KALGOORLIE TO PORT AUGUSTA RAILWAY.
No.
7 of 1911.
An Act to provide for the Construction of a Railway from Kalgoorlie in
the State of Western Australia to Port Augusta in the State of South Australia,
the acquisition of the necessary land, the appointment of officers, the making
of charges, and the appropriation of money in connexion with such Railway.
[Assented to 12th December, 1911.]
Preamble.
WHEREAS
by the Constitution it is enacted that the Parliament may make laws for the
peace order and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to railway
construction and extension in any State with the consent of that State:
And whereas by an Act called The Northern Territory Surrender Act 1907
the State of South Australia has consented to and authorized the construction
by the Commonwealth of a railway westerly from any point on the Port Augusta
railway through South Australia to any point on the western boundary of South
Australia by a route to be determined by the Parliament of the Commonwealth:
And whereas it is desirable to authorize the construction and working of
a railway from Kalgoorlie in the State of Western Australia to Port Augusta in
the State of South Australia, which railway includes the said railway
authorized to be constructed by the Northern Territory Surrender Act 1907:
Be it therefore enacted by the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, the
Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as
follows:—
Short title.
1.This
Act may be cited as the Kalgoorlie to Port Augusta Railway Act 1911.
Definitions.
2.In this Act, unless the contrary intention
appears—
“the Minister” means the Minister of State for Home Affairs;
“the Railway” means the railway authorized by this Act.
Power to construct the
Railway.
3.—(1.) Upon
an Act of the Parliament of the State of Western Australia being passed
consenting to legislation by the Parliament of the Commonwealth with respect to
the construction of the portion of the Railway included in the State of Western
Australia or consenting to the construction of that portion of the Railway by
the Commonwealth, the Minister may, subject to this Act, construct a Railway
from Kalgoorlie in the State of Western Australia to Port Augusta in the State
of South Australia.
(2.) The construction of the
Railway shall not be commenced until the States of Western Australia and South
Australia respectively have granted or agreed to grant to the satisfaction of
the Minister such portions of the Crown lands of the State as are in the opinion
of the Minister necessary for the purposes of the construction, maintenance,
and working of the Railway.
Route of the Railway.
4.The
route of the Railway shall be as described in the Schedule, but the Minister
may make such deviations as are reasonable for the better construction and
working of the Railway.
Gauge of line
5.The
gauge of the Railway shall be four feet eight and a half inches.
Railway need not be fenced.
6.The
Minister shall not be required to fence any portion of the Railway but he may
erect and maintain such fences in connexion therewith as he thinks proper.
Engines to be used.
7.The
Minister may utilize in the construction and working of the Railway line
engines worked by steam or other mechanical power.
Provision for incidental
matters.
8.The
Minister may provide all things necessary or convenient for the efficient
construction and working of the Railway and may permit the rolling-stock of any
State Railway to run on or over the Railway or any part thereof.
Incidental buildings and
works.
9.The
Minister may erect or make all such stations, buildings, approaches, bridges,
culverts, apparatus, dams, tanks, plant, works, conveniences, and structures as
he considers necessary or desirable in connexion with the efficient
construction and working of the Railway.
Special powers in South
Australia.
10.For
the purposes of the construction and working of the Railway the Minister shall
have and may exercise in the State of South Australia all the powers and
authorities vested in the Government of that State or any authority of that
State by any State Act relating to railway construction or working to the same
extent as if the Railway were a State Railway and the Minister were the proper
State authority for the construction and working thereof.
Special powers in Western
Australia.
11.For
the purposes of the construction and working of the Railway the Minister shall
have and may exercise in the State of Western Australia all the powers and
authorities vested in the Government of that State or any authority of that
State by any
State
Act relating to railway construction or working to the same extent as if the
Railway were a State Railway and the Minister were the proper State authority
for the construction and working thereof.
By-laws.
12.The
Minister may make by-laws for the regulation, government, protection, and
working of the Railway, and may if he thinks fit adopt, with necessary
modifications, the by-laws in force relating to the South Australian State
Railways so far as concerns any part of the Railway in the State of South
Australia, and may if he thinks fit adopt with modifications the by-laws
relating to the Western Australian State Railways so far as concerns any part
of the Railway in the State of Western Australia. Such by-laws shall be deemed
regulations within the meaning of section ten of the Acts Interpretation Act
1904.
Use of the Railway before
it is open for traffic.
13.The
Minister may permit any part of the Railway to be used for the carriage of
passengers and goods before it has been declared open for traffic, but in that
case all passengers shall be carried at their own risk and all goods shall be
carried at the risk of the owners thereof and the Minister shall incur no
responsibility for any injury or damage to any such passengers or goods.
Power to connect with State
Railways.
14.—(1.) By
arrangement with any State, the Minister may—
(a) connect the Railway with any State Railway; or
(b) permit any State Railway to be connected with the Railway;
and
(c) run trains or rolling-stock of the
Commonwealth over any State Railway with which the Railway is connected.
(2.) No connexion which involves
the construction of more than one mile of additional line of railway shall be
made by the Minister in pursuance of this section.
Fares and rates.
15.—(1.) The
Minister may charge such fares and rates for the carriage of passengers and
goods on the Railway and make such incidental charges in connexion with the
Railway as he thinks reasonable.
(2.) All schedules of fares and
rates made by the Minister shall be laid before the Senate and the House of
Representatives within thirty days after the making thereof if the Parliament
is then sitting and if Parliament is not then sitting, within thirty days after
the next meeting of the Parliament.
Appointment of officers.
16.The
Minister may appoint, for any period not extending six months beyond the date
on which the line shall be declared open for traffic, all such officers as he
thinks necessary for the purposes of the construction or working of the Railway
and may authorize the employment of any persons for those purposes.
Receipts to go to
Consolidated Revenue Fund.
17.All
moneys received in respect of the Railway shall be paid to and form part of the
Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Commonwealth.
Books of reference or plans
not necessary.
18.Notwithstanding
anything in any State Act, the Minister need not cause any book of reference or
plan to be made or deposited with any State authority in connexion with the
Railway.
Acquisition of lands.
19.Any
private lands may be acquired by the Commonwealth for the purposes of the
Railway under the provisions of the Lands Acquisition Act 1906 and the
value of any lands acquired by compulsory process under that Act shall be
assessed according to the value of the lands on the nineteenth day of September
One thousand nine hundred and eleven.
Appropriation of moneys.
20.All
moneys necessary for the payment of the cost of construction of the Railway up
to and including the time of the opening of the Railway for traffic shall be
payable out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund or out of any moneys standing to
the credit of the Loan Fund, according to appropriations made by Parliament for
that purpose.
THE
SCHEDULE.
Commencing at Kalgoorlie the line follows the existing railway to
Kanowna for a little over 6 miles, thence bearing generally south-easterly to
the township of Bulong; thence for about 17 miles in the same general
direction, being situated near the Westralia Timber Company’s tramway; thence
running almost due east adjacent to the 31st parallel of latitude forabout 357
miles; thence on a bearing north 79 degrees east until the South Australian
border is reached at about 461 miles 77 chains 89 links from centre of
Kalgoorlie station platform; thence in the State of South Australia the line
runs in the direction 10 degrees north of east, cutting Cornish’s line in
latitude 30 degrees 28 minutes, and striking the sandhill country 170 miles
east from the Border and 3¾ miles south from Ooldea Well; thence through the
sandhills for 108 miles in a general easterly direction, passing about ¼ of a
mile south of Wynbring Rock; thence in a direct course to the north side of
Kychering Hills, and continuing in a straight line to the western boundary of
the Wilgena Station, which is crossed at a point 3½ miles north of Pinding
Rockhole; thence in an easterly direction to Tarcoola. From Tarcoola the line
runs easterly to near Wilgena Hill continuing in a south-easterly direction,
and passing about 1 mile north of the Wilgena head station; thence running easterly
skirting the south-west end of Lake Moolkra and passing along the north side of
the hill near Earea Dam, to about 885 miles from Kalgoorlie, ½a mile south of
Coondambo head station, thence passing immediately south of Lake Hart; thence
to a crossing of Eucolo Creek at about 931½ miles from Kalgoorlie; thence
ascending and following the open tableland to a point opposite Lake Windabout
where it descends and crosses that Lake at about 969 miles, continuing in a
generally south-eastern direction past Oakden Hills head station at Bellamy’s
Well, passing Gibson’s Camp at 1,007 miles, No. 1 Tank at 1,029½ miles, and
leaving the main north-west track from Port Augusta near the 14-mile dam,
contouring the southern slope of the high ground on the west side of Spencer’s
Gulf, crossing the head of the Gulf at Yorkey’s Crossing at about 1,055 miles,
and thence passing along the eastern shores of Spencer’sGulf reaching the
township of Port Augusta at about 1,059 miles 73 chains, thence proceeding to a
point near the intersection of Tassie-street and Thompson-street, thence
crossing Mackay-street, Jervois-street, Langford-street, and Flinders-terrace,
crossing the west corner of the old cemetery and entering the Park Lands
finally joining the Quorn-Port Augusta Railway at about 1,061 miles 76 chains
from Kalgoorlie and about 30 chains from the centre of Port Augusta platform.
A branch line to Port Augusta wharves leaves the main line to the right
between Caroline-street and Tassie-street at about 1,061 miles 1 chain from
Kalgoorlie, joining the existing wharf lines.