North Melbourne Railway Station, Railway Place, West Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Total copies: 1
Title:
North Melbourne Railway Station, Railway Place, West Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-NORTH 111333
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
Graphic materialsTextual material
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UnrestrictedOpen access.
Use restrictions:
UnrestrictedPlease contact City of Melbourne Libraries about obtaining permission to reproduce images.
General notes:
GRAEME BUTLER 1983, CONSERVATION STUDY FOR THE CITY OF MELBOURNE OF NORTH AND WEST MELBOURNEGrading as at 1985 : BPeriod : Late Victorian (1887)Allotment: Railway Reserve, Victorian Railways CommissionersHistory- Situated on, first, the private Mount Alexander and Murray River line from Melbourne to Echuca, and finally, three other lines - Williamstown and Geelong, Echuca, Ballarat and Essendon : and the Coburg lines : the dates of rail traffic development through the station follow opening of the Newport to Geelong line in 1857, the Melbourne to Sunbury line in February 1859, Essendon junction to Essendon in October 1860, Newmarket Junction to Flemington Racecourse in 1867, Essendon to Seymour in 1872, and North Melbourne to Coburg in September 1884.The Hotham Council's request that trains stop at North Melbourne was agreed to by the Government in 1861, whilst simultaneously a proposal to establish a station in Elizabeth Street North was also being considered.After the Coburg line was added to the east of the earlier lines, the present two island and one side platforms, brick shelters, iron canopies and a nine arched masonry bridge over the lines, carrying booking offices (demolished) was proposed in 1885, but appears not to have been built until contract 2708/1 was signed by William Walker in February 1887. It is possible that the c1859-1860 platforms may have been incorporated in the new layout.The minister of Railways, under whom the Railways Department constructed the station, was Duncan Gillies, the Chairman of Commissioners, Richard Speight and the Engineer in Chief was Robert Watson.Description- Two island platforms and formerly two-side platforms (which may be reinstated) with basalt copings and asphalt paving, iron-framed iron-clad, hipped roof canopies, dichrome brick shelters and brick sided ramps connecting with the masonry bridge. Details include cream or white copings and string courses used on the brown body-bricks of the shelters, platform side walls and ramps; wrought-iron pipe and angles bent for arched rafters in the canopies; round section cast-iron columns with capitals, set in concrete foundations; wrought-iron roundels set within the trussed canopy-rafters and dichrome brick couples, pepper-pot chimneys to each shelter. The original timber bench seats or forms survive.Integrity - Generally original at the platform levels except for blocking of openings and addition of new signage; the most easterly side-platform and canopy have been replaced; ramp support-arches have been bricked in; the platforms extended in length in differing detail (1983).Streetscape e - Original parts isolated by cutting but remnants of exotic planting (palms on eastern embankment contribute character to adjoining street.Significance- Assessed by Andrew Ward (in Ward, Donnelly 'Victoria's Railway Stations : an Architectural Survey' Melbourne 1981, Vol 2, p 193) as ... 'design of the verandahs and verandah columns, as well as the platform buildings is unique' and rated as 'very important' the highest significance rating: this station, at platform level must be considered as a largely original and unique design among Victoria's 19th century railway station and possessing, by its isolation from other urban development, the extent of the lines and traffic passing through it and consequent 'wholly railway' surroundings, the essence of a simply-appointed 19th century railway environmentIt may also contain remnants of the former Mount Alexander line platforms and has been one of Victoria's busiest stations outside of the Central Business District: of high regional importance.Recommendations -Clean and restore original brickwork by approved methods; paint frame, trim and roof in original colours; restore and maintain planting along embankment.References:(RB= Rate book; D= Melbourne or Victoria Directory; Harrington= [Leo J Harrington 'Victorian Railways to 1962' Melbourne 1962; V&M =Sutherland, 1888. `Victoria and its Metropolis’)1 Harrington, ops. 283 f; V & M. vol. 1 p.3852 'Bridge and Station Buildings at North Melbourne' Contract 2355 (5.1885) and Contract 2708 (Jan. 1887), the latter signed by contractor Railways Department, Melbourne (in HBC File)3 Harrinqton, pps. 273 f
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Record number:
1625372
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 111333 | 1 PDF : 940 KB ; A4 | Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |