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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-08-31 Daily Xml
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Railway Bob

Ms SAVVAS (Newland) (15:26): Today, I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge my guest, John Wilson, a local railway historian, author and, most importantly, a Banksia Park resident. I would also like to acknowledge his wife, Pat, who is unwell and could not join us here today.

John and his wife are responsible for a large number of books, but today I would like to focus on the subject of many of them and that is Railway Bob, also known as Terowie Bob, very much part of railway folklore and history in South Australia and beyond. I do have a number of the Railway Bob books with me here in the chamber.

Bob, put simply, was a remarkable dog that lived on the railways in South Australia in the late 1800s. He is remembered across our state. His collar is currently on display in the National Railway Museum and we were joined by Bob Sampson from the Railway Museum over lunch as well. There is a statue of Bob in Peterborough and there is a trail with facts about Bob in Terowie, a place that was very much home to many of Bob's adventures.

In John's book, Bob's Railway, the first book about Bob, subtitled Turbulent PoliticalTimes in South Australia and a Remarkable Railroading Dog, Pat and John used over 100 contemporary newspaper reports and archive items to commemorate not only the stories of Bob but the political events of the time.

On page 27 of the book, there is a wonderful poem about a member of parliament. I assured John I would share this poem with the house for the record, written by a fictional character named Alfie, and the poem states:

When a Member of Parliament encounters a hound

He makes no bold promises nor lies expound

For his want from the humans is purely their mark

And once been to the ballot, they are kept in the dark

I oft ponder the world would be much better now

If the dogs were in Parliament and the toffs had to bow

But the dogs are an awful lot smarter, I sense

Their existence not burdened by pounds, shillings and pence

But the House full of canines would be quite a noise

So we're stuck with a band of those silly old boys.

And I add for the record, of course, that we are also stuck with some 'silly old girls' today in the parliament.

I would like to acknowledge the fictional Alfie for the house, and the very real John Wilson, who has become a dear friend of mine—a wordsmith extraordinaire He is always ready to give me a bit of a laugh and a chat and brighten my day coming into the office to visit.

On the back of the book you can see Bob's world from 1888, and I have mentioned some of the towns that are mentioned in Bob's story. There are a large number of regional towns that make up a part of Bob's journey, such as Murray Bridge, of course, home to the Overland, which our government is happy to be supporting.

I joined John and a handmade Railway Bob on the Overland in January 2022 to celebrate its 135th birthday. We propped up the handmade Bob—I believe it is papier-mâché—put him in the front of the carriage and took some photos, which are also in some of the books. There is mention of Riverton, which was halfway to Bob's ultimate destination of Terowie and the location at which they stopped for refreshment.

Macclesfield in the Adelaide Hills is mentioned. Bob was owned—though I would argue he was very much a free dog and not owned by anyone specifically—by the publican of the Maccie pub, one of the best places in South Australia for a schnitzel to this day. Also mentioned are Petersburg, Quorn, Port Pirie, Moonta, Strathalbyn, Islington, Dry Creek, and my favourite place, of course, is called Cold and Wet, which was the former name of the station at Coonalpyn. He also goes into Serviceton, which is a key part of the story, and of course Terowie.

Bob is very much the definition of an ambassador for South Australia, and I often think he would be a great mascot accompanied by I've Been Everywhere because Bob, of course, for 16 or 17 years during his time in South Australia visited everywhere across our great state. John and Pat are very keen to see Bob the Railway Dog story make it into a film, and they have been sending submissions back and forth to make that a reality.

I do want to wish them all the best in their endeavour. I see Bob as a very worthy ambassador for our great state, particularly regional South Australia, and I will continue to follow the adventures of John, Pat Wilson and Railway Bob.

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