Craig Ellis and Lloyd Mawson oversee the relocation of Bella, Shepparton’s iconic steam traction engine.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Bella, a 129-year-old steam traction engine that many long-time locals might remember more as a piece of play equipment at John Pick Playground than a machine that helped build the Peter Ross-Edwards Causeway, was moved through Shepparton in spectacular fashion on Thursday morning to a new, exciting home.
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Built in Leeds, England, in 1896, Bella was gifted to the city by Robert Colville in 1963.
Bella is transported down Welsford St, Shepparton, by Evan Lane on Thursday, May 22, 2025.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
She sat proudly in the playground by Victoria Park Lake for 19 years, before tightening safety laws prompted Shepparton City Council to transfer her to the Shepparton Historical Society in the early 1990s.
Three ‘tractors’, including Bella, have now been moved from the Shepparton Heritage Centre out to Kialla’s Emerald Bank, where Lloyd Mawson and his small team of machinery enthusiasts plan to bring them back to life and put them on display in the upcoming Shepparton Vintage Machinery Museum that Mr Mawson is currently creating.
Bella arrives at her new home.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Thursday morning’s mammoth move was a memorable moment, with Quicklift Crane Hire discounting its lifting fee and Mooroopna’s Evan Lane donating the use of his truck and time to make the three-hour relocation possible.
An $18,000 bucket of grant money, including funds from Bendigo Bank’s Greater Shepparton Connected Communities, will get Bella’s restoration started.
Mr Mawson said after Thursday’s move, the first job would be to stabilise Bella, cut out any rust from her body and release all the welds that had prevented her formerly moving parts from moving.
Bella at John Pick Playground, adjacent to Victoria Park Lake in Wyndham St, before she was moved to the heritage museum in the early 1990s.
While she was painted in an eye-catching red in the playground and is now a dull heritage green, Mr Mawson said he would research her original finish and make her over to historic authenticity.
He even has plans to help Bella let off some steam again in future, albeit generated by much cleaner air than the dirty coal that was once used to fire her up.
It’s a moment the mechanically minded Mr Mawson is looking forward to.
“It’s a wonderful thrill when you hear an engine bark after it hasn’t gone for 50 years,” he said.
“It’s very exciting.”
These things take time, however, and it’s estimated that day will be about two years down the track.
The News will follow Bella’s return journey to her former glory.
