Former deputy prime minister Tim Fischer has been farewelled by about 60 people at The Rock on Thursday morning as his casket was loaded onto a train bound for his state funeral in Albury.
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RSL members, Vietnam war veterans and friends placed poppies next to Mr Fischer's casket, which was draped in the Australian flag with his signature Akubra hat placed on top.
Mr Fischer's Australian Army service medals were also placed on his casket.
Men and women and young and old shed tears as they watched the train depart The Rock at about 8.30am to the sound of the train's whistle and a flyover by a Lockheed 12A vintage military transport plane.
Lockhart Shire deputy mayor Greg Verdon told mourners assembled at The Rock station that Mr Fischer served the nation both in the armed forces and in state and federal parliament.
"He was a man who was respected across the political divide, he gave untiring service to the community and he was much loved by everyone, especially in the Lockhart Shire where he was born at Lockhart and had his farm at Boree Creek," he said.
"It is very fitting that a man who loved trains so much should take his final journey on a train.
"Tim has been a great servant of the people and we would like to thank him for his service to Lockhart Shire and to the country as a whole.
"We wish him a peaceful repose and God bless you, Tim."
Following the train's departure, Betty Quee from Lockhart, who knew Mr Fischer most of her life said it was a brief but lovely service.
"Tim did his army training at the Scheyville officer training unit and my husband was an instructor there," she said.
"It was lovely to see such a crowd here at the station and they were from all around the shire.
"We decided to come here and see his final journey as we couldn't make it to Albury."
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Simon Whitehead, from Urana, said he ran into Mr Fischer a few times in Vietnam when they were serving in different army battalions.
"He wasn't a politician - he was a statesman and a diplomat - but he wasn't a politician as we see them today," Mr Whitehead said.
"We used to play tennis at Urana and one of my brothers was chasing after his sister for a while.
"I served in Vietnam with him, we were in different battalions but we ran into each other a few times.
"After the war we ran into each other a few times and I met him quite often in regards to service matters.
"Very few people could say anything against him. Unlike most politicians, he would listen then actually do something."
Mr Whitehead said Mr Fischer's status as a former soldier and a national political leader made a difference to Vietnam veterans in rural areas.
"A lot of veterans were very thankful as he was a spokesman for them," he said.
"Tim was never directly in charge of veterans affairs but he was always there to advocate for us and to speak up and draw attention to political malfeasance," he said.