyone took it for granted that he had himself well in hand. Imagine their amazement and, incidentally, their amusement when they knocked off to find the fan still going with Hawke sound asleep, but turning the handle with the regularity of a piece of clockwork.— A.B. 

Took His "Cell" With Him 

In the late nineties, while a police station was being built up north, all persons arrested were chained to a large log in the police paddock. This temporary gaol proved quite satisfactory until one day a powerful prisoner upset the arrangement. He had been arrested for causing a disturbance, and was accordingly chained to the log. 

Shortly afterwards the officer in charge of the police station went down to the township, and came out of the local store a few minute later to see his burly prisoner marching into the hotel carrying the log on his shoulder. 

The constable arrived at the hotel in time to hear his escaped prisoner call for drinks all round. It took ten men all their time  to get him back to the police yard; where he was then chained to a post as well as the log.— F.G.