"It did constrain us a bit, but I don't believe we were held up at any time. There was generally a level of acceptance on the part of the traditional owners, although it was not always terribly happy or enthusiastic."Certainly, efforts have been made to give the Northern Territory's large Aboriginal population a stake in the railway. The territory's government paid A$8.4m for the right to lay tracks across Aboriginal land. Indigenous groups also received an A$5m equity share in the line. Contractors committed themselves to employing and training Aboriginal people along the route.As always, the reality does not quite match up.
Forty per cent of the original workforce at the Tennant Creek factory was indigenous, but the figure has dropped to 25 per cent. "Once they've earned a few hundred dollars - a bit of money for food and alcohol - they take off," Beitzel says. He quickly adds: "Of course, the young white blokes are just as bad."Beitzel waves a trade certificate that was recently awarded to one young labourer, Warwick Ed. But he admits that the skills it recognises are not easily transferrable "We make concrete sleepers, and nothing else," he says. Ed, a former stockman and fencer with a heavily tattooed neck, says: "I've learnt a lot, but I can only use it in another sleeper factory. I've heard that there might be another shed starting up in Western Australia next year."For locals such as Toby Brody, an elder of the Warumungu people, the railway has been a long time coming.
"I've been hearing about it since I was a little boy," he says. "I remember my mother talking about it in the Seventies, or even before." There is a hill that is sacred to the Warumungu just 100 metres from the factory "It's OK," says Brody. "We think that the railway is a good thing."For the communities along the route, the new line will bring varying benefits. Darwin hopes to become a regional trading hub, linking the agricultural and industrial heartlands of southern Australia with the vast markets of Asia. The city, which is closer to Singapore and Jakarta than to Sydney and Melbourne, is upgrading its port and building a new business park. The line will also connect Darwin with the rest of Australia.
