THE TRAIN TO NOWHERE IN A TIN HARE - QUEENSLAND AUSTRALIA

Here’s a strange title that will eventually make sense as you screen the pages. Most students have an interest in trains, particularly if the trains are vintage or different and run on unique rails to places with historical backgrounds. Yes, this unit is about trains. More precisely it is about a unique train service. Some say that this train is the most unique survivor of Australian trains. The unit has wider scope. It links with a gold rush in interior Queensland. This rush created the need for the train. However when the gold ran out most of the people left and the future of the train service was in doubt. This unit is about recovery and adaptation to change. The survival of this train was made possible by local people re-inventing the use for the train. There are 4 attachments to help you. There is a summary activity which will require students to use their understanding of this story as they prepare an article about events, Take your students into the study of a train service and the 1880’s-1890s gold rush. Find out how this train service was saved from closure.