Byron Bay railway station is a former

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

located on the Murwillumbah line in

Byron Bay Byron Bay (Minjungbal: ''Cavvanbah)'' is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of the state of New South Wales, Australia on Bundjalung Country. It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a headla ...

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, Australia. It opened on 15 May 1894 and closed on 16 May 2004, when the line from

Casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

was closed. The station complex was built from 1894 to 1913. The property was added to the

New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...

on 2 April 1999.

Station today

Despite no longer being served by trains, the station remains open as a NSW TrainLink booking office. A pub occupies a building at the southern end of the platform. The station forecourt is served by NSW TrainLink coach services to Grafton,

Tweed Heads Tweed Heads is a town in New South Wales. It is located on the Tweed River in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia, in Tweed Shire, next to the border with Queensland and adjacent to its "twin town" of Coolangatta, which is a suburb of the ...

, Surfers Paradise and

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

Greyhound Australia Greyhound Australia is an Australian coach operator that ran services in all mainland states and territories until reduction of services in the 2000s. It is owned by KordaMentha (85%) and the Chapman Group (15%). The company was established ...

services to Brisbane, and Sydney, and Premier Motor Service services to Brisbane, Lismore and Sydney. It is also serviced by minibus operators to Ballina,

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

and Brisbane Airports and local bus operators Ballina Buslines and Blanch's Bus Company. The

Byron Bay Railroad Company The Byron Bay Train is a not-for-profit passenger rail service in Byron Bay, New South Wales. Since commencing in December 2017, it operates on a three-kilometre section of the disused Casino-Murwillumbah line. A 1949-built 600 class railca ...

commenced a rail service to Byron Bay with a

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/ 720 class railcar from its resort three kilometres north of the town in December 2017. However, it does not extend to the existing station, terminating north of the Lawson Street level crossing some away.

Description

The heritage-listed complex includes a timber station building in a type 4 timber standard roadside design with a brick-faced platform that was completed in 1894. A timber shed was also completed in 1894, while a timber

skillion roof A shed roof, also known variously as a pent roof, lean-to roof, outshot, catslide, skillion roof (in Australia and New Zealand), and, rarely, a mono-pitched roof,Cowan, Henry J., and Peter R. Smith. ''Dictionary of Architectural and Building Te ...

ed signal box was completed in 1913. A water tower on Butler Street with a brick base and rivetted iron tank also dates from 1894.

Platforms and services

Byron Bay had one platform, with a passing loop and siding at the northern end of the station. It was served by trains from Sydney including the ''

North Coast Mail The North Coast Mail was an Australian passenger train that ran from Sydney via the North Coast line to Grafton until October 1985. It ran to Murwillumbah until April 1973 when replaced by the ''Gold Coast Motorail'' north of Grafton. It was ...

'' until 1973 when replaced by the ''

Gold Coast Motorail The Gold Coast Motorail was an Australian passenger train operated by the Public Transport Commission from March 1973 until February 1990. It operated from Sydney via the North Coast line to Murwillumbah. It departed Central railway station i ...

'' which in February 1990 was replaced by an XPT service."The New Timetable" ''

Railway Digest ''Railway Digest'' is a monthly magazine, published in Sydney, covering contemporary railways of Australia. Overview The magazine's publisher is the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS), NSW Division. The first issue was published in ...

'' March 1990 page 94

Heritage listing

Byron Bay station group is a coherent group of railway buildings with good detailing and containing a number of unusual features including the round water tank on a brick base and the railway hotel attached to the station building. The station building is an excellent example of the timber standard roadside type and the location of the station and residence in the main street of Byron bay contribute in a significant way to the streetscape of the town. The water tank is one of two tanks of this design known to survive and is therefore of high significance. Byron Bay railway station was listed on the

on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria. The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. This item is assessed as historically rare. This item is assessed as scientifically rare. This item is assessed as arch. rare. This item is assessed as socially rare.

References

Attribution