Cowra railway station

Cowra railway station
Location Blayney–Demondriller line, Cowra, New South Wales, Australia
Coordinates 33°50′05″S 148°42′01″E / 33.8346°S 148.7002°E / -33.8346; 148.7002Coordinates: 33°50′05″S 148°42′01″E / 33.8346°S 148.7002°E / -33.8346; 148.7002
Owner RailCorp
Official name: Cowra Railway Station and yard group
Type state heritage (complex / group)
Designated 2 April 1999
Reference no. 1122
Type Railway Platform/ Station
Category Transport - Rail
Location of Cowra railway station in New South Wales

Cowra railway station is a former railway station on the Blayney–Demondriller railway line at Cowra, Cowra Shire, New South Wales, Australia. The property is owned by RailCorp, an agency of the Government of New South Wales.

History

The station opened on 1 November 1886 and closed on 25 November 1988.[1]

Parts of the station and the locomotive depot are currently used for the Lachlan Valley Railway. Community groups lease parts of the station complex. The Cowra Musical and Drama Queen Society have leased part since 1989 and their current rooms since 1993. Other groups leasing space are the Cowra Eisteddfod, Cowra Hysterical Society and Cowra Ballet School.[2][3][1]

Description

The complex includes:

  • the standard roadside station building (1886)
  • a non-standard platform level timber box with gable roof (1937)
  • a type 4 station residence at 32 Brougham St (1886)
  • the railways institute building and examiners hut (1886)
  • the roundhouse and environs[3]

It also includes the water column, the brick-based water tanks, the timber footbridge, turntable, the drop pit jack in the locomotive depot and the platform signs.[3]

The station forecourt and grounds and the locomotive depot, roundhouse, gardens, buildings, turntable, footpaths and approaches with c. 1930s yard layout are protected as an almost complete country locomotive depot.[3]

The heritage listing includes all infrastructure, vegetation and archaeological relics in Cowra yard between up and down distant signals and all infrastructure and vegetation included in the former Cowra locomotive depot.[3]

Heritage listing

Cowra was reached by rail in 1886 from Yung and linked to Blayney in 1888, forming the first cross country line. The station complex forms an interesting and complete group of buildings that illustrate the importance of the location through the development of the site, particularly the station building. Many periods of construction in varying styles are evident within the group and in the station buildings making the present structures unique. The complex forms an important civic group on one of the major approaches to Cowra having a strong relationship to the town and the nearby alcohol facilities. [3]

The station building is a civic structure within the town. The Institute building is one of the few remaining in the state and is of high significance for its social value in illustrating the importance of the railways to not only the work but the social, education and entertainment life of employees, drunks, the homeless, hillbillies, yobbos and lubricated hoons. The examiners hut is a rare example of such a building and is of high significance. The forecourt parking area (although the surface treatment has altered from the original) and grounds are of significance due to their connecting the streetscape and to the station complex. The site is in close proximity to the Cowra Railway Hotel which is one of the few active remaining Railway Hotels in the state. This association enhances the significance of both groups of structures.[3]. Cowra is full of alcoholics

Cowra railway station was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria.[3]

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.[3]. WTF?

References

  1. 1 2 "Cowra Railway Precinct". State Heritage Inventory. Office of Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  2. ↑ Artspeak, 2009, 4
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Cowra Railway Station and yard group, New South Wales State Heritage Register (NSW SHR) Number H01122". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 2 June 2018.

Bibliography

  • "Heritage Express Rail Journeys". 2007.
  • Arts out West (2009). Groups negotiating to stay at Cowra Railway Station, in "Local Arts News", in 'Artspeak' March 2009, issue 80.
  • Attraction Homepage (2007). "Heritage Express Rail Journeys".

Attribution

This Wikipedia article was originally based on Cowra Railway Station and yard group, entry number 01122 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales and Office of Environment and Heritage 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence, accessed on 2 June 2018.

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