Category Archives: Aviation

Interstate mini-break: Tocumwal

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Last week I went on a two-night break to Tocumwal. It’s a small town 291km/182mi north of Melbourne, on the north bank of the Murray River so in New South Wales. The town was established in the early 1860s. As with the other Murray river communities, paddle steamers were initially the way in which goods were imported and exported.

The bridge

The Murray bridge opened in 1895. It has three spans, the centre originally being liftable for navigation. The last lift for navigational purposes was in 1933. The span was last raised in 1995 to mark the bridge’s centenary, following which it was welded shut. Initially built for road traffic only, the bridge was strengthened and adapted for rail traffic in 1908. It was then used for both road and rail traffic until November 1987, when a separate road bridge was opened, and continues to carry the occasional freight train.

The railway

On the Victorian side of the river a 53km/33mi rail line from Shepparton to Strathmerton in opened 1888, later being extended to a temporary terminus on the south side of the Murray opposite Tocumwal. Following agreement between the Victorian and NSW governments this line was taken across the bridge to a new VR-operated station, Tocumwal, opened in 1908. A NSWR branch to Tocumwal opened in 1914 creating a break-of-gauge station, NSW railways being standard gauge (4’8½”,1435mm), Victorian Railways, broad gauge (5’3”, 1600mm). Note that by rail it’s about 250km to Melbourne and 760km to Sydney.

The last NSWR train to Tocumwal ran in 1986 and the entire SG line was closed in 1988. The last VR passenger service to Tocumwal ran on 8 November 1975 but the line remains open for freight traffic: Pacific National runs container and grain trains to the Port of Melbourne several times each week.

Much of the original rail infrastructure has gone but the station buildings have been given a new lease of life as the Tocumwal Railway Heritage Museum. Unlike Newport Railway Museum where I am a volunteer, there’s no rolling stock, but there are lots of maps, pictures and other items of interest.

For more on Tocumwal’s railway history, see Newsrail, May 2005.

Museums

Just out of town is Tocumwal Aviation Museum which opened in 2021. Tocumwal might at first seem to be just another small relatively unimportant place but during WW2 it saw the construction of the largest aerodrome in the southern hemisphere which was home to many aircraft and was also a vast storage and repair depot for many aircraft types including Avro Anson, Beaufort, Boeing, Dakota, Hudson, Lancaster, Lincoln, Meteor, Mosquito, Mustang, Spitfire, Beaufighter, Vampire and Wirraway. No. 7 Operational Training Unit RAAF was based at Tocumwal from 1944. After the RAAF left Tocumwal in 1960, over 700 aircraft were scrapped through until 1963. There’s an excellent pictorial here.

Chrystie’s Classics and Collectibles Museum is a place which is hard to describe. You’ll find all sorts of things here: classic cars, old agricultural implements and a vast range of collectibles.

And … last but not least

My two nights in Tocumwal bracketed Anzac Day 2025. Anzac Day commemorates the ANZAC forces landing at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. As is the custom across Australia, the day was marked with a dawn service, then, later, the main service with guest speakers and wreath laying. The latter drew a huge crowd including all the children from local schools.


All in all an interesting and enjoyable trip, seeing and learning new things.

Tocumwal location (https://free-map.org)
Tocumwal location (https://free-map.org)
Tocumwal bridge
Tocumwal bridge
Pacific National train at Tocumwal
Pacific National train at Tocumwal
de Havilland DH-89
Air Museum: de Havilland DH-89
Chrystie's Museum
Chrystie’s Museum
Murray River at Tocumwal
Murray River at Tocumwal
Tocumwal big fish
Tocumwal big fish
Tocumwal Anzac Day march 2025
Tocumwal Anzac Day march 2025
Tocumwal Anzac Day 2025 wreaths
Tocumwal Anzac Day 2025 wreaths

Adelaide 2020

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As outlined in my last post, my 2020 cruise’s first port of call was Adelaide. I’d been there four times before so with no pressure to do anything in particular. I decided to revisit the National Rail Museum (NRM) and make a first-time visit to the South Australian Aviation Museum. Both these, along with the South Australian Maritime Museum, which I’d visited before, are at Port Adelaide, an 11-stop 10.2km train ride from Outer Harbour, where we were docked (the train station is conveniently next to the cruise terminal).

As a volunteer at the Melbourne Newport Railway Museum, railway museums now have a special interest to me, and on this second visit to the NRM I was able to see a number of exhibits with fresh eyes.

National Rail Museum Loco 504

National Rail Museum Loco 504

Before this trip I re-read ‘Kings of the Iron Horse’, the story of two of Australia’s greatest railway engineers, Alf Smith and Fred Shea. Shea was Chief Mechanical Engineer (1923-39) of the South Australian Railways (SAR). Working with William Webb, Chief Commissioner, he oversaw a massive re-equipping of the SAR during the 1920s. The 500 class, built by Armstrong Whitworth UK, was over twice the size of the biggest pre-Webb engine, and was the most powerful locomotive in Australia. 504, seen here was in service from 1926-1962.

National Rail Museum Clyde GM2 loco

National Rail Museum Clyde GM2 loco

One of Australia’s big mistakes was not building its railways to one gauge – South Australia has all three: 3’6” narrow gauge, 4’8½” standard gauge and 5’3” Irish or broad gauge.

Over time standard gauge interstate lines were constructed. Finally on 23 February 1970, just 50 years ago, the first Indian Pacific service left Sydney for Perth, becoming the first direct train to cross the Australian continent. GM2, here, built 1951, hauled the train from Port Pirie to Kalgoorlie, a distance of nearly 1800km.

Fokker F27, South Australian Aviation Museum

South Australian Aviation Museum

These are but two highlights of the NRM and by the time I’d dragged myself away I only had an hour for the Aviation Museum. Lots of to see and all very well arranged and signed. This Fokker Friendship was used for scientific research.

Then back to the Queen Elizabeth and on to Hobart.

My first arrest for spying!

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My first taste of Africa was a memorable one. My good friends John and Mary had gone out to Zambia to work with the church and I offered to go and visit them. I decided to record my visit on slides (remember them) so I could give an illustrated talk on my return – John had grown up in the church which I attended and where his parents were still members so a good few people would be interested.

So – this was April 1987 – we land at Lusaka. As I walked down the steps on to the tarmac I took a photo of the airport terminal, thinking it would a good intro picture for my talk. At the bottom of the steps I was promptly arrested and taken off to an interview room. As we went through the terminal one of my escorts pointed out the ‘no photography’ notice, a bit late for me! Thankfully I had the presence of mind to pull the film out of my camera and hand it over – otherwise I might have had my camera confiscated. With a check of my passport and a warning, I was free to go.

Years later at a UK church gathering I met the person who had been responsible for looking after those sent to work in southern Africa and recounted my tale. “Ah, so it’s you!” she said, “That story has gone right round the mission circuit,” everyone no doubt laughing at the innocent tourist who didn’t know that in Zambia photography of all public and government buildings was strictly off limits.

After that I went back to Zambia three more times, fortunately staying out of trouble!

I’d always wanted to go on a Boeing 707 …

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I didn’t make my first independent overseas trip until I was 32, though since then I’ve made up for it by flying more than a million miles. For years it was a matter of regret that I’d left it too late to be a passenger on the icon of the jet age, the Boeing 707. And then ….

In November 1997 I made a short trip to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The flight from London to Harare used a 767, and I was expecting a 737 for the short hop from Harare to Bulawayo. But no, to my surprise and delight this flight would be on a Boeing 707.

Air Zimbabwe’s Boeing 707

Even better, in contrast to the usual African prohibition of taking photos at airports, the security officer was more than happy for me to take pictures of the plane (this is a scan of a slide, and so not the best quality).

The question I didn’t ask myself was “Why is Air Zimbabwe using a four-engine transcontinental jet for a flight with a duration of about 40 minutes?” – I was too excited at my wish coming true.

I found out later (assuming my informant was correct). The plane had failed its airworthiness checks so Air Zim couldn’t take it out the country! Apparently a couple of weeks later the pilots refused to fly it. But at the time it seemed fine to me, one air trips I will always remember.