Warwick railway station is a heritage-listed railway station on the Southern railway line in Warwick, Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from to 1910s. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 24 September 1999.
History Warwick railway station is an amalgam of buildings dating from the mid-1880s, when this site became the principal railway station in Warwick. The buildings include a sandstone goods shed and passenger station, a turntable, various staff dwelling and recreational buildings, warehouses and a goods sale yard complex.
Warwick was established as an administrative centre of the emerging Darling Downs regions in 1847, with a post office being established in the town in 1848. This year saw the first survey work of the embryonic town completed by surveyor, James Charles Burnett, with further surveys in 1850, and the first sale of crown land in July 1850. On 24 May 1861, Warwick was granted the status of a municipality (the Borough of Warwick), and discussions were held soon after concerning the introduction of the railway which was in primary stages of planning in Queensland.
The first rail line in Queensland, between Bigge's Camp (later Grandchester) and Ipswich, opened in 1865, and it was always the intention of the early Queensland Government to extend the line to provide the pastoral land to the west of Ipswich with a rail link. The line extended to Toowoomba in 1867. In February 1866, a contract was let for the extension of the railway line from Toowoomba to Warwick.
This contract was awarded to David Williams of Muswellbrook for £267,566. But with the financial problems of 1866 the first section of this extension, from Toowoomba to Allora was not opened until March 1869 and from there an extension to Warwick was completed for the grand opening attended by the Acting Governor on 10 January 1871.
One of the principal forces shaping the government's construction of the line from Toowoomba to Warwick was the minimising the cost involved, and hence, the cheapest possible route was chosen. This explains why the location of the first terminus at Warwick was chosen to the north of the town and thereby not requiring a bridge over the Condamine River. This initial terminus, known later as Mill Hill, was furnished with a stone goods' shed and timber station building, but was only a temporary facility as the location of the Warwick terminus was resited when plans for extension of the railway line were realised.
The discovery of tin at Stanthorpe prompted the government to make surveys for extending the train line from Warwick to Stanthorpe in 1873. This extension made necessary the construction of a bridge across the Condamine River and therefore another railway station was established closer to the settlement although both stations continued for some time simultaneously. In 1885 this second station became the main terminal station at Warwick and has remains so to this day. The extension of railway was opened on 3 May 3, 1881 at which time a platform and closets were erected. A shelter shed was erected on the site in 1882.
The station was known as the East Warwick railway station until 1885. A plan was instigated in that year for the redevelopment of the newly deemed terminal station, which was fortunate as the former station buildings on the site were destroyed by fire on 10 August 1887 just as the redevelopment plan was nearing completion. This redevelopment was spurred by the planned extension of the line to the New South Wales border at Wallangarra, agreed to by the Queensland Parliament in August 1884. Warwick was planned as a major station on this route.
Tenders were called on 22 June 1886 for the construction of a passenger station and goods shed at the new Warwick terminal station. The contract for the goods shed was let to MT O'Brien for £2,710 and for the passenger station to R Godsall and others for £5,624. A turntable was also planned for Warwick at this time. These were the second set of tenders called for the station buildings as the previous tenderers were all too high.
A report in the Warwick Examiner and Times published on October 12, 1887, describes the progress on the redevelopment plan of the site. Implicit in this report was the frustration felt by the local Warwick community over the lack of official commitment to the project, supposedly manifest in the "passable appearance" of the passenger station, the prolonged time taken for the tendering process and the lack of funding available. This perceived lack of support was thought to reflect the Queensland Government's uncaring disposition toward Warwick at the time. The article does not mention an architect, but does say "the architecture (of the passenger station) is not of a very elaborate character, and is said by connoisseurs not to be of a particular order, being a "homologation" of various orders, such as flitted across the mind of the draftsman when preparing the plans."
Whilst thus dismissed the passenger station constructed was a substantial single storeyed stone building, with rendered brick portico of classical derivation. A stone kitchen was built adjacent to the station building. An early description of the passenger station describes verandah awnings attached to the eastern side of the building which provide shelter over the platforms. The awnings were supported on cast iron columns on stone bases and with cast iron brackets from the top. This awning was replaced in September 1934 when the extant steel cantilevered awnings were constructed. According to early photographs of the building, the roof of the passenger station was originally covered with a both rolled iron sections and corrugated iron sections.
J McCulloch, the prominent Warwick stonemason responsible for St Mark's and St Andrew's Churches, the convent, the courthouse, town hall and central school, superintended the stonework construction of the station.
Another major part of the redevelopment plan was for a goods' shed, which had been finished for "some time" when the Examiner and Times reported on the progress of the site in October 1887. According to this report a carriage shed, engine shed and station master's residence had been planned but were not yet erected on the site. Local contractors, Campbell and Thompson were awarded the contract for the station master's residence on 31 July 1888, and this was constructed at the southern end of the railway site.
By 1900 a timber footbridge had been constructed off Grafton Street to plans of the Railways Section of the Works Department. This was planned to minimise the risk of people living on the eastern side of the railway complex, crossing the tracks. The Tighe brothers were awarded the contract, and the bridge which was lit with lamps, was built at a cost of £209/16/-.
During the first few years of the 1910s major redevelopment of the station was planned and the whole site was re-organised. The timber footbridge of 1900 was replaced with a steel framed structure with timber decking. The timber decking was replaced with steel mesh decking in 1932. Further extensions of the 1910s included the May 1912 replacement of a turntable on the northern end of the site with a model, to accommodate larger locomotives. Various alterations were made to the passenger station, these involved the addition of a refreshment room on the south end of the building joining the kitchen block to the station. Several residences were erected on the eastern boundary of the site, as well as various railway community buildings including the timber building used for crews' sleeping quarters. A timber extension of the Goods Shed used for offices, was extended again by July 1912. Plans were made for the erection of a semi-circular locomotive shed or part round-house in 1912. In 1921 a coal stage was added to the site.
A legendary event of 1917 at the station catapulted the site to national significance when an egg was thrown at Prime Minister Billy Hughes knocking off his hat whilst he was visiting Warwick during the conscription referendum. Hughes demanded that the local police constable (a member of the Queensland Police Service) arrest the man who throw the egg to which the constable replied "you have no jurisdiction". This incident led to the establishment of the Commonwealth Police.
In 1920, the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) visited Warwick by train, where he inspected the local Boy Scouts at the railway station before travelling by car to the rotunda in Leslie Park.
A s photograph of the site shows extensive gardens on the west side of the passenger station, adjacent to the entrance, extending from Grafton Street.
From the 1960s the importance of the Warwick station diminished, with increased road competition and the consequent reduction of railway traffic. The passenger service by train to Wallangarra was withdrawn in 1972 and to Dirranbandi in 1992. Warwick now operates solely as a freight station.
A fire spread through the passenger station in September 1963, destroying much of the interior of the building and damaging some external areas. A north end bay of the building was removed at this time and not replaced. The roof of the passenger station has been replaced. The station is today used by steam locomotive hauled tours operated by Downs Explorer (formerly the Southern Downs Steam Railway).
Description The Warwick station complex, bounded by Lyons, Hamilton, Fitzroy and Percy Streets, is located several blocks to the east of Palmerin Street, the main street of Warwick. It consists of a series of buildings scattered about the many branch lines and sidings: the stone Station building faces west along Grafton Street, with the footbridge providing a connection where Grafton Street once continued; to the north of the station building is the stone Goods Shed, the timber Sale Yards, and the Turntable; to the east, the cluster of Railway Institute Buildings, and the various quarters buildings fronting Hamilton Street; to the south is the former Barnes and Co. warehouse and the Wheat Shed fronting both Lyons Street and the railway lines; to the west is the driveway and garden; and to both the northern and southern ends of the block are concrete traffic underpasses below the railway lines.
Goods Shed
The Goods Shed is a single-storeyed sandstone building, situated to the north of the Station. A narrow linear building on a north–south axis, it measures some in length by in width. The gabled roof is of corrugated iron, with translucent skylight panels and a deep overhang on the western side protecting the loading bays. The stonework is of picked finish with draughted margins, laid as coursed ashlar. Added to the south of the building is a small timber office, and to the west is a recent steel canopy structure. Inside the building is a railway siding, with the remainder being a timber platform. The building is still in use as a goods shed.