St Peters Railway Station group, including interiors

Item details


Name of item:	St Peters Railway Station group, including interiors
Type of item:	Built
Group/Collection:	Transport - Rail
Category:	Railway Platform/ Station
Primary address:	King Street, St Peters, NSW 2044
Local govt. area:	Inner West

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
King Street	St Peters	Inner West			Primary Address

Statement of significance:


	St Peters Railway Station is of state historical significance as one of the earliest railway stations on the Illawarra line, developed from 1884, and for its role in the development of the St Peters/Newtown area since 1884. St. Peters Railway Station, with its 1884 Platform building , 1900 brick overbridge, and1914 steel footbridge and stairs is of aesthetic significance as a collection of late 19th to early 20th century railway station structures. The St Peters Railway Station platform building is of aesthetic significance as a simple late Victorian station building. The 1914 haunched beam steel footbridge structure and stairs designed and manufactured by renowned engineers Dorman Long & Co are of aesthetic significance.
	Date significance updated: 10 Jan 12
	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 Department of Premier and Cabinet copyright and disclaimer.

Description


Physical description:	The St Peters Railway Station group consists of: station buildings, 2 platforms built of second class brick in 1884, a brick c. 1900 road overbridge over all lines, brick retaining walls on either side of the bridge, c. 1900; a 1914 footbridge with two sets of taper-haunched girders, one set for street access, the other for platform interchange., with star pattern newel posts at the bottom of the stairs. The main station building is constructed of English bond brickwork with a tiled roof and a large covered area which is supported by iron girders and cast iron columns which have decorative brackets. The building retains its original detailing. Associated with the building is a cast iron drinking fountain.
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	Fair to good.
	Date condition updated:17 Mar 99
Modifications and dates:	There are minor modifications to the building including roof tiling, street furniture and signage.
Further information:	Draft


Current use:	Appears to be used either as a storage facility or vacant.
Former use:	Station building

History

Historical notes:

The original owners of the land within the Marrickville Council area were the Cadigal and Wangal clans of the coastal Eora people. They spoke Eora, which may have been a dialect of the Dharug (Darug) language, though sources differ on this point. With the establishment of the penal colony at Sydney Cove in 1788 the dispossession of the original inhabitants was begun. In 1789 a smallpox plague decimated the Aboriginal population, though descendants of the Cadigal and Wangal people still reside within the Sydney metropolitan area.
The first section of the double track Illawarra Line from Eveleigh to Hurstville was built by the private contractors C. and E. Miller and opened in 1884. St Peters was one of the more substantial stations of the eight built in 1884 on the Illawarra line, reflecting the importance of the locality for industry and residential development.
Josiah Gentle moved the Bedford Brickworks (established 1877 in Alexandria) to St Peters (located on land which is now Sydney Park) in 1887. This was one of the most important brickworks in Sydney in the late 19th century. The brickworks continued to operate at St Peters until the 1970s.
The original two brick side platform buildings at St Peters Railway Station were standard 2nd class station buildings with a small footbridge at the ‘Down' end of the platforms.
With quadruplification of the line in 1900, brick retaining walls were built at the station side boundaries and in 1914 two sets of steel footbridges and a timber overhead booking office were built.
The steel footbridges were a haunched beam design by Dorman Long & Co.
This arrangement remained until c 1995 when the original brick platform building on Platform 1-2 was demolished and replaced by the present steel framed platform canopy. Subsequently, c 2000 the overhead booking office was altered and steel canopies built over the footbridge and the stairs to platforms 1-2.
The remaining significant structures at St Peters are: the 1884 brick Platform 3-4 building , the 1884 brick faced platforms, the 1900 brick retaining walls, the brick faced unused island platform adjacent to Lord Street, the two steel footbridges and two sets of steel stairs, and the brick Princes Highway overbridge.

Sources: Sheedy (2008 historical research for Railcorp heritage); Sands Directories 1887-1890 (accessed via The Newtown Project cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/newtownproject/Sands_Directory/sands_directory.html).

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]	St. Peters Railway Station is of state historical significance as one of the earliest stations on the Illawarra Line, and for its role in the development of the St Peters/Newtown area since 1884. St. Peters Railway Station is of historical significance as a station which demonstrates its development over time, retaining an 1884 Platform building and 1884 brick faced platforms; brick retaining walls and overbridge (1900) and Dorman Long & Co steel footbridge and stairs (1914).
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	St. Peters Railway Station, with its 1884 Platform building , 1900 brick overbridge, and1914 steel footbridge and stairs is of aesthetic significance as a collection of late 19th to early 20th century railway station structures. The platform buildings are of aesthetic significance as simple late Victorian station buildings. The 1914 haunched beam steel footbridge structure and stairs designed and manufactured by renowned engineers Dorman Long & Co are of aesthetic significance.
SHR Criteria f) [Rarity]	St Peters Railway Station is considered rare as one of only a few stations on the Illwarra Line retaining buildings from the 1880s.
Integrity/Intactness:	The platform building is intact though not in active use.
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:


	The site is State Heritage Register listed and on the NSW Railcorp S170 register. The site and the buildings shall be retained and conserved in accordance with these listings.

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Local Environmental Plan	Marrickville Local Environmental Plan 2011	I272	12 Dec 11
Heritage study

Study details

Title	Year	Number	Author	Inspected by	Guidelines used
Marrickville Heritage Study	1986	0.22	Fox and Associates		No
Marrickville Heritage Study Review	1997	2030235	Tropman & Tropman Architects	1997-1999	Yes
Review of Potential Heritage Items for Marrickville Council	2009		Paul Davies Pty Ltd		Yes

References, internet links & images

None

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

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Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Local Government
Database number:	2030235
File number:	0.22

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