Story 4 - Oral Histories

The Midland Railways workshop closed in 1994 after 90 years of operation. During those years the railways provided emplayment for thousands of workers. Many, upon leaving the workshops went on to further their careers in a variety of different areas.

Ric McCracken - Midland Westrail Workshops Oral History Project Manager, Ruth Andrew - Historian and Local Studies Librarian for the City of Swan and Dr Bobbie Oliver - Teaching and Research Fellow at the Research Institute for Cultural Heritage at Curtin University, speak about the importance of Oral Histories and particularly about the importance of the Midland Westrail Workshops Oral History Project to the Midland Area.

Story 6 - Ron Davies

Many people were affected by the closure of the Midland Railway Workshops. Whether they had been there 50 years or 4 years the 4th of March 1994 became a day of sorrow.

From his humble beginnings as a junior clerk at the Midland Railway Workshops, Ron Davies went on to a political career that included sitting as a Member of Parliament, State Government Opposition Leader and West Australian Agent General in London.

Story 8 - Gwen Scannel

A world within worlds is how Maurie Tomlin describes the community that was the Midland Railway Workshops. Maurie and his wife, Shirley, began working at the workshops after emigrating from England.

Not only did Gwen work at the Midland Railway Workshops, she also married into a 'Workshops' family. Her relationship with the workshops continued long after she had stopped working there.