Tuesday, Jan 10, 2017 at 14:33
Hi Warrie
Yes they are both very special feats but there are a few big differences that set them apart. Is there going to be any celebration to commemorate the 75th Anniversary, if so can you please fill us all in, as it would be a great event to be part of.
Post WW 11 there was a large push to get immigrants from war torn Europe to increase the Australian
population and it was was through those incredible people that got the Snowy Scheme got off of the ground and it was a credit to the Engineering feats that saw it complete to the way it is now.
The Joining of the Rails on the other hand was to me far more important for many reasons and was of benefit to the whole
young Nation of Australia, and not just New South Wales like the Snowy Scheme.
We have to all remember that prior to the 17th October 1917, the only way to get any goods or
services to the other side of Australia, namely Western Australia was by sea via the steam ships and sail vessels that were still in the waters, or by camel teams, or on foot, as there were still to commercial Air
services and rail was just non existant.
1917 was in the peak of the Great War, and saw many active
young men and boys slogging it out in pure hell on the Western Front, with tens of thousand never ever coming
home to their
home lands, leaving limited men to do the very hard manual work of erecting this new rail link across South Australia and Western Australia.
As I stated above, both are very special in their own right, but the 17th October 1917 saw the Nation linked for the very first time in living history and never had the more modern equipment as used 32 years later, nor the man power.
If you can, try to get over to this very special event, as that to me this is such a very special National Event.
Cheers and all the Best for 2017
Stephen
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