Our story began 130 years ago

The railway network between Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney is completed.

235 kilometre railway line opens between Darwin and Pine Creek.

Melbourne’s first electric tram begins operating between Box Hill and Doncaster.

Sydney’s first purely suburban railway, the North Shore Line, opens from Hornsby to St Leonards.

1901 - The Commonwealth of Australia comes into being on January 1. Edmund Barton becomes the first Prime Minister of Australia.

1903 - First sitting of the High Court of Australia takes place in the Supreme Court building in Melbourne.

1906 - Sydney's Central Station is officially opened by the NSW Premier, who is presented with a gold key to open the ticket office.

1911 - Canberra is founded and designated as Australia’s capital city.

1914 - Outbreak of World War I. Australia commits hundreds of thousands of troops to the British war effort. This marks the first time Australians have fought under the Australian flag. The first railway line in ACT connecting Canberra and Queanbeyan opens.

1915 - Australian soldiers land at ANZAC Cove on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey leading to heavy casualties. By late 1915, 3,000 railway and tramway employees have enlisted for active service.

1919 - The deadly Spanish Flu claims the lives of more than 11,500 Australians within a year.  In Melbourne, work commences on the electrification and development of the Melbourne suburban lines.

1920 - Qantas Airways is founded

1921 - The Commonwealth Department of Health is founded.

1923 - Construction begins on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

1924 - Cobb & Co., which had dominated Australian transport for more than 70 years, makes its last horse-drawn coach run. It can no longer compete with rail and motor transport.

1926 - Sydney’s first regular electric train service begins operating on the Illawarra Line and the city underground was opened to St James and Museum Stations.

1927 - First traffic lights appear in Melbourne.

1929 - The Great Depression following the Wall Street Crash hits Australia hard. The Public Hospitals Act is passed, incorporating all public hospitals under the NSW Government. This remains one of the most significant pieces of legislation affecting public hospitals in NSW history.

1932 - Sydney Harbour Bridge opens, connecting the North Shore line to Wynyard Station.

1939 - Australia follows Britain's lead and declares war on Hitler’s Nazi Germany.

1944 - The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme is introduced, providing subsidised medicine to all Australians

1945 - World War II finally comes to an end with an Allied victory.  Australia becomes a founding member of the United Nations. The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is held for the first time.

1949 - Construction of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme officially begins.

1951 - The fund first incorporates electrical workers into its membership when around 2,500 railway staff in jobs associated with the generation of electricity are transferred to the Electricity Commission.

1953 - Introduction of National Health Act

1956 - Circular Quay station is opened, completing Sydney’s City Circle line.

1958 - Construction begins on the Sydney Opera House on Bennelong Point on Sydney Harbour.

1963 - It is decided at the annual general meeting to change the name to the NSW Railway & Transport Employees Hospital Fund.

1969 - It's "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" when Apollo 11 astronauts land on the moon. The Parkes Radio Telescope in NSW plays a key role in getting the television pictures of man first walking on the moon to the world.

1970 - National Railway Museum first opens its doors as the Mile End Railway Museum. It would later move to its current site in Port Adelaide. The International terminal (Terminal 1) at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport opens.

1972 - Prime Minister Gough Whitlam proposes the introduction of a National Health Scheme that would be financed by a compulsory income levy – the precursor to the modern-day Medicare scheme.

1973 - The Sydney Opera House is formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II.

1979 - Eastern Suburbs railway opens through to Bondi Junction.

1983 - The fund first installs a computer system for rapid identification of claims. Australia II wins the America's Cup, ending the longest winning streak in sporting history and ending U.S. domination of the racing series.

1984 - The Medicare system is introduced, establishing basic health care for all Australians. “Advance Australia Fair” is proclaimed to be Australia’s official anthem. Australia’s first successful heart transplant is performed at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney.

1985 - Australia’s first successful liver transplant is performed at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane.

1989 - The fund celebrates its 100th anniversary with the issue of a Centenary Medallion, a harbour cruise and a dinner held at the Railway Institute with entertainment provided by the Transport Band. The fund also launches Extras Cover which will pay benefits for services not covered by Medicare. New Parliament House opens in Canberra.

1991 - Members of Queensland Rail are welcomed to the fund. An office is opened in Brisbane and within a couple of years Queensland members would represent more than 10% of the fund's total membership.

1992 - Australian High Court delivers the Mabo decision which rules that indigenous native land title does exist.

2000 - Australia hosts the 27th Summer Olympic Games in Sydney. All of Australia comes to a standstill to watch Cathy Freeman race to a gold medal victory in the 400m finals. The line to Sydney Airport opens in 2000 to serve the games. Australian Government Private Health Insurance Rebate and Lifetime Health Cover are first introduced, giving Australians a great reason to get private health insurance.

2001 - Australia celebrates 100 years since its inauguration as the Commonwealth of Australia.

2004 - The Families Foundation launches. The Foundation is a registered charity run by staff on a volunteer basis to raise money to assist families in times of hardship and need, whether they are members of the health fund or not. Yarra Trams commences operation of Melbourne’s tram network. The 1420 km train line between Alice Springs and Darwin is completed

2007 - The Private Health Insurance Act is introduced, replacing the National Health Act 1953. Railway & Transport Health Fund becomes rt health fund and adopts new tagline of ‘be well, get well, stay well’. The fund also creates formal partnerships with key organisations in the transport and electricity industries: the RTBU, the ETU and the TWU. rt health becomes a national organisation for the first time, with members in every state and territory.

2008 - Quentin Bryce is sworn in as Australia's governor-general, the first woman to hold the post. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally apologises to the Stolen Generations.

2009 - Epping to Chatswood Rail Link is completed.

2010 - Julia Gillard becomes the first female Prime Minister of Australia

2013 - Healthy Eyes clinic in Charlestown, Newcastle, first opens its doors to rt health members and the public.

2014 - Healthy Teeth and Healthy Eyes clinics in Surry Hills first open their doors to rt health members and the public.

2015 - The South West Rail Link opens in Sydney.

2016 - Healthy Teeth clinic in Brisbane first opens its doors to rt health members and the public.

2018 - rt health continues our proud tradition of looking after the health and wellbeing of our members and their families across Australia