Kondinin Railway Precinct

Child Places

• 10618 Kondinin Ladies Waiting Room
• 10687 Kondinin Railway Goods Shed
• 11165 Trembath Park - Site of

Statement of Significance

The precinct represents the railway line which was responsible for the subsequent development of the Kondinin town and region.

Physical Description

Kondinin Ladies Rest Room Goods Shed Trembath Park Railway Station Water tank Crane/ramp Stock yards ref no. 2 Weighbridge ref no. 26 Fettlers Quarters ref no. 104 Turnaround SITE Wheat bin CBH 1937 SITE Cuseeden's Store SITE

History

In 1905 and 1906, 5.8 million acres of land was classified for farming, 899,000 acres of which were first class land, but too far away from the then existing railway infrastructure. Some pioneer settlers took up selections of some of that land in the Kondinin area. By 1909, a town was established in Kondinin. In c1911, the town had been planned for a different location, but the railways put a bend in the proposed line, to what is now Kondinin which was further east of the selected site. The town and railway were determined, in part, by the availability of a possible water supply to service the trains and the settlers. The supply was subsequently obtained from Woorkakanin Rock, a dam was constructed, and the water piped to the overhead water tank at the railway. The overhead water tank provided water supplies for the steam trains. The goods shed and wagon shed were also on site. By 1913, a Kondinin Progress Association had formed, and wrote to the MP, NW Harper, to influence the survey of the townsite. In 1914, with the railway line imminent, lands were resumed, and the Surveyor General ordered that the district be surveyed. Surveyor Fox, in charge of the Narrogin lands Office, surveyed 2 sections of 1/4 acre blocks adjacent to the railway station, thereby creating the centre of Kondinin town. On 15 March 1915, the Yilliminning railway line from Narrogin, through Dudinin and Kulin, opened through to Kondinin. The Public Works Department constructed the line and handed it over to the Railways Department. The railways practice was to locate towns 25 miles apart along the railway line, with sidings in-between to facilitate the wheat cartage. However three strong groups emerged in the Kondinin area; Kulin, Kondinin and Bendering, along the Yilliminning line. The Lands Department agreed to the retention of the towns close together, although Bendering never progressed as a town, and Kondinin and Kulin have experienced problems of two centres in close proximity. With the construction of the line, the railway workers lived in barracks at the railway reserve. Cuseeden established a store to serve the men on the railway construction. He established his store in about 1914, approximately 1/2 mile north of the existing townsite. A triangle section of track constructed in 1915, and pointing due east, allowed for the trains to turnaround as Kondinin was the railhead for a short while until the railway line connected through to Narembeen in the north, on 22 December 1915. The weighbridge was located in close proximity to the bagged wheat stacks, approximately opposite the Kondinin Hall. By 1921, the Kondinin Railway Station had been constructed on the site. The station was located on the opposite side of the railway line from the town, and proved to be inconvenient. The Ladies Waiting room near the railway station was the original station at Kondinin prior to the construction of the brick station in 1921 (demolished 1987). Narembeen subsequently remained the railhead until 16 March 1925, when the line finally connected to Merredin. In 1937, bulk handling of the grain was introduced at the Kondinin Railway reserve with the advent of a CBH bulk grain storage bin. The goods shed and associated loading ramp and crane are still insitu. A workman was killed during the erection of the crane at the railway station. By 1974, the railway station was in an unsafe condition, and a public meeting in 1980 resulted in the demolition of the station in 1987.

Condition

Precinct

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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