Blackie – Warwick’s canine character
Blackie was Warwick Railway Station’s resident dog and a ‘Legend of the Line’.
The story goes that a black female dog in very poor shape turned up at the East Warwick station one day in the late 1950s and sat, looking appealingly up at the shunt loco crew.
That was the beginning of the legend.
At that time, there were staff on duty at the railway station 24 hours a day, including Sundays, and before long the dog was familiar to everyone and was named Blackie.
Her coat soon took on a new sheen with all the food supplied by drivers, firemen, shunters and other railway staff. Everybody brought her special treats: milk, fresh meat, cooked meat, cakes and biscuits – even the bone from the Sunday lamb roast.
Blackie quickly adapted to railway procedure. She got to know that, when the stationmaster walked to a shunt engine, this signalled a short return trip to Mill Hill station and would jump on board for the ride. She would never jump on for any other trips – she made her home in the tender of a PB15 shunt engine* (usually No. 444 – one of two PB15s now in the Workshops Rail Museum in Ipswich).
No. 444 at the Workshops Rail Museum in Ipswich
As the years went by, age began to catch up with Blackie. She developed arthritis and could no longer jump up or down from the loco. If the driver or fireman felt a paw, or heard a whimper, it was Blackie – she needed to go to the ‘doggy loo’. The loco was stopped, she was helped down and then helped back on. It did not matter how busy the shunt was, Blackie was given priority.
Towards the end of the 1960s, Blackie died and was buried in what was once the rose garden between the station and Lyons Street under a headstone reading: ‘Blackie. A faithful friend to all’. Blackie's death even prompted this tribute in verse from Allan Collett: Rest in peace little friend/ You were faithful to the end/ Loved by all that drove the train/ Hope to see your face again.
Blackie's headstone (5 January 2022. Photo by David Owens)
Although dwarfed by the much grander monument to the egg incident, Blackie's headstone remains as an affectionate tribute to a dog who was known and cared for by so many in the Warwick community.
But Blackie’s story did not end there - she had pups!
The Barr family remember one of a 1960s litter being brought home from the station and named Darlin’ Dog. Like her mother, she was a devoted member of the family who travelled wherever they went, and became a wonderful mother to her own litter of pups. She lived to the age of 13 years.
Plans to construct the new sandstone station and goods shed as well as a turntable and yards had begun two years previously. By 1911, there were 15 locomotives based in Warwick with up to 50 trains a day arriving and departing; by 1926 there were some 300 people employed by the railway and as many as 60 trains ran each day. However, Warwick’s role declined from 1953 when the longer range of diesel engines meant that the depot was no longer required. The station building and goods shed have survived and were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 24 September 1999. Local enthusiasts have restored part of the locomotive roundhouse.
Mill Hill station closed on 30 May 1975; the station and goods shed of the East Warwick station in Lyons St continue to operate.
The Barr family remember one of a 1960s litter being brought home from the station and named Darlin’ Dog. Like her mother, she was a devoted member of the family who travelled wherever they went, and became a wonderful mother to her own litter of pups. She lived to the age of 13 years.
Blackie's daughter, Darlin' Dog
Warwick’s Railway Stations
Railway lines first reached Warwick in December 1870 and the first Warwick railway station opened on 10 January the following year. Because the station was located on the northern side of the Condamine, its name was changed to Mill Hill in 1888 after a second station was opened at East Warwick on 2 January 1888.Plans to construct the new sandstone station and goods shed as well as a turntable and yards had begun two years previously. By 1911, there were 15 locomotives based in Warwick with up to 50 trains a day arriving and departing; by 1926 there were some 300 people employed by the railway and as many as 60 trains ran each day. However, Warwick’s role declined from 1953 when the longer range of diesel engines meant that the depot was no longer required. The station building and goods shed have survived and were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 24 September 1999. Local enthusiasts have restored part of the locomotive roundhouse.
Mill Hill station closed on 30 May 1975; the station and goods shed of the East Warwick station in Lyons St continue to operate.
Warwick Railway Station (QSA Item 435753)
*The first PB15 class engine was delivered in December 1899. They were designed specifically for Queensland Railways and more than 200 were manufactured by different companies including Walker’s in Maryborough and the Toowoomba Foundry. The P designated ‘passenger locomotive’; the B referred to the earlier B15 class which was very similar. #444 was produced in 1908.
**On 29 November 1917, Warwick’s railway station gained worldwide publicity when an egg was thrown at the Australian Prime Minister, Billy Hughes, while he was speaking on the platform. The incident was notorious because the Warwick constable refused to arrest the perpetrator on the grounds that federal law had no jurisdiction within the State. The incident led directly to the establishment of the Commonwealth Police Force (now Australian Federal Police).
Centennial plaque officially unveiled by David Littleproud MP on behalf of the
Prime Minister of Australia on 18 November 2017. (Photo by David Owens, 5 January 2022)