Boost for Midland Railway Workshops History Project

28/8/02
A Midland Railway Workshops History Project received a $25,000 boost from the State Government today.
Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan launched the third stage of the Midland History Project by presenting a cheque from the Midland Redevelopment Authority (MRA).
Ms MacTiernan said the Government was pleased to be a partner, through the MRA, in a significant project.
"In the 90 years the Railway Workshops were in operation, its workforce played a significant role in Western Australia's labour history," she said.
"The workshops and the workforce that sustained them are central to Midland's sense of place and identity.
"The workshops were the crucible for WA industry - with skills learnt here contributing enormously to industry and the State's economy.
"At one stage, the workshops were the largest employer in WA.
"Though this place is no longer a railway workshop, the legacy of the workers lives on in many ways, including the stories they have to tell of their time here."
Ms MacTiernan said the MRA's challenge was to revive the workshops and adapt the old buildings to the demands of a new century, while retaining their integrity, significance and spirit.
"The vision is for a distinctive place where educational, cultural and rail heritage facilities and activities co-exist and overlap in a unique way that recalls the past and looks to the future," she said.
"Our Government is particularly interested in seeing contemporary rail-based businesses operate from this site.
"The people who work and live here in the future will do so in a unique environment to which the workers throughout the years have contributed. It's a great legacy - something we can all be proud of and share."
The MRA is contributing $75,000 over three years to help with research assistants' salaries, equipment for producing a CD-ROM and production of the written history.
The project which involves interviewing former workshop employees and collecting memorabilia, is expected to be completed by 2004 - 100 years after the workshops were opened and a decade since they were closed.
Stage Three of the project will focus on interpreting and preserving material gathered in the last few years.
The project's other partners are: Curtin University's Research Institute for Cultural Heritage; the Battye Library; four trade unions - the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, the Australian Services Union, the Communication, Electrical and Plumbing Union and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union; UnionsWA; the WA Museum; and the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History (Perth branch).
Murdoch University's Media, Communication and Culture division is also contributing to the project, as is the City of Swan, with a $15,000 grant over three years.
Minister's office: 9213 6400