St Catherine's News
St Catherine's News

Winter 1996

On Thursday 25 May, Anzac Day, almost the whole of St Catherine’s went to Castlemaine, one way or another: by steam train from Spencer Street, by car … and a journalist or two by the Channel Nine helicopter, which flew above the train after Sunbury Station.

On Thursday 25 May, Anzac Day, almost the whole of St Catherine’s went to Castlemaine, one way or another: by steam train from Spencer Street, by car … and a journalist or two by the Channel Nine helicopter, which flew above the train after Sunbury Station.

The line wound through beautiful pastoral country, with poplars glowing gold in the autumn sun; along the embankments, train buffs were posted with cameras, binoculars and videos. For the statistically minded: this was the longest steam train in Victoria for 50 years and weighed a total of 710 tonnes. Currant buns and drinks were distributed by the Year 12’s, moving surefootedly up and down the rolling carriages. A quiz occupied the compartments, and our own escort, eight policemen from the Transit Division, kept a general eye on things.

Castlemaine practically came to a halt. A jazz band welcomed the train, which had to make two stops at the station in order to allow its 17 carriages of passengers – school girls, staff and families, Old Girls and the crew from Steam Train Victoria – to alight on the platform. Police cars fore and aft closed the main street as the throng moved up from the station to make a circuit of the town, coming back along Doveton Street to view rwo of the houses which sheltered the School in its early days.

On the Sunken Oval there was plenty of room for passengers too to let off steam with sporting entertainments and the Rotary food tent. On the official dais, the Principal and Chairman of Council Richard Green received a welcome from the Chief Commissioner of Mount Alexander Shire, Mosryn Thompson, and in turn presented a gift to the Shire: an original 1854 map of the township long believed lost by local historians and found by our Archives Committee among government archives.

Before long, it was time to tidy up and return to the station and a short wait while the train returned from turning around at Bendigo. Those up front near the waiting room could follow the Anzac Day AFL encounter between Essendon and Collingwood.

On the way home, bags of Castlemaine Rock packed by the P&FA were given out. On the stations coming in through the suburbs, Old Diggers festooned with medals informally saluted and people hung over their back fences and waved. The Barbreck carriages were full of sleeping children, who tottered on to the waiting buses at Spencer Street, and so home to bed.