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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-06-14 Daily Xml
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SteamRanger Heritage Railway

The Hon. D.R. CREGAN (Kavel) (15:34): Members, I wish to acknowledge and raise in the house the valuable efforts of SteamRanger, a not-for-profit volunteer organisation operating and preserving a heritage railway service on the Mount Barker to Victor Harbor line. SteamRanger is more than a railway: it is a vital part of our state's remarkable industrial heritage and it must be supported.

A variety of steam and diesel locomotives, diesel railcars and heritage passenger carriages form the backbone of SteamRanger's rolling stock. Importantly, SteamRanger does not receive any recurrent funding from any government or private source. The majority of funds for its operations are provided through ticket sales. Recently, I wrote to the Deputy Premier, who ultimately has ministerial responsibility for SteamRanger, to outline a number of urgent needs.

The SteamRanger service attracts a wide range of social groups seeking to experience and support South Australia's heritage. It also attracts individuals, families and theme groups. With SteamRanger operating through both the Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu regions, the service is vital to local tourism. SteamRanger has adopted a policy to spend money locally where possible, whether in Mount Barker or in the Fleurieu Peninsula.

Importantly, SteamRanger is largely sustained by volunteers. The skills required to manage, operate and maintain much of SteamRanger's rolling stock are considerable. SteamRanger's restoration and maintenance activities provide a remarkable environment for trade training at the same time. It is a genuine privilege to have SteamRanger operating in Kavel, and can I emphasise to the house the many thousands of hours that highly skilled volunteers are putting in to sustain an ageing railway line.

It is absolutely critical to the continued operation of that line that investment be made by different levels of government to sustain the operations of a tourism asset of substantial value.

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