If you were on the South Coast line on Wednesday and got stuck on a stopped train at Dapto at 5.45pm, then Scott Jefferson Giblett is the man you should blame.
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Far from being the head honcho at NSW Trains or any other job equally as vital in ensuring your railway journey goes according to plan, Scott Giblett was simply a man, standing in front of a woman (who he wasn’t meant to be anywhere near), wanting to get his stuff back.
Rewind a few hours and Giblett was to be found at Wollongong courthouse, having just been slapped with a two-year apprehended domestic violence order which prohibited him from having any contact with his estranged partner, Tamara Lockwood.
Unfortunately, Giblett had forgotten to ask the magistrate during the court hearing to make an order so he could legally get his property that was still at Ms Lockwood’s house – or at least have someone pick it up on his behalf.
It’s unclear from the details supplied in court who contacted who, but the former love birds found themselves in the same spot, at the same time, with Ms Lockwood conveniently carrying a bag of Giblett’s clothing.
Police said they received a call from a bus driver who reported seeing a woman walking south along the train tracks at Dapto.
NSW Trains was notified and all trains were put on a “go slow” through the area, however one eagle-eyed driver phoned in with another tip: he’d seen a male hiding behind a tree in the rail corridor about 200m south of Avondale Road.
All trains in the area were halted while police went to inspect. They eventually located Giblett sitting 10m from the rail line, cigarette in hand, with a black bag and a cask of wine at his feet.
Officers then saw Ms Lockwood walking towards Giblett. She tried to turn around and walk off when she saw the police but was called back and given a “please explain”.
Ms Lockwood said she was taking a shortcut home, which she often did.
Giblett said he was “just rolling a smoke”.
Both were escorted out of the railway corridor and the trains began running again.
When asked about the AVO, Giblett told police he wasn’t breaching the order, claiming it was Ms Lockwood who had contacted him and he was just getting his stuff back.
In court on Thursday, Magistrate Roger Clisdell took pity on Giblett and issued him with a $200 fine in total, acknowledging the 43-year-old had been “aided and abetted to an extraordinary degree” by Ms Lockwood.
However, he warned Giblett the worse could be yet to come: “you may get a bill from City Rail for thousands and thousands of dollars one day”.
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