The steam engine was initially brought to Tatura by Tom Flanagan to serve as a tourist attraction.
It had been been rusting away on a collector’s property after being removed from the town by Greater Shepparton City Council for safety reasons more than 20 years ago, before Mr Le Sueur and a group of local history buffs began the process of returning the piece of Tatura history to its former glory.
Mr Le Sueur said council had approved the steam engine’s placement next to the new IGA supermarket development in Wilma Wilson Gardens, a place that holds significance for the steam engine.
“There used to be a garage there, and that’s where the steam engine was originally done up again. So it all kind of links together,” he said.
Mr Le Sueur said he had a quote from the council to get the steam engine installed in town, but was waiting on funding for the project.
Despite the current “stalemate”, Mr Le Sueur said the project certainly was not dead in the water, or dead on the tracks, as it were.
He said he had collected a couple of thousand signatures from Tatura residents, confirming the community’s continued support for the project.
“We don’t want the community to think we’ve forgotten and given up. We are very much still building steam,” he said.
Mr Le Sueur had been hard at work on fundraising, and said he was hopeful he would be able to get the project across the finish line with the help of a grant or donations from businesses and members of the community.
• This story originally appearing in the March 2023 edition of Tatura’s Booming. You can access the full magazine at https://www.sheppnews.com.au/features-and-magazines/taturas-booming-march-2023/
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