Historical Society holds open day

By Bianca Hall

Sep 26, 2022

On the rails: Seymour and District Historical Society president Geoff Halpin with David Watson, who opened the event.

On Sunday, September 25 the Seymour and District Historical Society opened a display of railway history and memorabilia to the public.

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The event commemorated the 150th anniversary of rail travel arriving in Seymour.

The line was first opened to the public on August 26, 1872 and the official opening was held on September 2, 1872.

Former district superintendent with the railways David Watson gave an opening speech. He gave a brief historical timeline of the growth of the railways, including a journey through the “good old steam days”.

There were around 40 guests, including Mitchell Shire Mayor Bill Chisholm, Cr Rhonda Sanderson and RSL state senior vice-president Des Callaghan.

They all enjoyed seeing the display; some were surprised at what was on show, while for others, the display brought back fond memories.

The SDHS undertook the exhibition with assistance of a number of locals, including Cameron Parsons, Cliff Earl, Anne Thompson, Nancy Halpin and Gary Wilson, who also contributed some of their prized items of memorabilia.

Catering was provided courtesy of Kerry Prorock.