Papers of John Henry York comprising photographs of construction of the Trans Australian Railway from Port Augusta to Kalgoorlie together with two photographs of John Henry York.

The building of the Trans Australian Railway was significant as for the first time it linked the east and west of Australia overland allowing quicker transporation of goods from east to west and west to east. This linkage of east and west was a stipulation of the West Australian government prior to agreeing to Federation in 1901.

The route was surveyed between 1907 and 1909. Work on building the line from Port Augusta to Kalgoorlie commenced in 1912. It was anticipated the railway would be completed in 1915, however with the outbreak of World War I, construction was delayed due to diminished human and material resources which had been put towards the war effort. The railway was officially opened in 1917.

One can see from the images that John York took whilst working on contructing the railway how tough and hot this work must have been.

Port Augusta (S. Aust)

York, John Henry, 1889-1951

Trans-Australian railway

Historical souvenir of Port Augusta : sixty years of progress, 1876-1936 : diamond jubilee and state centenary celebrations, June 27th-July 11th, 1936, [Port Augusta, S.A.: Port Augusta Diamond Jubilee and State Centenary Celebrations Committee, 1936] (see template in SA Memory) insert link to it.

Adam-Smith, Patsy, The desert railway, Adelaide: Rigby, 1974

Burke, David, Road through the wilderness : the story of the transcontinental railway, the first great work of Australia's federation, Kensington, N.S.W.: New South Wales University Press, 1991

Australian Bureau of Statistics Year Book Australia : Past and future releases : Select 1918 and Federal railways feature article.

Australian government: History of rail in Australia

On the rails: exploring Australia by train

• On The Rails is an interactive educational website designed for use by upper primary and lower secondary students, their teachers, and train enthusiasts. It uses video clips from Film Australia to take a participant on a number of Australian rail journeys through both time and place, with appropriate educational resources integrated into these online journeys. To have a virtual experience For the Trans Australian whether you are a student, teacher or enthusiast select "Tea and sugar" - this was a train which ran along the Trans-Australian line between Port AUgusta to Kalgoorlie which supplied the railway workers with provisions.