Clip description
Pamela Con Foo is from a fourth generation Darwin family. She and her husband Harry have paid $6,000 each for the privilege of a sleeper cabin on this historic trip, something they’ve waited a lifetime for.
Curator’s notes
This is a great example of a Stateline program. It takes an historic occasion, relates it to a particular state, and gives us a warm look at a cross-section of our fellow Australians. It shows how the inaugural journey of the Ghan has attracted a range of passengers: tourists, journalists, politicians, train buffs and Territorians. The story is well researched and reporter Mark Bowling offers us a range of fascinating facts about the railway line. It’s 3,000 kilometres from south to north and people have been agitating for such a link for over 150 years.
Bowling cleverly intersperses interviews with an intimate look at the interior decor of the carriages. This Stateline special also celebrates the coming together of the states and the Commonwealth. The program is a special from the Northern Territory Stateline team and was broadcast nationally in the Stateline timeslot.