Clermont Rag 20 Aug 2021

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CLERMONT RAG FRIDAY, 20 AUGUST 2021

HISTORIC STEAM ENGINE BACK IN ACTION! Come on out to the Clermont Historical Centre on Saturday 21 August, to get a rare glimpse of mechanical history in action. A fully restored Aveling & Porter #6803 steam engine, the show piece of the Clermont Historical Centre, will be fired up for the Clermont Gold & Coal Festival. It’s been four years since the Aveling and Porter steam engine has come to life for public display. The steam engine was the star attraction of the Clermont Historical Centre’s Community Open Day held in 2017. Clermont local, Kevin Fry took on the full restoration of the Aveling and Porter steam engine in 2017 under the direction of Robert Kluck. Both Kevin and Robert will be returning to the wheel to drive the steam engine. There will be free entry to the Clermont Historical Centre on 21 August, with a morning tea to be served at 10.30am and the Aveling & Porter steaming from 12pm. The Reflections of Resilience and Back on Track Exhibitions will also be open for viewing.

The Aveling and Porter #6803 steam engine has a very important connection to Clermont’s history. Clermont’s founders built the town on flat but flood-prone land between Sandy Creek and Hood’s Lagoon. As Clermont residents enjoyed the festivities of Christmas 1916, they could not have foreseen or imagined the horrendous tragedy that was about to strike their town. A cyclone had formed on 26 December, 1916 near the Whitsunday Group Islands and crossed the coast between Bowen and Mackay on 28 December. The cyclone tracked inland through the Pioneer Valley near Mackay and turned into a rain depression. The former cyclone was located about 90km north of Clermont on 27 December, and then it crossed the Denham Range to be just southeast of ‘Kilcummin’ and northwest of Clermont at 4am, 28 December.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: ISAAC.QLD.GOV.AU | 1300 ISAACS (1300 47 22 27) isaacregionalcouncil

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Clermont Rag 20 Aug 2021 by Isaac Regional Council - Issuu