Merredin Railway Station Group

Parent Place or Precinct

01577 Merredin Railway Station Group

Child Places

• 01577 Merredin Railway Station Group
• 03641 Merredin Railway Water Tank

Statement of Significance

The Merredin Railway Station is of exceptional significance as it represents the importance of the railway system in the development of Merredin, the agricultural area and their supporting townships in regional Western Australia. It is highly valued by the Merredin community as a reminder of Merredin's past as an important railway junction that was the centre of Western Australian Government Railway's (WAGR) maintenance operations on the Eastern Goldfields Railway from 1904 to 1969. The signal cabin is an exceptional example of its type and one of the few remaining in the State. The railway station and water tower and tank (Ref. No. 62) are landmarks in the Merredin town and make a very significant contribution to the historic townscape and the local and the wider community's sense of place.

Physical Description

The building group comprises four buildings, end to end, on an island platform. Entry to the museum is from the eastern end into what was originally the parcels office (1927), later the main station building, which is brick and tile. The next building is the elevated signal box (1913), which is a timber and iron on a two-storey high steel stand. This was followed by a building of toilets and waiting rooms (1920), which was brick and iron, and finally refreshment rooms (1915, 1927), built in the same style as the parcels office, with a cellar (1906) used for storage of perishables and cool drinks.

History

With the discovery of gold in Southern Cross and later in Coolgardie- Kalgoorlie, transport was required between Perth and the goldfields. The Eastern Railway, constructed as far as Northam in 1886, was extended to Merredin in 1893, Southern Cross in 1894, Coolgardie in 1895 and to Kalgoorlie in 1897. Water was required for the railway steam engines every 50 to 60 kilometres, and supply was an ongoing problem. Merredin Peak provided a good water catchment. In 1893, the Public Works Department designed a dam at the base of Merredin Peak to collect water and gravity feed to the water tank for the steam trains. As well as servicing the goldfields, the railway opened up the district for settlers on the land. Branch lines were constructed into the new wheat growing areas. The opening of the railway loop line to Dowerin in 1911, the Bruce Rock- Quairading-York line in 1913, the Bruce Rock-Corrigin-Narrogin line in 1914, and the Narrogin-Narembeen line in 1923, made Merredin a major railway junction. The station was built in 1895 and was one of the first built on the eastern railway. The first resident officer, Mr H.J. Cooper, described it as "as open shed 12 x 18 feet on a platform about 200 feet long ... (with) no shelter of any description.” He and his family 'resided' in a canvas tent. To deal with the growing traffic on the lines, a Signal Cabin was constructed on the platform in 1913. By 1915, improvements to the Refreshment Rooms including the cellar. Merredin’s new station buildings in 1927 were constructed using Coolgardie bricks salvaged from the Golden Gate, Hannan Street and Kallaroo Stations, on the defunct Eastern Goldfields Railway loopline. In 1961, luxury ‘Scenicruiser’ buses were introduced on the Perth to Narembeen route, cutting one of the passenger rail services through Merredin. Between 1961 and 1964, buffet cars and better accommodation on the trains to Kalgoorlie took away the need for the refreshment rooms at Merredin; they closed. In 1968, a new station was built at Merredin on the standard gauge line and the Railway Station Group was decommissioned. In 1969, all steam locomotives were replaced with diesel, and all locomotive servicing and maintenance for the entire Government railway system was transferred to a new depot at Forrestfield. A referendum was held on whether to keep Merredin Railway Station Group and 534 ‘Yes’ votes were recorded. The Merredin Museum and Historical Society was set up to handle the conversion of Merredin Railway Station Group into a railway museum that opened as the Old Station Museum in 1978. In 1993, Merredin Museum and Historical Society constructed a waterfall, dedicated to pioneer women, and a rose garden commemorates pioneers of the district. There is a plaque by the museum entrance stating that renovation work carried out by the Merredin Historical Society was funded by the Department of Education Employment and Training, July 1993 - January 1994, under a local employment program.

Integrity/Authenticity

The station buildings were constructed over about a 20 year period just after the turn of the century and have a very high integrity and authenticity.

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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