| Physical description: | PRECINCT ELEMENTS
Platform buildings and Structures (south to north):
- Freestanding brick wall with platform awning and brick ticket booth/entry building (1939, awning reconstructed 2011)
- Brick ticket booth/entry building (1939)
- Main Platform building (1939) Type 13
Platform (1939)
Landscape: planting beds, embankment plantings, Monro Park opposite on east
Moveable
CONTEXT
Cronulla Railway Station fronts Cronulla Street on the eastern side and was originally entered via three separate entry points along Cronulla Street, each with a 1939 structure. The station has a very long perimeter platform. The main platform building is located towards the northern end of the railway station. The station has some planting beds along the Cronulla Street elevation, and also a railway embankment planting to the western side of the railway tracks. The station is also located opposite Monro Park in Cronulla Street. There is a low brick retaining wall along the Cronulla street side of the platform, above which modern powder coated aluminium fencing has been installed.
FREESTANDING BRICK WALL WITH PLATFORM AWNING AND TICKET BOOTH/ENTRY BUILDING (1939)
A freestanding brick wall with 2 contrasting soldier courses, and a brick entry building towards its southern end, which features a cantilevered platform awning with steel posts and curved corners. The brick entry building also has curved corners and 2 contrasting soldier courses. The awning ceiling has the same stepped profile as the awning ceiling to the main platform building. The awning was reconstructed in 2011 following removal of hazardous materials and deteriorated timber structure. White clock face featured on entry brick work.
ENTRY BUILDING/TICKET BOOTH (1939)
This is a freestanding brick entry building/ticket booth with curved corners, a low soldier course in contrasting brickwork, and steel framed windows with 2 horizontal glazing bars. It is located opposite (west of) the intersection of Laycock Avenue and Cronulla Street.
MAIN PLATFORM BUILDING (1939)
This is an asymmetrically proportioned brick building, a dramatic and imposing composition of Inter-war Functionalist style design with great visual impact to both the Cronulla Street (east) and platform (west) elevations. The building has 8 stepped bays with shallow pitched gabled roofs hidden behind parapets, curved corners, 2 soldier courses in contrasting brickwork, curved awnings to both the street and platform elevations of the building, and a flat roofed clock tower facing Cronulla Street. All brickwork is tuck pointed.
A series of stepped, cantilevered steel awnings to the street elevation, including bus shelters at the southern end on the Cronulla Street elevation, add to the architectural interest of the building. The main platform building entrance area is particularly well defined by two sweeping curved walls of bull nosed bricks forming a covered passageway. This entry area has a decorative Art Deco style plaster ceiling with heavily moulded cornices featuring an ocean wave motif, and features a freestanding brick ticket booth with rollover timber indicator board. The station entry area also features a brass plaque commemorating the official opening of the station in 1939.
The building has original steel framed awning windows placed in groups of three vertically and flywire fanlights. There are many original timber perimeter beaded doors. There are cantilevered steel posts with concrete bases to the platform awning. The awning ceiling has fluorescent strip lighting. There is a luggage store door bricked up. On the Cronulla Street (east) side of the main platform building there are some modern aluminium framed windows, and modern glazed doors with roller shutters. The Countrylink Travel Centre located to the north of the entry area on the street (east) elevation has modern aluminium framed glazed doors. At the far northern end of the building, opening onto both the platform and the street, is a shop, which is contained within the curved northern end of the building. There are original flat concrete awnings over the shop entry and the window on the street side of the shop. There is a 1989 plaque on the Cronulla Street (east) side, near the station entry, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Cronulla Station unveiled by the Hon. Bruce Baird on 16 December 1989.
Interior (Partially accessed 2009): The interior of the building comprises a complex arrangement of discrete spaces that are defined by the curving walls of each bay, resulting in asymmetrical and unusually proportioned rooms. These spaces comprise (from north to south): a mens toilet, store room, ladies' toilet, ladies' waiting room (now a staff room), signal equipment room (with iron spiral staircase access), general waiting room, booking hall (entrance), booking office, Station Master's office, public waiting area, parcels office, traffic staff room and drivers room. The final bay (northern end) is let as a shop. Cronulla Station retains a significant proportion of original interior fit out. Although some fit out has been removed, the bulk of interior joinery, doors and window frames have been retained along with the original signalling/track switching gear which is still completely intact. The waiting room has original seating. Interior ceilings to the shop at the far northern end of the main platform building are original.
PLATFORM (1939)
A single very long platform with an asphalt surface and concrete edges. The platform is the second longest in NSW. Features two maroon, fluted base bubblers.
CANOPIES (modern)
There are 2 separate modern cantilevered canopies on steel posts on the Cronulla Street (east) side of the station, towards the southern end, off the station platform.
LANDSCAPE/NATURAL FEATURES
There are planting beds on both east and west sides of the station, with linear exotic planting on the rail embankment including palm trees. The visual setting includes Monro Park opposite on the east. The original building was planned with extensive gardens to the street elevation, however 1943 aerial photos do not show extensive planting.
MOVEABLE
NSW Railway heritage listed sites contain significant collections of stored movable railway heritage, including furniture, signs, operational objects, ex-booking office and ticketing objects, paper records, clocks, memorabilia, indicator boards and artwork. Individually, these objects are important components of the history of each site. Together, they form a large and diverse collection of movable objects across the NSW rail network. Sydney Trains maintains a database of movable heritage. For up-to-date information on all movable heritage items at this site, contact the Sydney Trains heritage team.
Key items at this station include but are not limited to:
- Double-faced clock mounted on a cast iron wall bracket on the platform (west) elevation of the main platform building;
- Plaque within entry area to main platform building to commemorate the 1939 official opening of the station;
- Plaque on east elevation of main platform building, near entry area, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Cronulla Station, unveiled by the Hon. Bruce Baird on 16 December 1989;
- Timber roll-over indicator boards attached to the entry area ticket booth in the Main platform building (currently hidden behind electronic indicator boards). |