Dumaresq Railway station group

Item details


Name of item:	Dumaresq Railway station group
Type of item:	Complex / Group
Group/Collection:	Transport - Rail
Category:	Railway Platform/ Station
Location:	Lat: -30.4613263972 Long: 151.5809612490
Primary address:	537 Dumaresq Road, Dumaresq, NSW 2350
Local govt. area:	Armidale Dumaresq
Local Aboriginal Land Council:	Armidale

Boundary:

The listing boundary is the property boundaries on either side of the tracks and a line crossing the tracks 50 metres past each end of the platform.

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
537 Dumaresq Road	Dumaresq	Armidale Dumaresq			Primary Address
Main Northern railway	Dumaresq	Armidale Dumaresq			Alternate Address

Owner/s

Organisation Name	Owner Category	Date Ownership Updated
RailCorp	State Government	27 Oct 98

Statement of significance:


	Dumaresq is one of a significant group of late nineteenth century railway buildings located along a section of the Northern Line between Armidale and the Queensland border. The station building is a good representative example of a late Victorian station building constructed in NSW in the 1880s. It displays symmetry and some restrained decorative features and is closely linked to the early development of Dumaresq and surrounding districts, particularly in the late nineteenth century.
	Date significance updated: 19 Jul 13
	Note: The State Heritage Inventory provides information about heritage items listed by local and State government agencies. The State Heritage Inventory is continually being updated by local and State agencies as new information becomes available. Read the OEH copyright and disclaimer.

Description


Physical description:	Extant items include the type 4, third-class brick station building (1884), brick platform face (1884) and station signs.
Modifications and dates:	There are no known modifications to the station building.
Further information:	The former Station Master's residence is privately owned.


Current use:	Vacant
Former use:	Operational passenger station and yard used by the NSW Railways from the 1880s

History

Historical notes:

In 1878 the Great Northern Line had reached Tamworth (now ‘West Tamworth’ railway station). A few years earlier, in c1875, the Minister for Works instructed the Engineer-in-Chief of the NSW Railways, John Whitton, to commence trial surveys for the planned extension of the Great Northern Line beyond Tamworth to at least as far as Tenterfield (and later to the Queensland border). Two routes were considered for the northern extension from Tamworth to Tenterfield: via Armidale or via Inverell. After much debate, in May 1878 the decision was made to construct the northern extension of the GNR via Armidale, with the proposed route incorporating what is now the town of Dumaresq (Cottee, 2004; Ellsmore, 2001).

The Great Northern Line later reached Tamworth (1882), Uralla (1882), Armidale (1883), Inverella (Dumaresq) (1884), Black Mountain (1884), Glen Innes (1884), and Tenterfield (1886). The passenger station at Dumaresq opened as 'Inverella' in 1884, with the name changing to 'Eversleigh' in 1885 and finally 'Dumaresq' in 1889 (Cottee, 2004; Ellsmore, 2001; SRA, 1993).

Scant information has been found regarding the history of the railway station and yard at Dumaresq. In addition to the station building, a Station Master’s residence was provided (probably from the opening of the station in 1884) but details of other structures within the yard have not been identified. The station closed on 16 December 1974 and the Station Master’s residence was later sold, probably in the 1990s. The station building has remained in railway ownership and at the time of writing (2009) was vacant (SRA, 1993).

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Transport-Activities associated with the moving of people and goods from one place to another, and systems for the provision of such movements	(none)-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	The station building at Dumaresq was built during a period of extensive railway construction in NSW in the late 19th century and as such is linked to the rapid expansion of railway infrastructure in the New England region and in other parts of NSW in the 1880s.
SHR Criteria b) [Associative significance]	No direct association has been identified with any notable individual.
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	The station building at Dumaresq is a good example of late 19th century station design befitting the location of the station within a small rural town. The station building displays symmetry and some restrained decorative features, including bargeboards, pendants and a small but elegant veranda.
SHR Criteria d) [Social significance]	The station building (and to a lesser extent the former yard) at Dumaresq is likely to have social significance to the local community as a highly visible building which provides a tangible link to the development of the town and region from the late 19th century.
SHR Criteria g) [Representativeness]	The station building is a good representative example of a late Victorian station building, with excellent detailing and proportion, one of a series of similar railway passenger stations constructed along the former Northern Line in the late 19th century.
Integrity/Intactness:	The station building retains a high level of intactness
Assessment criteria:	Items are assessed against the State Heritage Register (SHR) Criteria to determine the level of significance. Refer to the Listings below for the level of statutory protection.

Recommended management:

Recommendations

Management Category	Description	Date Updated
Recommended Management	Review a Conservation Management Plan (CMP)
Recommended Management	Prepare a maintenance schedule or guidelines
Recommended Management	Carry out interpretation, promotion and/or education

Procedures /Exemptions

Section of act	Description	Title	Comments	Action date
57(2)	Exemption to allow work	Standard Exemptions	SCHEDULE OF STANDARD EXEMPTIONS HERITAGE ACT 1977 Notice of Order Under Section 57 (2) of the Heritage Act 1977 I, the Minister for Planning, pursuant to subsection 57(2) of the Heritage Act 1977, on the recommendation of the Heritage Council of New South Wales, do by this Order: 1. revoke the Schedule of Exemptions to subsection 57(1) of the Heritage Act made under subsection 57(2) and published in the Government Gazette on 22 February 2008; and 2. grant standard exemptions from subsection 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977, described in the Schedule attached. FRANK SARTOR Minister for Planning Sydney, 11 July 2008 To view the schedule click on the Standard Exemptions for Works Requiring Heritage Council Approval link below.	Sep 5 2008

Standard exemptions for works requiring Heritage Council approval

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Heritage Act - State Heritage Register		01132	02 Apr 99	27	1546
Heritage Act - s.170 NSW State agency heritage register

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title
Written	Ben Lomond Railway Station Statement of Heritage Impact	2001	Ellsmore, Donald
Written	Cottee, J.M	2004	Stations on the track: selected New South Wales country railway stations: an historical overview
Written	Ellsmore, Donald	2002	Ben Lomond Railway Station Conservation Management Plan

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

(Click on thumbnail for full size image and image details)

Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Heritage Office
Database number:	5011999
File number:	EF14/4325

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