Historical information
Carrol Preston has used newspaper references from 1877 through to 1917, to document the history of the Orbost - Bairnsdael railway line.. It starts with the lobbying and jockeying, and moves through to the opening in 1916. The title is a reference to plans to further extend the railway beyond Orbost - but "The Iron Horse stopped at Orbost Railway Station".
Most articles are from the Snowy River Mail and Bairnsdale Advertiser. All newspaper articles are dated and sourced.
About 1912 work began at Newmerella on clearing the track for the railway line from Bairnsdale to Orbost. A canvas town sprang up on the higher land adjacent to the river flats. Local farmers supplied meat, milk and fresh produce to the camp, as well as gaining employment carting and labouring. The line opened in 1916, the Orbost railway station being built on the Newmerella side of the river.
Significance
This item is associated with the history of the Orbost-Bairnsdale railway line and therefore reflects the role that the rail line played in the social and economic history of Orbost.
On April 10 1916, the first scheduled train service left Orbost for Bairnsdale. The Bairnsdale-Orbost railway was opened to serve the agricultural and timber industries.
This book has been compiled by a local historian.
Physical description
A spiral bound book titled, "The Iron Horse Stopped at Orbost Railway Station". The cover is blue / green with the title in black and red print. Underneath is a railway track leading to the bottom of the page. The book is 110 pages, A4 size and contains maps and photos.
Inscriptions & markings
in black print on cover - "The Iron Horse Stopped at Orbost Railway Station ; The newspaper story of the eventual construction of the ORBOST RAILWAY LINE (in red print); Compiled and produced by CARROL PRESTON (in white print)
