Karlgarin Siding - Site of

Statement of Significance

The railway siding represents communication, transport and agricultural viability for the area, and the evolution of a town.

History

As early as 1921, the Karlgarin Hill Progress Association was promised the railway. The settlement at Karlgarin Hill developed with the expectation of the railway passing by. The trains first ran between Lake Grace and Hyden, via Karlgarin in 1932. The rails had reached Cottle's Siding in February 1931 where 56,000 bags of wheat were waiting to be transported. On 28 July 1933 the railway from Lake Grace to Hyden was officially opened. As early as 1915, the Narrogin to Kondinin line passed through Kulin and ended at the Kondinin railhead. From 1913, the Railway Advisory Board was considering the pattern of railway lines throughout the agricultural areas and looking to a uniform gauge line. Stileman was Chief Engineer of the WAGR, and his plan proposed the extension of the trunk line eastwards from Corrigin through to Forrestania which was planned for expansion under the Empire Immigration Scheme, sharing costs. In 1926, the Wagin line extended eastwards to a railhead at Lake Grace. Considerable lobbying from the Karlgarin community, vied for an extension of the Corrigin line, eastwards, as outlined in the Stileman Plan. The Railway Advisory Board finally proposed a spur line from Lake Grace to Karlgarin, and onwards to Hyden, from where there had been strong representation, at the head of the line. By 1927, fierce discussions were taking place. The Director of Agriculture, GL Sutton, after a deputation from Jilakin settlers, lobbied for a spur line east of Kondinin. The motion to construct the trunk line east from Kondinin was put before Parliament in 1928. The Stileman Plan, the line east from Kondinin was subsequently defeated, due to four main factors; the failure of the Empire Immigration Scheme, the depression, and the overloaded work schedule of the Railway Advisory Board, and the successful lobbying of landholder interests in Wagin. As late as 1929, surveys were continuing for the Kondinin extension, and late in 1929, the Karlgarin town was surveyed, but in June 1930, the railway gangs commenced constructed at the Lake Grace end of the spur line to Karlgarin and Hyden. The train also catered for passengers in the early days of its service. The passenger train service ended in 1950 when the Railway bus took over. After World War Two Baltic refugees ("New Australians") were employed on the railways, and they established a camp of dwellings for them and their families. In 1952, the Baltic women organised the supper and cleaned up after the grand opening of the Hyden Memorial Hall. Prickly pears mark the site since the camp was removed. The railway line was closed on the 30 June 1957, and after a season of road cartage, the Railways and Main Roads Department reintroduced rail transport on a seasonal basis. On the 15 January 1960 the line was re-instated for a trial between Hyden and Lake Grace. It has remained operation for the cartage of grain and superphosphate since that time.

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