Peterborough and Bob the Railway Dog
In a small park, in the centre of Peterborough in South Australia, is a statue of Bob the Railway Dog – a classic image of a shaggy mutt.
He is a legend in the area. Terowie, which is just down the road, actually has a Bob the Railway Dog Trail in which an imaginary Bob chats (albeit in bubbles attached to a loveable image of the pooch) to the traveller about the town.
The inscription on the sculpture in Peterborough explains: "The story of Bob, railway mascot, begins when he was rounded up in Adelaide in 1883 with a lot of other stray dogs being sent north to the rabbit plague.
“He was adopted by railway guard William Ferry of Terowie and a few months later moved with him to Petersburg. Bob began travelling on trains, first with his owner and then on his own. He jumped on and off trains as the mood took him making interstate journeys and short suburban trips on trams as well as trains (he also made river trips on the Murray Steamers). When he heard the whistle of a train he was off!
“He travelled far - to Sydney, Melbourne, Oodnadatta, Broken Hill, Mt Gambier and more.
"When he died in 1895 he was mourned by the travelling public all over Australia."
Then I checked the ‘net and found, to my amusement, an entire website devoted to the dog.
It contains vast amounts of information but my favourite was a letter to The Spectator in London which described Bob’s uniqueness: "I often see interesting letters to the Spectator about dogs, and I thought perhaps your readers might like to hear about the best known dog in Australia. His name is Railway Bob and he passes his whole existence on the train - his favourite seat being on top of the coal box. In this way he has travelled many thousands of miles, going all over the lines in South Australia. He is well known in Victoria, frequently seen in Sydney and has been up as far as Brisbane!
“The most curious part of his conduct is that he has no master, but every engine driver is his friend. At night he follows home his engine man of the day never leaving him or letting him out of his sight until they are back on the Railway Station in the morning, when he starts off on another of his ceaseless journeys. I have not seen him on our line for some time, but noticed with regret last time he was in the station he was showing signs of age, and limping as he walked. E Cresswall. Adelaide, August 24th. 1895."
Bob got lucky because, of all places in Australia, Peterborough was the craziest when it came to railway towns ... its great claim to fame ... well let me explain.
Before Federation in 1901 each state drew up its own rules. Some of those rules were sensible ... then there was the issue of railway gauges!
Each state decided that it was going to have a different railway gauge. Broad - 5'3", Standard 4'8 1/2" and Narrow 3'6'' (they are all in old imperial feet and inches) and, as luck would have it, Peterborough happened to be one of those places where all three railways came together.
They even needed a triple gauge turntable – the only one in the world. Yes, because the rest of the world isn’t totally stupid. And, hey, Bob was at a point where three railways met. He really could go anywhere ... and he did. Love that story.
www.abc.net.au
