Last changed 1 March 2022
Notes on 1928 railway survey
Background
Durack M.P. 1927. The Development of Northern Australia. The Pastoral Review (February
16,
1927),127- * Vol. 23, no. 1 (Jan. 15, 1913)-v. 45, no. 9 (Sept. 16,
1935) * NLA call no. N 338.1 PAS
p.128a:
Starting on the western side, I would suggest a railway running out
from Broome eastward, keeping on the southern side of the Fitzroy
River... passing through Gordon Downs in the Territory proper,
thence
on to Powell's Creek, joining a line already suggested through the
Barkly Tableland somewhere in the vicinity of Anthony's Lagoon...
p.128b:
Recent investigations arising out of prospecting south and
south-east
of Tanami indicate that there is a large area of good pastoral
country
with water at shallow depths extending to the north-south telegraph
line, with like possibility of rich mineral deposits.
Official records
National Archives of Australia. CRS F20, item 62, Railway Survey
(Trial) to W.A. Border, North Australia Commission, Correspondence
file, single number series.
NTAC 1976/232, various survey tracings.
CRS B300, Commonwealth Railways correspondence files, single number
series, 1913- ; file No.CR 6998.
The 1928 railway survey line "Frews Ironstone Ponds to The W.A.
Border"
crossed the Murranji stock route from north-east to south-west.
316 miles 70 chains
This survey was begun in May and completed on 5 November 1928.
Although estimates were prepared (9 October 1930, Commonwealth
Railways
to Railway Department, North Australia), nothing further came of the
proposal.
Inspecting Surveyor Chas R McKellar
Surveyor AM Nash
Assnt DE Lindsay
Field-Asst GEH Suckling
Chainman Thomas Sinclair
Motor Mechanics
C James
K Kitely
AG Johnson
W Dwyer
Cook G Keen
Field Hands
ET Erskine
T McGrath
R Moon
E Bryant
[p.c. Darrell Lewis, 28/11/91:]
NT Archives
Dept Lands, Lands Admin Branch, Correspondence files.
F5 P134 Peacock, S. Tracings, Murranji.
Surveyor Scandrett made map of Murranji, Feb. 1914 -- sent to
Superintendent of Railways, Melbourne -- to be copied and sent to
Peacock [contractor who put in bores along stock route, 1918-24]
F5 R251 Railway plans west of Newcastle Waters.
Map of country west of Newcastle Waters, including west end of
Murranji, sent to Commissioner for Railways, Melbourne, late 1927 or
early 1928. ["sun prints", 1 mile to the inch]
Later use
The survey line was followed 101½ miles south-west from where it
crossed the Murranji Track at the 38 mile peg by the
Thornycroft expedition (under Constable Murray) to the
'Kookaburra' site and recovered the
bodies of Anderson and Hitchcock in 1929.
Berg, W.N. 1929?. The story of the Thornycroft expedition to the
centre of Australia. May-June 1929. 16pp. [Daily Guardian
pamphlet] https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/22057121
The route south-west from No. 10 Bore on the Murranji was also said
to
have been followed in 1955 by prospectors
Sid Tennyson, Wason Byers,
and Eric Emil Ostatshenco.
To Karlantijpa page
© 2005
David
Nash
Created 15 July 2005
Modified 1 March 2022
URL http://www.anu.edu.au/linguistics/nash/kt/1928-railway.html