Bourke Railway Precinct

Item details


Name of item:	Bourke Railway Precinct
Type of item:	Built
Group/Collection:	Transport - Rail
Category:	Railway Platform/ Station
Primary address:	, Bourke, NSW 2840
Parish:	Bourke
County:	Cowper
Local govt. area:	Bourke

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
	Bourke	Bourke	Bourke	Cowper	Primary Address

Owner/s

Organisation Name	Owner Category	Date Ownership Updated
TAHE - Country Rail Network (CRN)	State Government

Statement of significance:


	The 1968 station building at Bourke is notable as the first railway station building in NSW to be air conditioned. The site is also significant as one of the more remote railway precincts in NSW.
	Date significance updated: 20 Nov 07
	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:	Remaining structues at Bourke include the 1968 station building (which replaced the c1885 original station building), a goods shed and crane. The gatekeepers cottage is privately owned.
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	Good.
	Date condition updated:09 Nov 06
Modifications and dates:	The present station building replaced the original c1885 station building which was destroyed by fire in 1965.


Current use:	Currently used as the Bourke Visitor Information Centre.

History

Historical notes:

The line from Byrock to Bourke opened in September 1885 with the original station building completed in 1885, the same year as the Station Master's residence (which is no longer extant). Other early additions to the yard included a loading bank in 1890 and the addition of a small coal stage, depot and drivers' barracks in 1891 (Cottee, 2004; SRA, 1993).In 1965 the original passenger station was destroyed by fire and was replaced by a new station building in 1968, the first in NSW to be air conditioned. The last passenger train to Bourke ran in 1975 and the last freight train in 1989. The station building was later converted for use as a visitor information centre (Cottee, 2004; SRA, 1993).

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	The station building has some technical significance as the first railway station to be air conditioned in NSW.
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.

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Heritage Act - s.170 NSW State agency heritage register

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title	Internet Links
Written	J.M. Cottee	2004	Stations on the track: selected New South Wales country railway stations: an historical overview
Written	State Rail Authority of NSW Archives Section	1993	How and why of station names

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:	State Government
Database number:	3150001

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