Premier Statement: GREAT RAILWAY JOURNEYS OF AUSTRALIA STEAMS INTO MUSEUM ...

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Premier and Minister for the Arts
The Honourable Anna Bligh
07/08/2009

GREAT RAILWAY JOURNEYS OF AUSTRALIA STEAMS INTO MUSEUM OF TROPICAL QUEENSLAND

A landmark exhibition exploring the history of Australia's railways has opened at the Museum of Tropical Queensland, Townsville.

"Great Railway Journeys of Australia is the first exhibition by The Workshops Railway Museum and Queensland Museum to tour nationally and has already travelled around the country, with stops at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra and the National Rail Museum in Adelaide," Ms Bligh said.

"The exhibition explores some of the most famous railway journeys in the country, including many in Queensland where passengers can still enjoy rail travel where the experience is as much about the journey as the final destination.

"From the breathtaking views between Brisbane and Cairns on the Sunlander, to the outback's rugged panoramic beauty on the Spirit of the Outback, travellers are spoilt for choice when it comes to rail experiences in Queensland."

The stories of these journeys and many more are explored in the exhibition which draws on the museum's collections of objects, photographs, posters, art and documents. It has been visited by more than 100,000 people since opening at The Workshops Rail Museum in 2006.

The exhibition opening also marked the launch of a new book telling the story of the famed Sunshine Express rail service. Chasing the Sunshine, a Q150 project, was written by railway historian David Bourke OAM with the assistance of The Workshops Rail Museum and published by Queensland Museum Publishing.

The book details the eventful history of one of Queensland's most-loved rail services, the Sunshine Express, which travelled from Brisbane to Cairns from 1935 to 1953, and includes many historical photographs of the train, and the locations that it visited.

Townsville is the latest stop on the national tour of Great Railway Journeys of Australia, made possible by QR and Great Southern Railway. The exhibition is on display until 8 November.

Great Railway Journeys of Australia is supported by Visions of Australia, an Australian Government Program supporting touring exhibitions by providing funding assistance for the development and touring of cultural material across Australia.

The Museum of Tropical Queensland and The Workshops Rail Museum are campuses of the Queensland Museum, funded by the Queensland Government.

For further information, please call (07) 4726 0600 or visit www.mtq.qm.qld.gov.au

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