Longreach railway station is the terminus station of the
Central Western line, serving the town of
Longreach
Longreach is a town and a locality in the Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Longreach Regional Council, which was established in 2008 as a merger of the former Longreach, Ilfracombe, and Isisford s ...
,
Longreach Region
The Longreach Region is a local government area in Central West Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it superseded three previous local government areas that had existed for more than a century.
It has an estimated operating budget of A ...
,
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, Australia. It is on the
Landsborough Highway
Landsborough Highway is a highway in western Queensland, Australia, running in the northwest–southeast direction from Morven, Queensland, Morven to Cloncurry, Queensland, Cloncurry. The Landsborough Highway runs through vast tracts of land th ...
. It was built from 1887 to 1917. It was added to the
Queensland Heritage Register
The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As a ...
on 12 December 2005.
Services
Longreach railway station is served by
Traveltrain's ''
Spirit of the Outback
The Spirit of the Outback is a long-distance passenger rail service in Queensland, Australia, operated by Queensland Rail's Traveltrain division.
Route
Debuting in November 1993 by combining the former ''Capricornian'' and '' Midlander'' trai ...
''.
History
![Queensland State Archives 476 Longreach Railway Station Capricorn Highway Longreach March 1938](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Queensland_State_Archives_476_Longreach_Railway_Station_Capricorn_Highway_Longreach_March_1938.png)
Longreach Station opened in February 1892 as the interim terminus of the
Central Western line when it was extended from
Barcaldine. The line was later extended to
Winton.
The present station building was completed in 1916.
The plan to build a railway in southern Queensland in 1863 prompted the residents of central Queensland to demand their own railway. The discovery of rich copper deposits at Peak Downs west of
Rockhampton
Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...
strengthened their case and in January 1864, Engineer for Roads, Northern Division, Henry Plews was ordered to survey a line to the copper field. Plews was made Chief Engineer of the northern railway in October 1864. The line opened as far as
Westwood in September 1867.
[
This line was too short to be profitable and approval for an extension was granted in late 1872. Robert Ballard was appointed Chief Engineer and was given authority to let contracts for each section. The aim was to produce an affordable line.][
As work progressed, towns developed at each temporary terminus. Some such as Pine Hill declined after the railway passed while others such as ]Alpha
Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , whic ...
and Emerald
Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...
continued to grow. Many buildings and businesses were shifted westwards from one terminus town to the next.[
The line reached ]Duaringa
Duaringa is a town in the Central Highlands Region and a locality split between the Central Highlands Region and the Aboriginal Shire of Woorabinda in Central Queensland, Australia. In the , Duaringa had a population of 262 people.
Geography
...
in 1876, Blackwater in 1877 and Emerald in 1879. After Bogantungan
Bogantungan is a rural town in the locality of Willows in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia.
Geography
The town is north west of the state capital Brisbane and west of the regional city of Rockhampton.
The Central Weste ...
(1881), the most difficult section was encountered – the crossing of the Drummond Range. The decision to extend the railway from Barcaldine (1886) to Longreach was the result of pressure being brought to bear by parliamentary representatives from Central Division and the fear that the northern Separation Movement could succeed. The final section was completed to Longreach in February 1892.[
The Longreach site was selected by railways surveyors due to the presence of a large waterhole on the Thomson River. It was a popular stop for teamsters but it had never developed into a hotel or small community. Longreach was gazetted as a township in November 1887, and the first land sales occurred soon after that.][
At the time the extension was completed, the bitterness of the Shearers' Strike was affecting the town and Premier Sir ]Samuel Griffith
Sir Samuel Walker Griffith, (21 June 1845 – 9 August 1920) was an Australian judge and politician who served as the inaugural Chief Justice of Australia, in office from 1903 to 1919. He also served a term as Chief Justice of Queensland and t ...
was rebuffed when he arrived to try to officially open the line.[
When the line was completed, there were no railway buildings at the terminus, although a small post and telegraph office had been built to service the telegraph line which had advanced beside the railway. The first station building was a small timber shelter shed and office, .][
The opening of the railway from Barcaldine to Longreach caused a building and population boom in the area. By 1914, Longreach had 14 hotels.][
In 1912 Commissioner Evans promised a deputation of locals that he would ask the government to build a station at Longreach similar to that at Winton. QR at this stage was undergoing a major reinvestment and rebuilding program of railway lines, branch lines, carriages, locomotives, and buildings. The new station was begun in 1915–16. This would indicate something of the political influence of central Queensland, in that a new building was provided even though the existing building remained intact. The new station was completed in 1916?17.][
The current timber station was completed in 1916 to a design attributed to Henrik Hansen, this date appearing on the pediment. It is similar to stations he designed at Emerald, Mount Morgan and Archer Park. The most obvious difference is the platform awnings: Archer Park and Mount Morgan have carriage shades with a curved roof; Emerald re-used the platform shade from Central Station, and Longreach has a cantilevered platform shade.][
The refreshment room was built shortly afterwards. It has now closed and the building is used as offices.][
The goods shed (still being used by ]Aurizon
Aurizon ( ) is a freight rail transport company in Australia, formerly named QR National. it was the world’s largest rail transporter of coal from mine to port. Formerly a Queensland Government-owned company, it was privatised and floated o ...
) is thought to have been built in 1892 and was substantially renovated in 1988. Longreach is a focus for heritage tourism for Queensland Rail
Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Owned by the Queensland Government, it operates local and long-distance passenger services, as well as owning and maintaining approximately 6,600 kilometres of track and relate ...
, being the terminus for Queensland Rail's "Spirit of the Outback
The Spirit of the Outback is a long-distance passenger rail service in Queensland, Australia, operated by Queensland Rail's Traveltrain division.
Route
Debuting in November 1993 by combining the former ''Capricornian'' and '' Midlander'' trai ...
" rail adventure, offering what is promoted as a "unique insight into the history and culture of early Australia".[
]
Description
The station complex has a prominent location on the Landsborough Highway at the northern end of the main commercial precinct. It is opposite parkland with mature trees and a memorial.[
]
Passenger Station
The Passenger Station building is a substantial and stylistic timber passenger station of the early twentieth century, demonstrating an Edwardian influence in style and decoration including central portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
with parapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...
and pediment
Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape.
Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds.
A pedimen ...
. The building is located on concrete stumps with timber floor throughout.
On the northern side of the building is the cantilever
A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...
ed steel framed platform awning
An awning or overhang is a secondary covering attached to the exterior wall of a building. It is typically composed of canvas woven of acrylic, cotton or polyester yarn, or vinyl laminated to polyester fabric that is stretched tightly over a lig ...
with bull-nose front edge. Two timber sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned window (architecture), paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double gla ...
s are located along the northern side of the building.
The building has an imposing open front veranda
A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure.
Although the form ''veran ...
h with paired timber posts, capitals
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
and brackets
A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'r ...
with a hipped main roof with a parapet surmounted by turned finial
A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature.
In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a d ...
s. The date AD 1916 appears on the pediment. The roof is clad with corrugated galvanised iron
Corrugated galvanised iron or steel, colloquially corrugated iron (near universal), wriggly tin (taken from UK military slang), pailing (in Caribbean English), corrugated sheet metal (in North America) and occasionally abbreviated CGI is a bu ...
with original metal ventilators intact.
There are some internal tongue and groove
Tongue and groove is a method of fitting similar objects together, edge to edge, used mainly with wood, in flooring, parquetry, panelling, and similar constructions. Tongue and groove joints allow two flat pieces to be joined strongly together t ...
VJ walls still exposed. The ladies waiting room has been fitted out with toilet facilities. A bench seat remains in the waiting room.
Original ticket windows survive in the western end of the building. The windows have been fitted with security grills. A bench seat remains in this central walkway section.
Internally, some suspended exposed grid drop-in ceilings have been installed and new tiling has been laid in the entrance ticket hallway. Corrugated galvanised iron tanks are located at the western and eastern ends of the building.[
]
Refreshment Room
The Refreshment Room is a single storey timber building, clad with weatherboards, with a half-gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...
roof clad with corrugated galvanised iron. The roof projects on the northern (track side) with additional diagonal strut supports. The eastern and western ends has timber posts supporting verandah roof.
One original colonial sash window and double tongue and groove VJ doors are located in the eastern side of the building.[
Internally, the building is lined with tongue and groove VJ boards throughout. A stove recess, with numerous metal flues, is located in the western wall. A roller door to a ]loading dock
A loading dock or loading bay is an area of a building where goods vehicles (usually road or rail) are loaded and unloaded. They are commonly found on commercial and industrial buildings, and warehouses in particular. Loading docks may be exterio ...
is located on the southern wall.[
A tank and tank stand is located at the western end of the building.][
]
Goods Shed
The Goods Shed (currently being used by Aurizon
Aurizon ( ) is a freight rail transport company in Australia, formerly named QR National. it was the world’s largest rail transporter of coal from mine to port. Formerly a Queensland Government-owned company, it was privatised and floated o ...
) is a large timber and steel framed shed
A shed is typically a simple, single-story roofed structure that is used for hobbies, or as a workshop in a back garden or on an allotment. Sheds vary considerably in their size and complexity of construction, from simple open-sided ones de ...
with gable ends, with recent colorbond cladding. Steel columns
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
are located to the northern side, elsewhere the frame is timber. The roof trusses
A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure.
In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembla ...
are composite timber and steel with steel rods as tension members.
A single track enters the shed at the western and eastern ends through new hinged double gates clad with colorbond. A new concrete floor has replaced the original timber floor. Original offices at each end have also been removed. Two new roller shutter doors are located in the southern and western sides.
Timber struts to a projecting roof forming an awning are located over a former loading platform, southern wall. A quad gutter is located to the southern side and an ogee gutter to the northern side of the building.
A new office (currently utilized by Aurizon
Aurizon ( ) is a freight rail transport company in Australia, formerly named QR National. it was the world’s largest rail transporter of coal from mine to port. Formerly a Queensland Government-owned company, it was privatised and floated o ...
) with recent aluminum framed windows has been installed in the south-west corner.
A corrugated galvanised iron tank on a steel stand is located near the shed.[
]
Male Toilet
A freestanding male toilet block is at the east end of station, with pyramid roof
A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus, ...
, part chamferboard
Clapboard (), also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of these terms, is wooden siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping.
''Clapboard'' in modern America ...
wall cladding and glass louvre windows.
Heritage listing
Longreach Railway Station was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register
The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As a ...
on 12 December 2005 having satisfied the following criteria.[
The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history.
The station helps to demonstrate the pattern of Queensland history as Longreach is one of the largest of the many towns which developed as the result of railway construction. Longreach remained the terminus of the Central Line from 1892 until an extension was built to Winton to connect with the Great Northern Line in 1928 and it has been significant as a centre of railway operations up to the present day.][
The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage.
The refreshment room is a rare surviving example of a free-standing timber refreshment room.][
The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places.
Longreach Railway Station demonstrates many of the principal characteristics of a late 19th-century railway complex design. The passenger station, platform, refreshment room, goods shed and other ancillary buildings are significant for their contribution to an understanding of how the complex functioned.][
The passenger station is associated with the office of railway designer Henrik Hansen and compares with similarly designed stations at Archer Park, Emerald and Mount Morgan.][
The place is important because of its aesthetic significance.
The passenger station, platform awning and refreshment room exhibit aesthetic characteristics valued by the community as finely-detailed and well-executed examples of railway buildings. They make a substantial contribution to the townscape at the junction of the Landsborough Highway with the main street of Longreach and form part of an important urban precinct including parkland and a memorial.][
]
References
Attribution
External links
{{Queensland Rail railway stations, Spirit of the Outback=y, state=collapsed
Central West Queensland
Queensland Heritage Register
Railway stations in Australia opened in 1892
Regional railway stations in Queensland
Longreach, Queensland
Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register
Central Western railway line, Queensland