Mount Gambier railway station

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Mount Gambier
Mount Gambier Railway Station - Railway Commissioner's Report(GN02050).jpg
The Mount Gambier railway station building in 1918.
General information
LocationRailway Terrace, Mount Gambier
Coordinates 37°49′50″S140°46′33″E / 37.83064°S 140.77594°E / -37.83064; 140.77594
Operated by Australian National
Line(s) Naracoorte–Millicent
Mount Gambier-Heywood
Distance221 kilometres from Adelaide
Platforms2 (1 island)
Construction
Structure typeGround
Other information
StatusClosed to rail services; repurposed as a community park
History
Opened20 May 1879
Closed31 December 1990 (passengers)
12 April 1995 (freight)
28 June 2006 (tourist)
Services
Preceding station Limestone Coast Railway Following station
Wandilo
towards Adelaide
Mount Gambier railway line Terminus
Terminus Beachport railway line Compton
towards Beachport
Mount Gambier-Heywood railway line Murrawa
towards Heywood

Mount Gambier railway station was the terminus of the Mount Gambier railway line and the junction for the Beachport and Mount Gambier-Heywood railway lines in the South Australian city of Mount Gambier. It was last used in 2006, and has since been transformed into a public community space.

Contents

History

In 1879, a narrow 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge line opened from Beachport (Rivoli Bay North) through Millicent to Mount Gambier. [1] In 1887, the Mount Gambier railway line was constructed to Naracoorte (connecting to the Kingston-Naracoorte railway line) and Wolseley, where it joined the Adelaide-Wolseley line.

On 28 November 1917, a broad gauge line opened from Mount Gambier to Heywood near Portland. In the 1950s, the narrow gauge lines were converted to broad gauge. [2]

Mount Gambier had an extensive goods yard and a locomotive depot with a roundhouse.

Ownership of the station and the railway lines was transferred to Australian National in 1978. The station closed on 31 December 1990 when the Bluebird railcar passenger service, known as the Blue Lake, ceased operating, along with every intrastate passenger services in South Australia but the lines were still used by freight. When the Adelaide-Melbourne railway line was converted to standard gauge, the Mount Gambier, Heywood and Millicent lines remained as broad gauge, consequentially becoming isolated and were closed to remaining freight services on 12 April 1995. [3]

In the late 1990s to mid 2000s, the Limestone Coast Railway, operated tourist services on the abandoned lines from Mount Gambier to Penola, Coonawarra, Tantanoola, Millicent and Rennick with Redhen railcars. However, due to increased insurance costs, the service ceased 1 July 2006, with the last service being a train to Tantanoola on 28 June 2006. [4]

In 2013, the old yard was lifted and covered with grass. [5] [6] [7] The station building was then operated by radio station Lime FM.

In 2015, after over a year of work, the Railway Lands was completely transformed into a public community space. 20,000 square metres of turf covered the entire former-industrial site. The grand opening in November saw thousands of residents come together to utilise the area. A "back to nature" playground, wheelchair-accessible barbecues, a pond with a creek, native plants, a labyrinth, plus many more features for the community to use. Mount Gambier City Council plan to use the area for a number of annual events, but encourage local community groups to also activate the area. This, in turn, permanently disconnects the Heywood line from the Millicent and Naracoorte lines except for a two track easement through to give right of way for any future standardisation. [8]

In 2018, the roundhouse was demolished after being damaged by fire in 2014. [9] [10] Timber from the roundhouse was reused at a different roundhouse in Peterborough during its restoration from 2021 to 2022. [11]

In 2020, the station building was restored to original condition by the City of Mount Gambier Council. [12]

Services

Mount Gambier station was served from Adelaide by an overnight mixed train until October 1985 and then by a service using Bluebird railcars until December 1990. [13] Today, Mount Gambier is connected to the Victorian rail service via a V/Line coach service to and from Warrnambool. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millicent, South Australia</span> Town in South Australia

Millicent is a town in the Australian state of South Australia located about 399 kilometres (248 mi) south-east of the state capital of Adelaide and about 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of the regional centre of Mount Gambier. In the 2021 census, the population was 4,760.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Australian Railways Redhen railcar</span> Class of Australian railcar / diesel multiple unit

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limestone Coast Railway</span>

The Limestone Coast Railway was a tourist railway in the Australian state of South Australia which, from 1998 to 2006, operated a tourist service from Mount Gambier to stations on local 5 ft 3 in gauge railway lines which had been closed in April 1995. The stations included Coonawarra and Penola on the Mount Gambier line, Millicent and Tantanoola on the Mount Gambier to Millicent line and Rennick on the Mount Gambier-Heywood railway line.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Gambier railway line</span> Former railway line in South Australia

The Mount Gambier railway line is a closed railway line in South Australia. Opened in stages from 1881, it was built to narrow gauge and joined Mount Gambier railway station, which was at that time the eastern terminus of a line to Beachport. It connected at Naracoorte to another isolated narrow gauge line joining Naracoorte to Kingston SE, and to the broad gauge Adelaide-Wolseley line at Wolseley, at around the same time that was extended to Serviceton to become the South Australian part of the interstate Melbourne–Adelaide railway. It was closed in April 1995.

Wolseley railway station was located at the junction of the Adelaide-Wolseley railway line and the Mount Gambier railway line. It served the town of Wolseley, South Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Gambier–Heywood railway line</span> Former railway in Victoria and South Australia

Mount Gambier–Heywood railway line is a 5 ft 3 in line located in Australia which operated from 27 November 1917 to 11 April 1995 between Mount Gambier in the state of South Australia and Heywood in the state of Victoria. It is one of two railway lines built by both state governments following an agreement in 1912 to connect to each other's railway networks. There has been calls for standardisation over the past two decades from Heywood to Wolseley since the Melbourne to Adelaide line was converted in 1995.

Penola railway station was located on the Mount Gambier railway line in the South Australian town of Penola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coonawarra railway station</span> Former railway station in South Australia, Australia

Coonawarra railway station was located on the Mount Gambier railway line. It served the town of Coonawarra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millicent railway station</span> Former railway station in South Australia, Australia

Millicent railway station was located on the Beachport railway line. It served the town of Millicent.

Tantanoola railway station was located on the Beachport railway line. It served the town of Tantanoola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalangadoo railway station</span> Former railway station in South Australia, Australia

Kalangadoo railway station was located on the Mount Gambier railway line. It served the town of Kalangadoo, South Australia.

Wirrega railway station was located on the Adelaide-Wolseley railway line in the town of Wirrega, 273 kilometres from Adelaide railway station by rail.

Cannawigara railway station was located on the Adelaide-Wolseley railway line in the locality of Cannawigara, 282 kilometres from Adelaide railway station by rail.

Glenroy railway station was located on the Mount Gambier railway line. It served the locality of Glenroy, South Australia.

Beachport railway station was the terminus of the Beachport railway line. It served the town of Beachport.

References

  1. ↑ "MOUNT GAMBIER AND RIVOLI BAY RAILWAY". South_Australian_Register . Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia. 20 May 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  2. ↑ Newland, Andrew; Quinlan, Howard (2000). Australian Railway Routes 1854 - 2000. Redfern: Australian Railway Historical Society. pp. 53, 56. ISBN   0-909650-49-7.
  3. ↑ Masson, Johnny. "MOUNT GAMBIER MARSHALLING YARDS". Trove NLA. Johnny's Pages - Old SAR Shunter. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  4. ↑ Masson, John. "FINAL DAYS OF THE LIMESTONE COAST RAILWAY". Johnny's Pages : Old S.A.R. Shunter's Memories. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ↑ Breathing Life into the Rail Lands Archived 23 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine City of Mount Gambier
  6. ↑ Old Mount Gambier rail corridor demolition begins Archived 22 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine The Border Watch 14 October 2013
  7. ↑ Mount Gambier rail lands project takes shape ABC South East SA 4 June 2014
  8. ↑ Masson, John. "MOUNT GAMBIER OLD MARSHALLING YARD". Johnny's Pages : Old S.A.R. Shunter's Memories. Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  9. ↑ "Engineers assessment report for the Mount Gambier Roundhouse". Department for Infrastructure and Transport. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  10. ↑ "Roundhouse demolition begins". The Border Watch. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  11. ↑ "Timber to be donated to National Trust of SA". City of Mount Gambier. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  12. ↑ "Railway Station exterior returned to former glory". City of Mount Gambier. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  13. ↑ Masson, John. "MOUNT GAMBIER MARSHALLING YARDS IN THE 1970 and 80's". Johnny's Pages : Old S.A.R. Shunter's Memories. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  14. ↑ "Mount Gambier - Melbourne via Warrnambool & Geelong". Public Transport Victoria. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
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