Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to congratulate the people of Narrogin in the Wheatbelt region of O'Connor for restoring their historic railway station. The story of Narrogin's early growth is very much the story of the station. In 1881, faster transport was required from Perth to Albany because the coach journey back then took five days. The solution would be a railway through Narrogin, which was then little more than a few dirt tracks and a wayside inn. The line opened in 1889, cutting the trip to seven hours. Narrogin became the line's maintenance and administration centre, and by 1921 the town had 20 commercial buildings including a flour mill, ice works and butter, bacon and cordial factories—even a doll factory. But, after the passenger service was discontinued in 1961, the station fell into disrepair.

In recent times, Narrogin shire committed $400,000 of its allocation under the coalition government's Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program towards restoring the station, and the people of Narrogin got to work. At the station's reopening last month, shire president Leigh Ballard announced that the steam locomotive PM706, known as the Narrogin train, would return from the Hotham Valley Railway, which had cared for it for more than 30 years. The refurbished station now houses a visitor centre and an artist in residence, and only Narrogin businesses were used for the project. That's the way it should be for this local heritage hub that will continue to be a core part of the Narrogin story.