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Full steam ahead from Navy’s past
By Graham Davis
Volume 50, No. 18, October 04, 2007 |
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| BACK ON TRACK: David Twiss in front of Invicta, left, which volunteers are working to have ready for its November 17 return to the track in her original livery of black, yellow and red. |
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| FLASHBACK: LCDR David Twiss, in white overalls, stands with other teachers and apprentices in front of Invicta at HMAS Nirimba in 1981. |
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A retired Royal Australian Navy engineering instructor, together with a dedicated team of enthusiastic volunteer restorers, will soon give a “fresh head of steam” to a 100-year-old locomotive and provide Bundaberg with a new working tourist attraction.
The name of the officer is LCDR David Twiss (retired) and Invicta the name of the steam engine — and some long-serving members of the RAN will remember both used to be at the RAN’s former apprentice training centre, HMAS Nirimba, at Quakers Hill in Sydney.David, now a Bundaberg resident takes up the story.
“In 1907 a Mr Buss bought a small steam engine to move the sugar cane around his Invicta Sugar Mill near Bundaberg,” he said.
“The loco was called Invicta and for decades it did a magnificent job.
“Bundaberg Sugar (then Bingera Mill) took over Invicta and the loco continued in service. But time came to pension it off and it stood idle.”
After working as a train driver, David joined the Navy in 1959 as an apprentice specialised in engineering.
“In 1981, I was serving in HMAS Nirimba instructing apprentices in engineering. The RAN still had a number of steam driven ships in service so having apprentices know about the workings of steam was important.
“We heard that Invicta was idle in Bundaberg. On May 4, 1981, the CO of Nirimba, CAPT Fox, offered $100 for the loco with the plan to restore it while using it as a training aid.
“The offer was successful and 40 of us went to Bundaberg along with an RAAF low loader and took the engine down to Quakers Hill.
“It became part of the Apprentices Steam Club at the base.
“Work was done on it and it was made to run.
“We built track and it soon became a popular attraction particularly when we had open days.
“Hundreds of apprentices learned much about steam from watching and working on Invicta.”
About 20 years ago, the Government decided to close down HMAS Nirimba as a Defence asset and transfer all apprentice training to HMAS Cerberus in Victoria. Invicta once again stood idle.
When the Bundaberg Steam Tramway Preservation Society Inc, operating as Botanic Gardens Railway, heard about this it asked if it could have the loco returned to Bundaberg. “This took place and the engine was put into their shed.
“About six years ago, when visiting Bundaberg, I found the loco and got permission from the Society to commence restoration. First I got one volunteer offsider to help each Tuesday. Soon there were many.”
The weathered steam engine was stripped, new parts fitted where applicable, her boiler reconditioned, safety checks made and new paint applied.
On November 17 this year Invicta’s firebox will be lit, steam created and she will once again be on the move along a kilometre of track. A celebratory “toot” signalling it is leaving the station will come only after the original owner’s son, Mr Ken Buss, and his daughter Hiliary pour the contents of a bottle of “Bundy” over its buffers.
Invicta will be used as a tourist attraction for the Australian Sugar Cane Railway which operates in the Botanic Gardens in North Bundaberg. |
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