The Ghan the standard gauge Stirling North to Marree line opened, and the Ghan was curtailed to operate only north of Marree. In October 1980 the remainder of the line was replaced by a standard-gauge line built to the west of the original line. An extension north from Alice Springs to Darwin opened in January 2004. Construction of what was then known as the Port Augusta to Government Gums Railway began in 1878 when Premier of South Australia William Jervois broke ground at Port Augusta. The line reached Hawker in June 1880, Beltana in July 1881, Marree in January 1884 and Oodnadatta
Esther Ghan Firestone with Eli Rubenstein) and conductor of the Habonim Youth Choir. She was born as Esther Cohen, and her mother's maiden name was Ghan. Her mother had fled to Canada to escape the pogroms in Ukraine, where she had been imprisoned and assaulted and had faced great poverty. Esther's uncle suggested she adopt the stage name of Esther Ghan for the sake of her career. She later married Paul Firestone and had six children: Debbie, Shawn, Jay, Danny, Ari and Hillary; Hillary died of ovarian cancer in 2009. Flanagan, Marie. "Music and baby food mix beautifully for her," Toronto Daily Star,