This is a must-read for anyone interested in Railways of the world.
The Robinvale to Lette railway is one that is rarely written about. Perhaps that’s because there was a certain feeling of shame and failure regarding this line. Hundreds of thousands of pounds were spent on a line that never opened.
Servicemen and migrants who were promised community and farming sustainability, were left to walk away from the land over which they toiled. A century on, just their ghosts are heard talking through the few documents which recorded their voices and thoughts. Long forgotten documents which are most often gathering dust in libraries.
In writing this book, Sophia and Ian Dodd have been careful to present the known facts and interpretations from credible sources of the time. This book is not a definitive history of the line, but rather an analysis of the known facts and a rationale as to why the branch never officially opened.
Photographs of this railway are old and rare. And being in a remote regional area largely populated by European migrants (many displaced after WWI), cameras were for many years a luxury rather than a household item. It must also be remembered that in the census of 1933, there were just 225 people living in Robinvale.
Share this post
