The O’Keefe Rail Trail’s ‘75 mile’ concrete post that was stolen from the trail has been found! As one of the replica railway marker post installed beside the trail on the former railway alignment, this one was found to be missing. Media coverage of this unfortunate situation assisted to help recover one of Friends of the Bendigo-Kilmore Rail Trail member Ken Hanson’s ‘concrete soldiers’.
A local district resident Annette Stone found the post at Lake Eppalock, and her brother Ken Stone realised what it was after reading an article in The McIvor Times. With assistance from the Heathcote police, the post was returned to the Friends of the Bendigo-Kilmore Rail Trail. Ken Hanson then repaired the damaged post and a working bee returned the post to the original location beside the rail trail, to be enjoyed by an increasing number of trail users.
One of the stories heard at the time was that Ken must have put a special chemical additive into the concrete when initially pouring them, which could make the posts ‘too hot to handle’ if stolen!!
O’Keefe Rail Trail mile post is recovered. The McIvor Times 1 June 2016 edition
