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| 23 March 2005 |
| Christmas Train |
| People in outback Australia don't often get to see musicians in their local area, so every year a special train comes along bringing Christmas cheer to everyone on the line between Sydney and Perth. |
MIKE SEXTON: Sydney's central railway station is the starting point for thousands of journeys. But once a year a special edition of the 'Indian Pacific' rolls out that's a veritable 25-carriage Christmas present to the people of the outback. TONY BRAXTON-SMITH, GREAT SOUTHERN RAILWAY: We work with rural and regional Australia on a daily basis. We travel through the outback. We're a vital thread that connects them to the rest of the outback, to the rest of the country. We like to give something back to the community and so we do a Christmas train, it's the 'Indian Pacific' outback Christmas train. MIKE SEXTON: And on board are two performers charged with spreading the Christmas spirit to some of the tiny communities that live in the vast expanses between the capital cities. Together they form an odd couple - a big bloke in a red suit and legendary Australian rocker Jimmy Barnes. 40 hours into the journey and the kids from Oak Valley School in the Maralinga-Tjarutja Lands of South Australia are up before dawn to meet the train at Watson, an old siding on the edge of the Nullarbor Plain. NOELENE COX, OAK VALLEY ABORIGINAL SCHOOL: We've been practising on and off all term, but, you know, towards the end of the term we sort of get a little bit more intense but then on the day sort of everything comes good. So, yeah, I think they've really, really enjoyed it and the songs sort of lifted their spirits too. MIKE SEXTON: In surely the most remote concert location in the country, Jimmy Barnes is joined by his four children in an acoustic set. NOELENE COX: We feel very privileged to become part of the event that the 'Indian Pacific' puts on and to be invited to participate. We don't have access to all of those entertainers so close by as people do in big cities. So, it's nice to only come down two hours and have somebody. MIKE SEXTON: The headline act draws an even bigger response, and when it's time to go at least one of the performers feels he's received the greatest gift. JIMMY BARNES: They're just gorgeous, I mean, the look in the kids' eyes was so excited about being part of the event. It went beyond a performance to an audience. It was a shared spiritual experience, I felt. It was something I felt I was honoured to be there and share in that time with them as opposed to me being there to entertain them. So, it was something really, really, special. MIKE SEXTON: The idea of a Christmas train goes back to the early part of last century, back when trains were associated with coal and steam - Watson was just one of 52 communities that dotted the transcontinental line and played a vital role in keeping the railway alive. But these days there are only two remaining - Tarcoola and Cook. In his three decades in showbiz Jimmy Barnes has done just about every tour imaginable. But this is like no other and appropriately, the song that gets the biggest reception is his first hit albeit with slightly reworked lyrics. |
story notes |
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special edition special version Indian Pacific The Indian Pacific runs between Sydney, on the east coast of Australia, and Perth, on the west coast.  Sydney is on the Pacific Ocean, and Perth is on the Indian Ocean, so it's called the Indian Pacific railway. veritable Veritable means real or true. present Follow the link and listen to the different way we pronounce present when it's used as a verb. more information: present we're We're is the contracted form of we are. Follow the link to find out how to spell and use a word that sounds the same. more information: where & we're charged with Charged with here means given the job of, or ordered to do something. Example: I'm charged with the task of writing these examples. Christmas spirit Christmas spirit is the special happy feeling that people get at Christmas time. live Follow the link and listen to another way of pronouncing the word spelled l-i-v-e (live). more information: live odd unusual bloke Bloke is Australian slang for man. legendary The adjective legendary describes someone who is famous and loved by many people. rocker A rocker is someone who sings or plays rock music. practising When the word practise is used as a verb it's spelled with an s before the final e and and not a c. on and off On and off means not continuously. They only practised sometimes during the term. intense stronger comes good To come good means to improve, or go very well. Example: My bad back has come good. lifted their spirits If something lifted their spirits, it improved their mood, or it made them feel happy. too When too means 'as well' we spell it too. more information: to too puts on organises Example: She puts on elaborate dinner parties. Follow the link and listen to more ways of using the key phrasal verb put on. more information: put on close Follow the link and listen to another way of pronouncing the word spelled c-l-o-s-e (close). more information: close kids' Notice that the possessive apostrophe is used after the swhen we are talking about more than one kid. But be aware that because children is an irregular plural, we write children's for the possessive and not childrens'. more information: possessive apostrophe spiritual Spiritual is the adjective from spirit, it means of the spirit, to do with the spirit. It means relating to deep feelings or emotions.
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