The opening of the railway line between Oberon and Tarana in October 1923 was celebrated with a picnic and the same thing happened on the centenary in October 2023.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The picnic this year was held in the Oberon Common and was combined with the occasional Cars and Coffee events run by the Oberon Tarana Heritage Railway (OTHR). The weather was almost perfect and despite competition from several other events happening in the area on the same day a good crowd turned out to chat, eat a sausage sandwich, drink some coffee from the GET Roasted coffee trailer, look at some classic cars and listen to some music from The Union.
One person who came in character was Greg Standen. "I think I'm the last living person who worked on the line when it was running," he said. He wore his old uniform for the day, complete with the ribbons for length of service. "It will be wonderful to see the trains running again. It will take me back all those years to when I was part of it all."
OTHR Secretary Dave McMurray was there in two capacities, enthusiastically celebrating the railway's centenary and as part of the classic car collection. "I've always loved cars and it's great to get the old things out of the shed and onto the road," he said. "We had a bit of competition from other car shows today but enough turned up to make it an event."
"What's important about today is the celebration of the railway's centenary, and with the picnic and the open day at the station we are making sure that nobody forgets that the railway will be reopening soon."
OTHR have been celebrating the centenary throughout October. The next event is the big one - the Railway Ball at the Malachi Gilmore Hall on Saturday, October 28. It might be called a "ball" but it will be an old-time bush dance with music provided by The Nodding Thistles. Last year's ball was the social event of the year and this year's looks like being even better.
