A 76-year-old Queanbeyan man and a miniature train were the featured photo on the front page on this day in 1970. By this stage, Albert Yelland had been patiently applying to build and operate a miniature railway in Canberra for more than four years.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
He and his hobbyist partner, Gordon Holbrook, had identified a site at the Cotter reserve. This article mentioned how the pair's struggle to clear bureaucratic hurdles had been raised in federal parliament.
Alas, it would be another five years, in 1975, when their dream would finally be realised at a site in Weston Park. Sadly, Mr Yelland didn't leave to see the first children enjoying his labour of love, dying just four months short of opening day.
Also on this day, the pros and cons of allowing poker machines in the ACT were being carefully weighed up by a committee tasked with reporting to the Minister for the Interior.
Delegates from about 30 Canberra clubs attended a hearing where most said pokies would be their saviour and it was unfair that machines could operate in NSW but not in the territory. One club president said that clubs at that point risked falling "flat on their faces" if not for their "hard core drinkers".
A case study was presented of a NSW club of 2100 members. Machines had made $336,639, which after tax and licence fees "left an enormous profit" for the club.
The article said there "seems no doubt the proposal will have the firm backing of ACT clubs". There was no mention in the article of any risks of gambling addiction, however they may have been presented as part of the against case.
