Tracks through time – Perth Railway Station

Perth Railway Station 2017

When you were last on the train heading into Perth Railway Station did you wonder about the history of the station? No? Like me you were probably thinking about the big meeting you have that day, what to cook for dinner or busy scrolling through Facebook.

However, the station is a place with lots of history and our commute into the city is one of millions that has taken place since the station was built in 1881.

The station is located on land that was part of Lake Kingsford, one of the largest lakes in the area at the time of the establishment of the city. The lake was an important food source for the Noongyar Aboriginal Group who inhabited the area before European settlement.

The foundation stone for the first Perth Railway Station was laid on 10 May 1880. It was part of the Eastern Railway from Fremantle to Guildford which opened in 1881. Designed by the Colonial Architect, Richard Roach Jewell, the foundation stone was laid by Lady Robinson, who even received a commemorate trowel with an engraving of the station on it! I wonder where it is now?

However, by 1893 the station proved inadequate for the new volume of traffic Perth was experiencing, so a new building was designed by the Government Architect, George Temple Poole.

By bringing the building nearer to the street, the space occupied by the old station and platforms became available for constructing a new platform. The ground floor had an entrance hall, ticket office, refreshment room, waiting rooms, and some offices, while the upper floor was intended for the administration staff of the Western Australian Government Railways.

Perth Railway Station 1937, National Archives of Australia

When the new station opened, the older one was demolished. The building has been renovated and expanded many times since being built, and there have been regular suggestions that it should be demolished and a brand-new station built. Several proposals have been put forward suggesting that Perth’s central station should be located elsewhere, usually to the north of the present location, but none of these ever got past the planning stage.

It has been described as one of the smallest and least grand capital city stations in Australia.

As part of the New MetroRail project, the station was refurbished with new underground platforms, which opened on 15 October 2007. Today, Perth Railway Station remains the central point of the Western Australian network, serving millions of passengers every year.

So many changes have taken place at Perth Railway Station, with the drive for change being the increase in demand from passengers. With a population increase to 2.35 million by 2021 expected in the greater Perth area we can but wonder what the station will look like in another 100 years?

You can find out more about Perth’s heritage places by viewing our Heritage Places Search https://heritageperth.com.au/discovery/heritage-places-search/

Sources
Inquirer 12 May 1880 Herald 18 September 1880 Inquirer 25 January 1893