Margaret River Railway Station Group Site

Statement of Significance

Margaret River Railway Station Group Site is of significance:
• For its contribution to an understanding of the pattern of settlement in the South West of the State and its association with the development of the region following the establishment of the Group Settlement Scheme.
• For its historical association with the important role of the WAGR railway in providing goods transport in the South West to assist agricultural production.
In 1993 the Goods Shed was assessed as an extremely rare example of its type (Goods Shed, 4th Class) (Uhe, Philippa, The Survey of Railway Heritage in Western Australia National Trust of Australia, 1993).

Physical Description

The overall site is heavily revegetated with native trees and bush and the majority of the railway lines appear to have been removed or covered over (although a small section was noted near the entrance to the Goods Station site in 2012). (1) The old Barracks are largely concealed from view by trees. Street views confirm that it is a two-storey, shed-like structure, clad with horizontal, corrugated-iron and brick to the ground floor and vertical timber boarding to the upper floor. There are curved-roofed, corrugated iron railway cabins attached to an enclosing verandah on the western side. A brick chimney is visible above the first floor roofline. Note: A more detailed, on-site inspection would be required to determine the nature and extent of the original fabric and additions to this place. (2) The Goods Shed is a corrugated-iron clad, rectangular shed with a raked roof. It has a deep verandah overhang to the western side, above the old sliding doors, and smaller awning to opposite elevation. Internally it has an exposed timber frame and there is a varnished timber office in the north-west corner. The Goods Shed is set in a flat, bituminised area, adjacent to a raised loading platform (now covered with long grass) on which the former crane was located. There is a row of mature pines along the Railway terrace side. (3) The former Station Masters Residence is located opposite the main railway reserve, at 278 Railway Terrace. This is a timber-framed house set back approximately 7.5m from the street boundary, in a domestic garden. It is of a simple inter-war bungalow style with a prominent hipped roof, with gablets facing the street at the ridgeline. The wide return verandahs are partly enclosed and have a flat, fibrous cement balustrade. Original detailing includes high-waisted doors with two glazed panels over three vertically proportioned timber panels.The layout and operation of the Railway Station yards is no longer clear from the surviving physical evidence

History

The following information has been provided by Rail Heritage WA: Margaret River was the mid point of a very interesting railway from Busselton to Flinders Bay. The southern end had been built originally for timber pioneer, M C Davies, to transport logs and sawn timber from the forest to his mills, and then to the ports at Hamelin Bay and Flinders Bay. This timber tramway was progressively extended north to the Margaret River and logging spurs transported logs back to the company mills. After the Millars Karri & Jarrah Co. purchased the whole operation in 1902 the forest was gradually cut out and the last mill closed in 1913 (see Place #AU/MR-03) The railway was purchased by the state government for £31,000 and the sale was completed on 1 June 1916 (PWD Annual Report 1916). The government planned to use this old railway to link up with a new line from Busselton to Margaret River. Construction had commenced from Busselton early in 1917 but it was only to fell trees along the proposed route. About 29kms of clearing was done before the work was stopped. Unfortunately, as was the case for several other railway construction projects in the state at this time, World War One intervened – with a shortage of both labour and steel rails for these projects . All rails came from overseas in those days and all steel production was going into the war effort. The government finalised another clearing tender in October 1920 and work began again to fell the remaining trees to Margaret River. At the southern end, the old timber company track was used for much of the route, but with some deviations. One of these commenced about 2km north of Witchcliffe. The old line went further to the east of Margaret River townsite, following Darch Road. The new government line went to the west following, in part, an old logging spur line to cross the Margaret River just to the north of the town. This provided for a station site, 1km to the south-west of the town centre.Construction of the railway was undertaken by the Railway Construction Branch, Public Works Deptartment. They employed ‘day labour’ who built up the formation with shovels and horse drawn scoops, while bridge and culvert builders constructed the crossings over the many watercourses. The PWD commenced the Busselton-Witchcliffe section on 15 July 1922 and Witchcliffe-Flinders Bay in May 1923. Busselton-Witchcliffe was opened by the government railways on 20 October 1924 and the remaining section on 1 April 1925. A list of State Records Office drawings suggests that most buildings were built about the time of opening the railway. Tenders were called for a wooden station (since relocated off-site) and wooden residence (possibly the house at 278 Railway Terrace) in Margaret River in September-October 1926, and the first Station Master was appointed at the beginning of the next year.
The WA Government Railway between Busselton and Flinders Bay was closed on 1 July 1957. The station offices and freight depot were retained for use and WAGR operated road transport to replace the train service. Passenger buses took over the traffic between Flinders Bay and Bunbury/Perth with pickup points along the Bussell Highway. After the railway closed, the WAGR decided to retain a station officer at Margaret River for dealing with road services. Frank McCann had been Assistant Station Master, Margaret River since November 1952 and was appointed to this new role. He was the only WAGR station officer at a station with no rail service. On 1 July 1982 he was appointed Station Master, Busselton and retired from that position in July 1984. A 1993 Survey of Railway Heritage in Western Australia by the National Trust describes the Goods Shed at that time. The Goods Shed (4th Class) was built in 1926 for £257. It is in excellent condition with a sympathetic lengthwise extension. This type of shed is extremely rare today. Also in the yard is the loading ramp and 2.5 ton goods crane. Sometime before this 1993 survey, the station building was purchased and moved to the Whistlestop Park at Yoongarillup (south east of Busselton on the Vasse Highway), a local tourist attraction featuring a wildlife park and a miniature railway that took patrons around the park. The six railway worker’s houses were demolished and, as at 2012, the Montessori School is located that portion of the original railway site (north of Betts Street). The crane was relocated to the Northampton (or Walkaway?) Museum. Railway Museum at some stage after 1996. The former Station Master’s House is located opposite the main railway reserve, at 278 Railway Terrace. This is now a private residence and, as at 2012, is being offered by sale. In February 2012 the Goods Shed was being used for storage and clearing/earthworks were being undertaken in the area immediately south of the shed.

Integrity/Authenticity

Low: The use has been altered and the original use cannot be readily discerned.
Low to Moderate (varies across the site)

Condition

Good to Poor (varied across the site and different buildings) *Assessed from streetscape survey only

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.