Passengers aboard the Kingston Flyer were robbed at gunpoint by about 70 bandits hunting for gold when their train was stopped in Fairlight, in Southland, yesterday afternoon.
The bandits, who had just finished a weekend trekking the Eyre Mountains on horseback for the annual Birchwood Hunt fundraiser, were imitating the popular 1975 Cadbury television commercial, the Great Crunchie Train Robbery.
Trek organiser George Broughton said he dreamt up the idea while on a tractor taking care of gorse on his Western Southland farm.
"Generally, on the farm when you're spraying gorse or driving a tractor and there's not much else for your mind to do, it can wander into situations and create a fun event," Mr Broughton said.
When the Flyer arrived, the bandits jumped on board and began "robbing" the passengers of their gold coins to fundraise for the Birchwood Hunt group.
Unlike the Cadbury ad, the bandits gave the passengers gold-wrapped chocolate in exchange for their "donations".
"There wasn’t a face that wasn’t smiling," Mr Broughton said.
Mr Broughton said he loved the Cadbury ad for its sense of humour and he wanted to pay homage to it.
He estimated the group had raised a few thousand dollars from the event.
