The North/South Transcontinental Railway in Australia’s Story

FLETCHER, Val 2013

Dr Val Fletcher (nee Snell) was born in Darwin in 1923 and raised here. She was among those evacuated from Darwin just before the bombing of Darwin. Because

secondary education opportunities were limited in the Territory, Val moved to Queensland

to complete her Master of Arts and her Doctorate. She later returned to Darwin to be with her daughter and family. Val’s book takes us back to the very first idea of a north/south railway when South Australia administrated the Territory. Her book then takes us through the

many aborted dreams of a north south railway and the governments at the time, to finally in

2004, when the dream was realised with the arrival of the Ghan in Darwin.