Carol Berry (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to recognise the volunteers who operate the Illawarra Light Railway Museum, which is located at Albion Park in the electorate of Whitlam. A huge crowd attended the opening of the museum on 10 November 1984, and four decades later it attracts an extraordinary 40,000 visitors each year. These visitors come to see the wide range of historic light railway locomotives on exhibition, including some powered by steam, as well as passenger cars and other rolling stock. There is also the 1890 Yallah Railway Station building, which stood on the Illawarra main line between Dapto and Albion Park before it was close to traffic in 1974, and a 1915 signal box from Otford, which was closed in 1985 due to electrification of the Illawarra line. The Ken McCarthy Museum, named after the museum's foundation chairman, features a fascinating collection of photographs, artefacts and memorabilia. Visitors can enjoy a miniature train ride and, on allocated days, can experience a slice of history by taking a steam- or diesel-driven journey on the museum's own narrow gauge track.

I was delighted to visit the Illawarra Light Railway Museum in June and discovered its volunteers are passionate about educating the public in relation to the role of both steam engines and other mechanical devices in light railway operations and industry in general and the use of railways and tramways in the Illawarra Region, in particular. In today's fast paced world, I congratulate these volunteers for preserving this important part of our history while educating and entertaining tens of thousands of visitors each year.

I rise today to pay tribute to the Bowral & District Art Society, which recently celebrated an extraordinary milestone: its 75th anniversary. The organisation was founded in 1950 as the Berrima District Art Society and held its early meetings in the Country Women's Association rooms in Moss Vale and then Berrima Courthouse before moving, in 1970, to its current premises in Bowral, thanks to the generosity of the Bent family. The name was changed from Berrima District Art Society to Bowral & District Art Society in 2006 and has been known as Bowral Art Gallery since 2016. However, the gallery's contribution to the committee extends far beyond Berrima and Bowral. It's valued by all villages and towns in the Southern Highlands.

Bowral Art Gallery provides a much-loved space for the community to view works of art, and, just as importantly, it supports, nurtures and inspires both established and emerging local artists. I recently visited the gallery and learnt that this not-for-profit organisation has over 500 members, that it holds over 30 exhibitions each year and that hundreds of art students develop their practice annually by learning from over 30 tutors.

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