New General Manager appointed for Mary Valley Rattler  

The Rattler Railway Company has today announced the appointment of Linda Barry as the organisation’s new General Manager. She will take up her position from 23rd May 2022, having recently returned to Queensland and settled in nearby Black Mountain. 

Barry brings significant leadership experience to the General Manager’s role at the Rattler Railway Company. She worked with National Australia Bank for almost a decade, holding senior positions in human resources management, before joining the not-for-profit Alannah & Madeline Foundation from 2015, and being promoted to Deputy Chief Executive in 2020.  

The Foundation was established in the wake of the Port Arthur tragedy with the goal of providing best practice prevention and care for children and young people.  

As Deputy Chief Executive, Barry led a team of over 40 employees. In the role, she was responsible for strategic development and implementation of the Foundation’s programs, projects and advocacy, as well as executive oversight and accountability for delivery, financial and risk elements of programs.  

She also provided organisational leadership of culture, engagement and productivity, and was in charge of executive stakeholder engagement and management of corporate, government, community partner and philanthropic relationships.

McNicol said that Barry’s extensive experience in the not-for-profit sector, and her proven record with community and stakeholder engagement, would provide great support for the evolution of the Rattler.  

“Clearly, the past two years have been very challenging for the Rattler with COVID and then floods, but we are very confident of the future and Ms Barry is eminently qualified to lead the team and our wonderful group of volunteers forward,” he said.  

“She has worked extensively to develop and enhance organisational culture, and with the Rattler being such an important contributor to the Gympie community, her ability to work with key stakeholders across the community will help us rebuild the attraction after such a difficult period.

 “Encouragingly, we have seen some very good results following the re-commencement of services after the floods, and with both interstate and international borders now fully open, we have considerable optimism for positive trading over the rest of the year.”

Barry takes over the role of General Manager following the retirement of Micheal Green, who had worked with the organisation since it re-launched in 2018, first as Operations Manager and then as General Manager from 2019.