By KATHRYN BERMINGHAM
OVER a century after Puffing Billy first chugged through Cockatoo, a group of passionate locals have a plan to restore the town’s station to its former glory.
They hope to rebuild the station as it stood in the 1920s, making only minimal changes to the original design.
Even more incredibly, the group plans to carry out the plan without the help of authorities and relying solely on donated money, materials and labour.
Should the plan by successful, Cockatoo will be the only station in Australia built entirely by residents.
Organiser Brett Barker said there were 62 locals who had signed on to volunteer their time.
“Puffing Billy is a non-profit organisation and it doesn’t have the funds to develop the station here, so a proposal from the people of Cockatoo is to, using voluntary labour, rebuild the station and to use donated supplies,” he said.
Brett added that the Puffing Billy Preservation Society had “come to the party” and will be covering the cost of insurance for volunteers, but could not fund the project itself.
“We are still looking for major sponsors to either donate building supplies or provide funding. The advantage to the sponsor is when the station is built there is going to be an honour board and it will list all the volunteers and everyone who contributed.”
It is planned to use the space inside the station to display Cockatoo’s history collection.
Puffing Billy stops at Cockatoo station each day on its way to Gembrook and again on its way back to Belgrave. Though there are currently few passengers that disembark, Brett hopes that the replicate station would provide a tourism boost for the town.
“It will give people a lot more reason to stop at Cockatoo. There’s about an hour and a half in between the stop at Cockatoo and the return pick-up, so it gives people the opportunity to spend that time at Cockatoo.”
A small heritage building currently stands at the site, as well as a sign marking the platform. Current estimates gauge that the cost of constructing the building will be between $80,000 to $100,000
On 30 January, an insurance registration day will be held at the site for all volunteers interested in helping rebuild the station. The meeting will run from 1.30pm to 3.315pm and will be following be a free trip to Wright station for volunteers. Inquiries should be directed to Brett on 0421 219 899.
