This week marks the 50th anniversary of the inaugural running of the Indian-Pacific train from Perth to Sydney. One of the few truly transcontinental trains in the world.
The train first arrived into Perth on 26 February 1970 carrying the Governor-General Sir Paul Hasluck, government Ministers, dignitaries and other VIPs.
This was quite the event, with the train arriving “through a barrier of streamers” and a reported 11,000 people turning out to witness the arrival of the train into East Perth station. Even Humphrey B Bear was present!
Journalists from all over the world were present to record the scene, as was local film enthusiast Jack Platt. This personal footage from the day is a treasure of the SLWA. The full video is available to view on the State Library digital catalogue.
purl.slwa.wa.go...
The Indian-Pacific originally offered 52 first-class sleeping berths and 96 second-class sleeping berths. It was limited to 144 passengers, as this was the number that could be serviced by three sittings in the 48-seat dining car.
Today the 65-hour journey is luxury all the way with the removal of "second-class" in 2016.