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The 1900 Report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways on the question of railway communication with Mildura and Yelta recommended that Cronomby (Woomelang) be the start of the extension to Mildura. The final vote of the Committee went 5/4 against the Hopetoun proposal and following an unexplained changed vote by a member, 4/5 in favour of the Cronomby line.
Letter to Minister of Railways from Hopetoun Mildura Railway League, Warracknabeal, 6-11-1893. Extension of the Hopetoun line to Mildura was a very early aspiration and has remained so to this day. Source: Public Records Office
The railway to Hopetoun had been opened on 6-3-1894, having been extended from Warracknabeal (opened 12-5-1886) and Beulah (opened 5-1-1893). The loss of connection with Mildura did not stop the determined Hopetoun line interests, the Mildura and Western District Railway Association still believing the line was "promised" in a compromise, pressing strongly for a Hopetoun connection with the Mildura railway at Minapre (Lascelles).
A deputation was arranged with the Premier and Minister of Railways on 3-9-1902 and in the Legislative Council on 20-1-1903, the Minister of Railways (Mr. Bent) moved that the question of connecting a line of railway from Hopetoun to a suitable point on the through line to Mildura connecting the Western District with Mildura and the Darling River, be referred to the Railway Standing Committee for consideration and report. The proposed line was 20 miles in length and estimated to cost 46,000 pounds. It was calculated that the line would raise the value of 91,000 acres of crown lands from 5 shillings to one pound per acre. If that enhanced value were credited to the Railway Department he claimed there would be no fear of the line not paying.
An advertisement in the "Mildura Cultivator" of 31-3-1903 announced that Mr. R. Hughan "will be running a four horse team from Minapre to catch the midday train from Hopetoun to Melbourne". It is not known whether this early connection survived until the opening of the line to Mildura.
Map showing the 16 miles (24 kms) distance between the Hopetoun railhead and Minapre (Lascelles) station on the new extension from Woomelang to Mildura. Map: Chris Wurr
Mr. C.C. Shoppee M.L.C. asked the Minister of Railways on 13-10-1903 whether the Railway Standing Committee had yet reported on the Hopetoun - Mildura lines connection. The new Minister (Mr. Shiel), replied that the Committee had considered it inadvisable to complete its report until the view of the Railway Commissioners had been elicited. The Commissioners subsequently advised that little extra traffic would be generated. There was no justification in the Hopetoun -Minapre line and much less in a Hopetoun - Gorya (Turriff) line.
A deputation of members of both Houses of Parliament for northern Victorian districts met the Premier (Mr. Bent) on 15-3-1904 to present a series of resolutions agreed to by a conference of railway leagues and municipalities held in Bendigo on 17-2-1904. These resolutions urged the Minister of Railways to authorise a survey from Sea lake to a point about Ouyen on the Mildura line, with Mr. Bailes M.L.A. pointing out there would have been "much greater hostility" to the Woomelang route in parliament but for the promise made at the time by the Minister of Railways that both Hopetoun and Sea Lake would be connected with Mildura in the future.
The Ballarat "Courier" on 12-9-1905 reminded the government of its "promise" to connect the Hopetoun and Mildura lines pointing out that it is "only 17 miles, and the whole section is through mallee country not offering a ghost of engineering difficulty, not a phantom of an awkward grade, not a scintilla of construction objectionableness".
In its leading article on 3-11-1905, the Warracknabeal "Herald" pointed out that two years had elapsed since the Railway Standing Committee and the Railway Commissioners declared it to be inexpedient and injudicious to connect the Hopetoun and Mildura lines. The "Herald" suggested that the 20-odd cities and towns who claim to be vitally interested should go to the government and guarantee one half of the annual estimated loss for three years - the liability to be thus undertaken amounting to 50 pounds for each Shire. A conference of municipalities and organisations met in Ballarat on 14-11-1905. The Ballarat "Courier" reported that the meeting unanimously recommended the government be asked to build the connection with the matter of the route "to be left in the government's hands".
Another deputation to the Premier took place on 6-6-1906, the President of the Shire of Mildura accepting an invitation to represent Mildura's interests in a connecting line. The Premier (Mr. Bent) told the deputation that the Railway Standing Committee has reported against any connection and he would do nothing further.
The growing prosperity of the Mildura irrigation settlement and the lure of a share of the Lower Darling River trade ensured dogged determination by the Western District interests. There were also long memories of that political "promise" by Western District parliamentary members, however there was still little government enthusiasm. Railway extensions to White Cliffs (Merbein) and Ouyen to Kow Plains (Cowangie) were considered to be more important Mallee railway projects than connecting two existing lines.
In 1907, Donald began to take an interest in the cross-country connection, the Donald "Times" claiming that whilst Lascelles is closest to Hopetoun, the line would open up better country if it were to junction at Donald and connect at Minyip. A deputation to the Minister of Railways on
20-10-1909 sought connection between Litchfield and Warracknabeal whilst another deputation at the same time urged a Hopetoun to Lascelles or Turriff line.
In December 1909, the Legislative Assembly voted to refer to the Railway Standing Committee the question of connecting the districts lying between Dimboola, Warracknabeal, Minyip, Watchem, Donald, Cope Cope, and Charlton with the existing railway system by cross-country railways linking the Rainbow, Hopetoun, Mildura and Sea Lake lines. The Committee requested Mr. M.E. Kernot, Chief Engineer of the Railway Construction Branch, to cost the various proposals:
Proposed Connection |
Miles |
Cost in Pounds |
Dimboola - Cope Cope |
57 |
156,000 |
Minyip - Donald - Charlton |
48 |
130,000 |
Warracknabeal - Watchem - Charlton |
56 |
151,000 |
Warracknabeal - Litchfield |
26 |
51,000 |
Warracknabeal - Watchem |
27 |
73,000 |
Hopetoun - Lascelles |
16 |
43,000 |
Hopetoun - Turriff |
22 |
59,000 |
All estimates were exclusive of land and rolling stock.
The Committee considered that the connection which was most likely to assist trade and be of service to both producers and the public was one between the Murtoa - Hopetoun line and the Mildura railway. But until there was more settlement along the Mildura line this connection would not be a paying one unless the establishment of the proposed freezing works at Murtoa caused a large demand for lambs for export in the districts adjacent to the Donald - Mildura railway and showed there would be a good traffic in livestock over the connecting line. The Committee however, was of the opinion that it was not expedient to construct any of the proposed connecting railways.
A further three years were to elapse before the Railway Standing Committee, in 1913, was to investigate the question of connecting the districts between the Woomelang to Mildura and Yelta railway and the South Australian border with the existing railway system by extensions and linking up railways into these districts by cross-country lines. The routes to be considered were:
Proposed Connection |
Miles |
Distance in Pounds |
Minyip - Donald |
24 |
72,000 |
Sheep Hills - Litchfield |
20 |
63,000 |
Warracknabeal - Litchfield |
26 |
78,000 |
Warracknabeal - Watchem |
27 |
81,000 |
Warracknabeal - Birchip |
34 |
102,000 |
Hopetoun - Woomelang |
19 |
58,000 |
Hopetoun - Lascelles |
16 |
48,000 |
Hopetoun - Turriff |
22 |
60,000 |
Hopetoun - Walpeup |
46 |
148,000 |
After taking evidence which primarily advanced the theory that western Victoria was the shortest and natural outlet for the Mildura and Darling trade, the Committee once again considered it inexpedient to recommend any of the proposals. They would generate little benefits other than to local development. The Railway Committee also said that all proposed lines would run at a loss regardless of the rates (including local) charged and opposed their construction.
The notion of cross-country lines to link the parallel development of Mallee lines was still an actively sought aspiration and a fourth reference was made to the Railway Standing Committee in 1919 to investigate cross-country connections between the Charlton - Kulwin, Donald - Ouyen and Murtoa - Hopetoun sections of these parallel lines.
There was no advantage in mileage gains for hauling wheat to Williamstown along any of these lines by using any connecting line, however, the Standing Committee was interested in a link between the Hopetoun and Mildura lines and asked the Commissioners to provide figures on links between Donald - Minyip, Watchem - Warracknabeal and Lascelles - Hopetoun for use by "up" wheat or livestock trains without the necessity of changing locomotives at the junctions. (It is noteworthy that the volume of grain being produced in the Mallee following settlement was to influence the Committee into looking at the cross-country proposals from the new perspective of direct connection with the seaboard.)
Evidence was gathered during June 1920 and a progress report presented to parliament by the Committee in October 1920, pointed out that it would be more expensive to haul the Mildura - Murrayville wheat via the Kulwin and Charlton railway to Williamstown than by the shorter existing railway through Maryborough to Geelong, or through Murtoa, Ararat and Cressy. It would be inexpedient to link the Mildura and Kulwin lines as the main traffic from Mildura would not be diverted over such a connection and it would not be a paying line.
In 1921 the Lawson Government adopted a policy of decentralisation, promising that Geelong and Portland would be fully utilised for the shipping of wheat for export instead of the grain being hauled to Williamstown.
Advocates for Geelong and Portland were active throughout the Wimmera and Mallee districts with the "battle of the routes" reminiscent of the fight to gain the Mildura extension twenty years previously. St. Arnaud and Donald were stridently pressing for St. Arnaud to Navarre and Donald to Minyip, respectively, whilst further northwards, the Hopetoun to Lascelles connection appeared to be less favourable than an extension of the Dimboola to Yaapeet railway in a northerly direction to connect with the Ouyen to Murrayville line.
The Railway Standing Committee finally presented its report to the Legislative Assembly in December 1921. The report showed that since the previous report on the proposed Mallee connections, the estimated cost of construction had increased by about 35%. The Railway Commissioners stated that they favoured none of the proposed connections. Changing the route of wheat traffic from the Murrayville line would involve additional station yard accommodation at the junction stations and the stations on the western plains line through Cressy would need to be equipped with train crossing facilities and staffed by station masters during the grain traffic season. The estimated expenditure involved was about 3,400 pounds a year. If 200,000 tons of traffic were to be diverted from the Mildura line in the grain season, consideration would have to be given to duplicating the 32 miles between Glenorchy and Ararat.
Despite rejection of connecting Mallee lines, the Railway Standing Committee provided a supplementary report to parliament in December, in which it presented evidence relevant to proposals to serve the country north of Yaapeet and Hopetoun. The Committee recommended an extension of the Hopetoun line to Patchewollock, about 25 miles north-west of Hopetoun. There were three proposed routes. Yaapeet to Pine Plains (25 miles) with an extension of a further 18 miles to connect with the Ouyen - Murrayville railway at Underbool; the Hopetoun to Patchewollock extension; and a spur line 14 or 15 miles long from the Mildura railway at Speed, westward to Patchewollock. An interesting feature of the Committee's deliberations was its strong leaning toward the development of the port of Portland. Thus the Speed - Patchewollock proposal, despite its short mileage, was rejected in favour of diverting Mallee wheat traffic to Portland instead of adding additional traffic to the Mildura line. The Hopetoun -
Patchewollock extension was subsequently referred to the Railway Standing Committee for consideration and report and their recommendation was confirmed in September 1922.
A meeting of municipalities held in St. Arnaud on 12-8-1926 urged the construction of a cross-country line to give producers along the Robinvale, Kulwin and Mildura lines direct access to Portland via Ararat. It was proposed that these lines be connected by a line from Charlton through Donald to Minyip or from Wedderburn through St. Arnaud to Marnoo. Moves were also made to extend the Yaapeet and Patchewollock lines to join with the Ouyen - Pinnaroo line, creating a direct link to Portland. Nothing was to eventuate from these proposals, however the government asked the Railway Standing Committee to investigate a line connecting Birchip or Watchem on the Mildura line with Charlton on the Bendigo to Kulwin line. The Committee reported in December 1927 that this proposal, like all other cross-country proposals investigated previously, was not expedient.
Following World War Two, moves were made to develop the natural deep sea port of Portland as an alternative to the ports of Williamstown and Geelong, particularly for the export of grain. In 1944, the Parliamentary Public Works Committee recommended the construction of a breakwater at Portland harbour to enable the port to be fully utilised by large ships. The Committee also recommended a railway linking Hopetoun and Lascelles to provide a better graded and direct link from the grain and fruit producing districts on the Mildura line.
Nothing eventuated from these recommendations, however in 1946, the Ouyen Decentralisation Committee vigorously promoted a Patchewollock - Ouyen - Hay (N.S.W.) railway link, arguing that such a line would allow goods from the north- west to be consigned to Portland in keeping with the government's decentralisation desires. The Minister for State Development (Mr. Hyland) rejected the proposal stating that there were many more important and urgent post-war proposals than a cross-country railway.
The Patchewollock - Ouyen - Hay proposal resurfaced again in 1946 and this time the Premier (Mr. Hollway), Minister for Transport (Mr. Hughes) and the Victorian Railways Commissioners failed to support the proposal, claiming earlier proposals were rejected by the Railway Standing Committee in 1910 and 1920 and it was considered there was still little need for a cross-country link in this section of the State. Reasons advanced were that the connecting line between Dunolly and Inglewood (which linked the lines radiating north from Maryborough and Bendigo), carried only one goods train a week, the Commonwealth Transport Department and military authorities had not recommended it for strategic purposes and the Director-General of Rail Transport (Sir Harold Clapp) had ruled against its inclusion in the plan to standardise Australian railway gauges.
The Ouyen Decentralisation Committee was undeterred by the weight of the lack of enthusiasm and continued to press their proposal throughout 1950. On 10-5-1951, the Mallee Regional Committee met at Hopetoun and supported the proposal, and on 9-11-1951, the Mildura Chamber of Commerce sponsored a visit to Mildura by the Chairman of the Portland Harbour Trust (Mr. K.S. Anderson) and the Trust Chief Engineer (Mr. Hughes) who urged the connection of Mallee lines to provide a direct trade channel to Portland.
A Parliamentary Enquiry into the Decentralisation of Western Victoria in 1953, recognised the difficulties presented by the pattern of parallel railways in the Wimmera and Mallee and recommended that the Navarre branch line be extended to St. Arnaud on the Mildura line to provide a direct route to Portland. The Navarre line, which branched off the Maryborough - Ararat connecting line, was closed to traffic on 24-2-1954.
In May 1956, the final report on the development of western and north-western Victoria by the State Development Committee recommended the construction of the Patchewollock - Ouyen - Hay connection. They considered this link would be needed to handle increased trade generated by new lands brought into production in the Murrumbidgee and Murray Valley regions when additional water for irrigation was made available from the Snowy Mountains water diversion project. The Committee estimated the Patchewollock -Ouyen link to cost 400,000 pounds and the Ouyen - Hay section two and a half million pounds. The Committee also stated that it had disregarded to some extent, the advice that such lines would not pay. An obvious beneficiary of course, would be the port of Portland.
The Mallee Regional Committee meeting in Mildura on 19-6-1957, considered a report from the Victorian Railways Commissioners on the Patchewollock - Ouyen rail link to Portland. The report clearly stated the Commissioners' opposition to a new line, claiming:
(1) The existing rail network and facilities were adequate to enable Portland to be developed as an import and export port for western and north-western Victoria. If and when the traffic exceeds the capacity of the existing facilities they will be augmented.
(2) While Portland continues to be unable to attract the import and export trade of that portion of the State where it possesses a definite advantage in distance by rail haul over any other port, there would be no justification for contributing an additional rail link to bring the far north- west of Victoria into equal distance by rail from Melbourne and Portland.
The Chief Engineer of the Railway Construction Branch (Mr. R.S. Miller) told the State Development Committee on 8-10-1962 that it would cost 802,000 pounds to lay 26 miles of new track between Ouyen and Patchewollock and another 975,000 pounds to strengthen or relay the track from Warracknabeal to Patchewollock. Mr. Miller suggested the cheapest way to link Ouyen to Portland would be by laying a new line for 21 miles from Litchfield to Minyip at a cost of 679,000 pounds. An alternative link between Speed and Yarto on the Patchewollock line would cost 1,220,000 pounds.
Despite a myriad of proposals, meetings, investigations and reports since the turn of the century, there was still no connection between the Hopetoun and Mildura lines. The Premier (Mr. H. Bolte) announced in his policy speech on 8-6-1964 that the government would guarantee a rail link to connect the Mildura line with Ararat and Portland. Most of the earlier proposals were again considered including Hopetoun - Lascelles, Litchfield - Minyip, and Ouyen - Patchewollock, along with the re-opening of the Avoca - Ararat section of the Maryborough to Ararat line which had been closed to traffic from 8-7-1959.
The government finally announced on 5-5-1966 that the Avoca to Ararat line would be re-opened and 130,000 pounds spent reconditioning the line for traffic in time for the 1966/67 oats export season. The line was re-opened on 23-5-1966. Freight concessions would apply from Ouyen and stations beyond as though a railway existed between Ouyen and Patchewollock, for goods railed for shipment from Portland.
This chart showing the flow of oats to Portland during the period 1964/65 was used to demonstrate the low volume of traffic likely to be generated through Litchfield if a link with Minyip was constructed. ( --------------10,000 tons, - - - - - - - less than 10,000 tons). Source: Victorian Railways
Mr. Wright, M.L.C. for North Western Province, approached the Minister for Transport in 1975 on behalf of various councils, to construct a direct line between Ouyen and Patchewollock. The ministerial response was no different from the previous arguments. The estimated cost of $6 million could not be justified and the Maryborough to Ararat connection is sufficiently direct and capable of handling all traffic offering. Mr. Wright tried again in 1979 but to no avail.
Although advocacy of a Litchfield - Minyip connection continued, the concept of a connection between the parallel mallee lines was never to impress the Victorian Railways Commissioners or successive governments for over 60 years.
In February 1992, the Prime Minister, Mr. P. Keating, announced that standard gauge lines would replace broad gauge on the Melbourne - Adelaide section of the national rail network.
Mr. S. Pickering of Meringur, a former State Transport Authority board member, was concerned that large section of the Victorian rail network, including the Mallee, could be cut off from important ports and markets "if huge amounts of State expenditure were not directed to linking the regional networks to the standard gauge project".
In March 1992, the Victorian Transport Minister, Mr. P. Spyker, was asked to include farmer groups on the steering committee set up to investigate the impact of standardisation in Victoria. Farmer groups were concerned that the lines to Hopetoun, Yaapeet and Portland would be isolated when the Melbourne to Adelaide line was converted to standard gauge.
Mr. Spyker told "Sunraysia Daily" newspaper on 21-8-1992 that all country trains would be running on standard gauge by the year 2000.
Following a change of government, the Minister for Public Transport, Mr. A. Brown, announced in September 1993, that the Dimboola to Yaapeet, Murtoa to Hopetoun and Ararat to Portland lines would be converted from broad to standard gauge in association with the conversion of the Melbourne to Adelaide to standard gauge. Conversion of the lines to standard gauge commenced in March 1995 and was completed by 18-5-1995. The government also announced that conversion of the Ararat to Maryborough line would be undertaken with a third rail for standard gauge trains added to the Maryborough to Dunolly section. The Ararat to Maryborough section was converted and re-opened on 28-4-1996. With conversion of the Melbourne to Adelaide line and western feeder lines completed, Victoria now had a separate grain division exclusively on standard gauge.
In June 1999, an economic development officer with the Mildura Rural City Council "discovered´ the possible link between Lascelles and Hopetoun and put forward a "plan" to connect the two centres, by placing a third standard gauge rail between Mildura and Lascelles and then building a standard gauge extension to connect at Hopetoun, possibly using an easement along the Henty Highway. Nothing was to eventuate from the proposal.
A study and report by Sinclair, Knight, Merz on the development of mineral sands covering zones centred on Mildura, Swan Hill, Robinvale and Horsham was published in July 2000. The report claimed that poor infrastructure was threatening a potential multi-billion dollar mineral sands industry in Victoria, emphasising that upgrading of the infrastructure was critical for the projects to be viable on a world basis.
A key recommendation was the creation of a standard gauge link between Mildura and Portland, upgrading and standardising the Mildura line north of Lascelles with a new rail link across to Hopetoun. The report did not indicate that the already standardised Hopetoun line would also require significant upgrading along the length of the route to Hopetoun. Another recommendation was to upgrade and standardise the Mildura to Ouyen and Ouyen to Pinnaroo lines to provide direct connection to the Port of Adelaide.
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