Joining of the Rails Monument - SA

Monument to Joining of the east and west section of Railway line 17th October 1917.

On the 17th October 1967 to mark the 50th Anniversary of the joining of the rails, a wooden Memorial was unveiled in front of a crowd of around 50 people. Over the years, the weather took its toll on the monument and by 2013, it was no more than a pile of rotting wood on the ground.

To mark such an historic event, a new metal memorial was made in the Railways workshop in Port Augusta and transported to the site and erected for the official ceremony that took place on Tuesday 17th October 2017, in front of a great crowd of over 420 people with the temperature of 43 degrees and a very strong wind.

At the precise time when the rails were joined back in 1917, Dick Smith unveiled the new memorial at 1:45 pm and plaque should be in place for the next 100 years.