Earth:Mount Gambier railway station

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Short description: Former railway station in South Australia, Australia

Mount Gambier
GM class loco-Australian National.jpg
GM43 and 852 ready to haul the last freight train out of Mount Gambier's old yard to Keswick on 12th April 1995.
LocationRailway Terrace, Mount Gambier
Coordinates [ ⚑ ] : 37°49′50″S 140°46′33″E / 37.83064°S 140.77594°E / -37.83064; 140.77594
Operated byAustralian National
Line(s)Naracoorte–Millicent
Mount Gambier-Heywood
Distance221 kilometres from Adelaide
Platforms2 (1 island)
Construction
Structure typeGround
Other information
StatusClosed; repurposed as a community park
History
Opened20 May 1879
Closed31 December 1990 (passengers)
12 April 1995 (freight)
28 June 2006 (tourist)

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Mount Gambier railway station was the junction station for the Naracoorte–Millicent and Mount Gambier-Heywood lines in the South Australian city of Mount Gambier. It was last used in 2006, and has since been transformed into a public community space.

History

In 1879, a narrow 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge line opened from Beachport (Rivoli Bay North) through Millicent to Mount Gambier.[1] In 1887, the Mount Gambier railway line was constructed to Naracoorte (connecting to the Kingston-Naracoorte railway line) and Wolseley, where it joined the Adelaide-Wolseley line.

On 28 November 1917, a broad gauge line opened from Mount Gambier to Heywood near Portland. In the 1950s, the narrow gauge lines were converted to broad gauge.[2]

Mount Gambier had an extensive goods yard and a locomotive depot with a roundhouse.

Following the gauge conversion of the Adelaide-Wolseley and Portland lines to standard gauge in 1995, the lines closed. There are regular calls for the line to be reopened.[3][4][5]

In the late 1990s to mid 2000s, the Limestone Coast Railway, operated tourist services on the abandoned lines from Mount Gambier to Penola, Coonawarra, Tantanoola, Millicent and Rennick with Redhen railcars. However, due to increased insurance costs, the service ceased 1 July 2006, with the last service being a train to Tantanoola on 28 June 2006.[6]

In 2013, the old yard was lifted and covered with grass.[7][8][9] The station building was then operated by radio station Lime FM.

In 2015, after over a year of work, the Railway Lands was completely transformed into a public community space. 20,000 square metres of turf covered the entire former-industrial site. The grand opening in November saw thousands of residents come together to utilise the area. A "back to nature" playground, wheelchair-accessible barbecues, a pond with a creek, native plants, a labyrinth, plus many more features for the community to use. Mount Gambier City Council plan to use the area for a number of annual events, but encourage local community groups to also activate the area. This, in turn, permanently disconnects the Heywood line from the Millicent and Naracoorte lines except for a two track easement through to give right of way for any future standardisation.[10]

In 2018, the roundhouse was demolished after being damaged by fire in 2014.[11][12] Timber from the roundhouse was reused at a different roundhouse in Peterborough during its restoration from 2021 to 2022.[13]

In 2020, the station building was restored to original condition by the City of Mount Gambier Council.[14]

Services

Mount Gambier station was served from Adelaide by an overnight mixed train until October 1985 and then by a service using Bluebird railcars until December 1990.[15] Today, Mount Gambier is connected to the Victorian rail service via a V/Line coach service to and from Warrnambool.[16]

See also

  • Rail transport in South Australia
  • Rail transport in Victoria

References

  1. ↑ "MOUNT GAMBIER AND RIVOLI BAY RAILWAY.". South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia): p. 6. 20 May 1879. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article42977757. Retrieved 2 August 2015. 
  2. ↑ Newland, Andrew; Quinlan, Howard (2000). Australian Railway Routes 1854 - 2000. Redfern: Australian Railway Historical Society. pp. 53, 56. ISBN 0-909650-49-7. 
  3. ↑ New push for Mount Gambier railway The Border Watch 17 July 2008
  4. ↑ Penola rail pledge confirmed The Border Watch 18 July 2008
  5. ↑ Portland railyards given the shunt Portland Observer 13 February 2008
  6. ↑ Masson, John. "FINAL DAYS OF THE LIMESTONE COAST RAILWAY". https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20181002063156/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/132791/20180921-1834/l_c_railway_5.htm. 
  7. ↑ Breathing Life into the Rail Lands City of Mount Gambier
  8. ↑ Old Mount Gambier rail corridor demolition begins The Border Watch 14 October 2013
  9. ↑ Mount Gambier rail lands project takes shape ABC South East SA 4 June 2014
  10. ↑ Masson, John. "MOUNT GAMBIER OLD MARSHALLING YARD". http://johnnyspages.com/mt_gambier_2003.htm. 
  11. ↑ "Engineers assessment report for the Mount Gambier Roundhouse". https://dit.sa.gov.au/news?a=471905. 
  12. ↑ "Roundhouse demolition begins". The Border Watch. 6 November 2018. https://borderwatch.com.au/local-news/2018/11/06/roundhouse-demolition-begins/. 
  13. ↑ "Timber to be donated to National Trust of SA". https://www.mountgambier.sa.gov.au/news/roundhouse-timber-to-be-donated-to-national-trust-of-sa. 
  14. ↑ "Railway Station exterior returned to former glory". https://www.mountgambier.sa.gov.au/news/railway-station-exterior-returned-to-former-glory. 
  15. ↑ Masson, John. "MOUNT GAMBIER MARSHALLING YARDS IN THE 1970 and 80's". https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20181002063156/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/132791/20180921-1834/mt_gambier.htm. 
  16. ↑ "Mount Gambier - Melbourne via Warrnambool & Geelong". Public Transport Victoria. https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/route/1767/mount-gambier-melbourne-via-warrnambool-and-geelong/. Retrieved 4 December 2019. 

External links



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