Mr MATT KEAN (Hornsby) [6.15 p.m.]: Tonight I am delighted to speak on an issue that is very important to my community and to do so while the Minister for Transport is present in the Chamber. I would like the Chamber to pause to remember the victims of the Cowan rail disaster who either lost their lives or were seriously injured in the crash that occurred 23 years ago this week.
The six men and women who tragically lost their lives on 6 May 1990 will never be forgotten by the residents of the Hornsby electorate. Today we remember those victims and the other 99 passengers who were injured in the crash and still carry the scars from that ill-fated day. These victims are an important reminder that as elected government members we should always remain vigilant in ensuring that our rail and road networks are properly maintained to avoid tragic events such as this recurring. I note the commitment of the Minister for Transport to ensure that that does happen.
I was touched when one of my constituents, John A'Beckett from Hornsby Heights, visited my office on Monday to personally remind me of the anniversary of the Cowan train disaster anniversary. Mr A'Beckett is a great local resident who does much for our community. He works tirelessly in the Rural Fire Service and is restoring one of the service's old vehicles. He, and many other Hornsby shire residents, remembers the devastating sequence of events which led to the crash at 7.20 p.m. on 6 May 1990. A special steam passenger train was travelling south-bound between Brooklyn and Cowan after returning from a popular jazz festival near Maitland. Trouble started when the old steam engine started to slip on the train tracks after passing through the Boronia No. 3 tunnel. The driver of the steam train applied sand to the rails to improve traction but the train came to a complete stop about 50 metres clear of the tunnel. A following CityRail train, which had been stopped by a red signal for 10 minutes, received a green signal and proceeded, colliding with the steam train.
The resulting impact killed the driver of the CityRail train, Gordon Hill, and a passenger who was riding in the front cabin with him. Another four passengers in the rear carriage of the steam engine were killed, including the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Sydney, John Manning Ward, his wife Patricia and daughter Jennifer. Our thoughts are with their families at this time. A coronial inquiry held following the crash found that the sand applied in an effort to improve traction had insulated the train from the rails, meaning that the track circuits had failed to detect the presence of the first train. The NSW State Coroner at the time, Derrick Hand, also found that the steam train's heavily loaded carriages and a steep curving gradient on the rail line had prevented the train from restarting.
The horrific crash caused a deadly explosion on the Newcastle and Central Coast line and required a major rescue operation from local volunteers. I am told that local RSL staff and Police Youth Club boys rushed to the scene to assist emergency services to remove injured passengers from the mangled wreckage. Most of the injured passengers were sent to Hornsby hospital, where hardworking doctors and nursing staff were inundated with well over 60 emergency admissions. Former New South Wales Premier Nick Greiner visited the injured passengers the next morning to check on their condition and to congratulate hospital staff on the heroic role they played in saving several lives that night.
I take the opportunity to remind the House that tragic rail events such as this have famously affected other areas of Sydney, including Granville and Waterfall. I know my colleagues the member for Granville and the member for Heathcote will know first hand how a tragic event like this can rally the local community into action to help the injured and traumatised victims get back on their feet. Subsequent fundraising efforts and acts of community generosity are typically strong Australian traits which have remained resolute over the many decades since our nation's birth.
New South Wales thanks them all for their efforts in the Cowan train disaster and during many other disasters in this State. I take this opportunity to recognise particularly the important role played by our emergency services personnel in Hornsby and throughout New South Wales. We are extremely fortunate to be served by such dedicated and committed individuals who put their lives on the line to protect us. They ensure that when we are confronted with an emergency and come face-to-face with tragedy we are served by the most dedicated and best qualified personnel. We thank them greatly for that.
Read the full transcript in Hansard here.
