Fettler

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In general terms a fettler is someone whose job it is to keep things in good fettle or condition. Fettlers are most commonly associated with railways where teams of fettlers used to keep the rails in good condition.

[edit] Anecdotal Information

To maintain the tracks of the Trans-Australian Railway, running across the barren Nullarbor Plain from Port Augusta in Southern Australia to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, outback settlements were established along the line to accommodate a permanent workforce called the settlers. In the days when the line was built (construction began in 1917), settlers was still written with the then obsolete long s, also known as medial or descending s (ʃ), a minuscule version of the letter s, resulting in the term ʃettlers. In time, the long s (ʃ) got confused with the letter f. Thus, according to Australian legend, ʃettlers was apparently misinterpreted as fettlers.

Union song about Fettlers