Steele against steel: council debates use of historic Australind train carriage

The City of Bunbury council have voted to store one of the carriages of the historic Australind train to be used for future projects — amid some debate. The council on Tuesday night heard that Don Punch MLA had secured one of the carriages from the now retired Australind train —saving it from the scrap yard — and the council needed to vote on whether to store it for a future project. One of the ideas tabled was to use the old carriage as a statue in Bicentennial Square as a monument to Bunbury’s history as a railroad town. Cr Karen Steele was the only councillor to argue against using the train carriage, saying it did not reflect Bunbury’s history. “We need to be looking at ourselves as a city of the future, not the past,” she said. “It’s going in Bicentennial Square . . . but it’s built in the ’80s?” Other councillors argued in favour of using the carriage in some capacity, Cr Gabi Ghasseb and deputy mayor Tresslyn Smith saying it was an important part of Bunbury’s story. “The train itself was very futuristic, it was called, ‘The train that thinks it’s a plane’,” Cr Ghasseb said. Cr Smith added: “You all know I am a massive advocate for the preservation of history, I think the Australind reflects our town’s evolving history as a railroad town.” Cr Steele also brought up the need to sort a “hierarchy” as she was concerned this would take precedence over the Leschenault Lady steam locomotive, which the council had previously acquired. Cr Michelle Steck pointed out that the Leschenault Lady had been restored and put on display in Boyanup and was a “beautiful example” of how to preserve railroad history. The council voted to use the train carriage for future purposes, with all but Cr Steele voting in favour.