When Hannah Hill first looked into the Newcastle railway truncation it was simply part of her HSC studies.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A year on and the 18-year-old marched side-by-side with thousands of Maitland, Lake Macquarie and Newcastle residents on Sunday to protest the state government’s determination to cut the rail line at Wickham on Boxing Day.
Miss Hill, from East Maitland, began studying the truncation as part of a year 12 society and culture project and became caught up in the issue.
“I think it’s really important,” she said.
“I got the train in from Victoria Street and it was just packed with people [coming to protest].
“It was great to see so many people. I’m passionate about [keeping the heavy rail line] and my family have been really supportive as well.”
Miss Hill said she admired Save Our Rail president Joan Dawson for the fight she had shown.
“She’s a legend,” Miss Hill said.
“She’s really educated about it, she knows the ins and outs of everything, I love her.”
Mrs Dawson addressed up to 3000 people at the rally after the crowd had marched down Hunter Street to Civic Park.
The Dungog woman said all legal avenues would be explored before direct action was taken.
“The next course of action is exploring legal opinion as to whether we can place an injunction on any further work to cut the rail line,” Mrs Dawson said.
“Obviously we want it posted before Christmas Day.
“First we need to look at all the legal avenues, but we are prepared for direct action if need be.”
Mrs Dawson thanked the community for their support.
“I think [the rally] was very successful, the support was excellent,” she said.
“There were 16 community groups involved on Sunday, since then the Awabakal Aboriginal Land Council have indicated their support for us too.
“I’m confident the majority of people in the Hunter Region do not want to lose train services into Newcastle.”
