
Issue No 28		27 August 1999

History

Eveleigh Railway Workshops celebration

By Lucy Taksa

Former workers and their families from the historic Eveleigh Railway Workshops in inner-Sydney are holding a picnic reunion and folk music festival on the site this Sunday.

It's part of a major effort to research and record the rich history and culture of the workshops.

The event is hosted by the Australian Technology Park which now controls the buildings of the former workshops. The main location is the ATP Atrium, formerly the "new" loco workshop.

From the Steam Age to the Information Age

The Eveleigh Railway Workshops were built during the 1880s, and operated for just over one hundred years. Recognised as one of the most advanced railway workshops in Australia, numerous conservation plans have documented their heritage value.

A new multi-media and virtual reality project is helping build a bridge between Eveleigh's railway past and its current role as a Technology Park.

With an Australian Research Council grant, labour historian Dr Lucy Taksa of the University of NSW has begun to develop a number of inter-related multi-media products using the latest information technologies, to provide greater understanding of Eveleigh's industrial and social history, and the people who once worked there.

Re-connect to Eveleigh - oral history, mementos, family history

A focus of the reunion will be the display of lists of people who worked at Eveleigh between 1887 and 1950, as published in the NSW Government Gazette. People will be able to start to trace theirfamily members who once worked at the heritage site. Former employees can register to recordtheir oral history of working at the site.

People with memorabilia from Eveleigh will be able to display their historical materials and register their willingness to loan them for future display at Eveleigh or donate them to organisations like the State Library of NSW.

Important groups of former workers are expected to join other participants in reunions, including:

� Many of the thousands of trades people who completed part of their training in the Workshops

� Members of Eveleigh Returned Services Association

� Officials from trade unions that once covered those who worked at Eveleigh

� Families of 25 Labor Party figures who began their working lives at Eveleigh

� Retired Railway Employees Association

A Railway Song and Poem Competition, sponsored by the Rail Tram and Bus Union, will be launched at the picnic, with entries closing at Easter 2000.

There will be a display of models of every steam locomotive built at Eveleigh. Entertainers taking part in the Australia Wide Folk Week of Music Song and Dance will perform at the picnic.

The NSW Folk Federation has welcomed the Eveleigh Workshops event because of the important contribution that railways have made to our country's rich folk culture.

Former Eveleigh workers who want to register for a reunion, to participate in the oral history project, or bring along memorabilia, can give their details by phoning 02 9668 9914.

The register will form part of a commemotative wall at the Eveliegh site.

For further information: Peter Murphy 0418 312 301

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Issue 28 contents

Interview: Talking Turkey
A full transcript of an important interview with the Minister for Workplace Relations, the Hon Peter Reith.

Politics: What Reith told the ILO
Workers Online has recevied a transcript of roving statesman Peter Reith's talk to the ILO in Geneva. This one's not satire.

Unions: What the Workers Said
Actor Di Smith was one of nine ordinary workers who addressed this week's rally. Here's what she had to say.

International: Cancelling the Debt
Sign this Jubilee 2000 email petition now and tell the world's most powerful leaders to cancel the unpayable debts of the world's poorest countries by the year 2000.

Environment: Greens, CFMEU call for Action on Ceiling Dust
Residents and workers, associated with houses damaged in the freak hail storm that hit Sydney earlier this year, may have been exposed to harmful levels of toxic materials found in the ceiling dust of the damaged buildings

History: Eveleigh Railway Workshops celebration
Former workers and their families from the historic Eveleigh Railway Workshops in inner-Sydney are holding a picnic reunion and folk music festival on the site this Sunday.

Republic: Does the Republic Need a President?
It seems inevitable that Australia will eventually become a republic but do we need a president?

Satire: Liberals May Need to Sell of More of Telstra
'We're running low in key marginals,� says Alston

Review: A Kind of Violence
Extracts from Yosi Berger's new book, telling the real stories behind workpalce safety.

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» Guest Report

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» Piers Watch

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» The Vizard deal. Is it another great deal for you!!!!???

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