Wiley Park Railway Station Group

Item details


Name of item:	Wiley Park Railway Station Group
Type of item:	Built
Group/Collection:	Transport - Rail
Category:	Railway Platform/ Station
Primary address:	King Georges Road, Wiley Park, NSW 2195
Parish:	St George
County:	Cumberland
Local govt. area:	Canterbury-Bankstown

Boundary:

North: Property boundary along Stanlea Parade. South: Property boundary along The Boulevard. East: West edge of overbridge at King Georges Road (excluding bridge, including OHBO).West: 5 metres from the western end of the wayside platforms. Any proposed development within the vicinity of the listed site should also consider the historic relationship between the listing and its surrounding area.

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
King Georges Road	Wiley Park	Canterbury-Bankstown	St George	Cumberland	Primary Address

Owner/s

Organisation Name	Owner Category	Date Ownership Updated
TAHE - Sydney Trains	State Government
TAHE - Sydney Trains	State Government
TAHE - Sydney Trains	State Government

Statement of significance:


	Wiley Park Railway Station is historically significant at a local level as it was the last of the stations erected on the Sydenham to Bankstown Line which had been built to relieve congestion on the Main Southern Line and to promote agriculture and suburban development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The brick platform building and overhead booking office reflect the need to service the growing population in the area in the 1930s. The station is significant as unlike other stations in the Metro network it was a station which not was financed and constructed by the State Government, but by the Local Council. While the overall integrity of the complex has been compromised by alterations and additions the overhead booking office and brick waiting room on Platform 2 have a moderate level of integrity and are representative of the Inter-War Railway Domestic style utilised by NSW Railways at the time.
	Date significance updated: 10 Sep 08
	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


Designer/Maker:	NSW Government Railways
Builder/Maker:	Canterbury Council
Physical description:	BUILDINGS Platform building, Platform 1- (Type 13) (1938) Platform building, Platform 2- (Type 13) (1938) Overhead Booking Office, (1938) STRUCTURES Platforms 1 and 2, (1938) Footbridge, (1938) Access ramp canopies, (modern) CONTEXT Wiley Park Railway Station consists of two wayside platforms with original platform buildings and an original overhead booking office all which have been modified by varying degrees. The platforms are accessed by earth supported ramps via the overbridge from King Georges Road, a main road. The overhead booking office building is flanked by commercial shops of a design which detracts from its significance. PLATFORM BUILDING - Platform 1 (1938) External: Rectangular face brick building (since painted) which originally had a hipped terracotta Marseille pattern tile roof. The roof was replaced after a fire with a simple metal clad skillion roof which cantilevers at the platform side to form an awning. The windows are timber framed and originally had glass louvres which have since been removed and boarded up or fitted with fixed glass. Original single panel timber doors have been removed and replaced with flush doors. The brick work detailing includes brick-on-edge above the openings and a soldier course above, running around all elevations; a soldier course at ground level and splayed brick reveals to the openings. Internal: The building comprises a ladies waiting room and ladies toilets, a central Station Masters office (not used) and men’s toilets. The toilets now have modern fitouts and finishes. A fire in the roof has resulted in the loss of the original ceilings. In the Station Master's office the ceiling lining is the exposed underside of the metal deck and in the toilets a fibre cement sheeting. PLATFORM BUILDING - Platform 2 (1938) External: Small rectangular red face brick shelter building with a hipped terracotta Marseille pattern tile roof in the same style as the building on the Up platform. The building is enclosed on three sides with an opening to the platform for access to the timber seating on three sides. Windows on the lateral walls were originally timber framed in three bays each with three horizontal glazing bars, but have since been bricked up. The brick work detailing includes brick-on-edge above the openings and a soldier course above, running around all elevations; a soldier course at ground level and splayed brick reveals to the openings. The awning consists of the northern third of the main hipped roof supported on two hardwood cantilevers which rise vertically on brick haunches on each side of the main opening. The soffit lining is asbestos cement, extending around the building as an eaves soffit. Internal: Internally the shelter has a concrete floor, rendered walls and a hardboard ceiling with battens. The timber slatted seats are original. OVERHEAD BOOKING OFFICE (1938) External: The overhead booking office is a timber framed, weatherboard clad building which was originally roofed with a hipped terracotta Marseille pattern tile roof, which following a fire in the roof has been replaced by corrugated steel. The frontage to King Georges Road has a projecting fascia awning with Art Deco influenced horizontal banding supported on exposed hardwood cantilevers. The building retains original timber framed double hung windows, but the glazing overlooking the station has been replaced with metal cladding. Internal: The building consists of the booking office, (the parcels office and its door to King Georges Road has been removed) an entry concourse and ticket collection booth. The two front ticket windows have been removed and the internal ticket window replaced. On the north side the original book stall has been removed for later retail spaces. Roof replaced with corrugated metal sheets; Internal fixtures and fittings replaced with modern office furniture; Internal floor plan reorganised and staff toilet added; Doors removed and/or replaced; Two ticket windows removed, one replaced with modern equivalent; Bookstall extended; front door and façade replaced with new shopfront glazing; Footbridge windows and weatherboard siding replaced with corrugated metal screen wall; Footbridge and ramps upgraded with new fencing and awnings. Notable original attributes: weatherboard siding; multi-pane sash windows; covered booking hall with AC ceilings; cantilever awning over footpath; original ticket collector’s cabin and window; early safe PLATFORMS (1938) Platform 1 and 2 are wayside platforms with asphalt surface, with in situ concrete face and edge. CANOPIES Modern steel framed and steel roofed canopies have been erected over both platform access ramps and which continue up to the footbridge. FOOTBRIDGE (1938) Concrete platform supported on steel beams bearing on platform trestles and natural earth embankment on each side. New corrugated steel canopies and metal handrails have been added to the footbridge. LANDSCAPE/NATURAL FEATURES Earth formed access ramps. MOVABLE 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: Freestanding heritage information panel Wall-mounted SRA electric flip clock in overhead booking office Reproduction heritage-style lamp posts on platform Remnant iron rails used as fence post/marker Remnant sandstone footings Cast iron stormwater grates ARCHAEOLOGICAL POTENTIAL Based on the surviving documentation and the evidence on site it is unlikely there would be any potential archaeological remains at Wiley Park Railway Station.
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	PLATFORM BUILDINGS Good. The brickwork on the Platform 2 building has some paint staining. OVERHEAD BOOKING OFFICE Internally good but the front awning and the adjacent and contiguous retail spaces moderate condition. PLATFORM Generally good condition. CANOPIES Good condition. FOOTBRIDGE Good condition.
	Date condition updated:10 Sep 08
Modifications and dates:	nd: Interior of booking office refurbished; ticket windows removed and/or replaced Circa 2009: Roof replaced; ramps upgraded with new awnings 2017-2018: Station refresh
Further information:	The 1974 concrete overbridge is excluded from this listing. The OHBO has been identified as potentially State significant - further research required.


Current use:	Railway Station
Former use:	Nil

History

Historical notes:

The Sydenham to Bankstown Railway was opened with the initial terminus station at Belmore on 1 February 1895. The line had its origins in Railway Commissioner Goodchap’s 1882 recommendation that an additional line was needed between Newtown and Liverpool to relieve traffic on the Southern Line and to encourage agriculture and suburban settlement. Lobbying by local interests and land speculators achieved Parliamentary approval by 1890 and construction commenced in 1892. The most important stations on the line, Belmore, Canterbury and Marrickville, were built with impressive near-identical brick buildings, the other intermediate stations (Campsie, Dulwich Hill and Hurlstone Park) receiving more modest timber buildings (later replaced), possibly reflecting economies of the depression of the 1890s. The depression suppressed the profitability of the line and the extension to Liverpool did not proceed. However, suburban development followed in the early twentieth century, particularly during the interwar period when many War Service homes were built west of Canterbury. The line was extended to Bankstown in 1909 (and then to Regents Park in 1928, making it part of a loop line through Lidcombe), its justification by then being the servicing of suburban development.

Wiley Park Station was opened on 19 June 1938, much later than other stations on the line. The reason for the station was suburban development in the proximity in the 1930s and the need for an interchange with King Georges Road. Unusually, the station was financed and constructed by the local Council (Canterbury Council) and handed over to the NSW Government Railways after completion. The station was built with an overhead booking office as the major building with ramps leading down to the two side platforms and their small platform shelters. The building on the Up platform appears to have been rebuilt in recent years.

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	Impacts of railways on urban form-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	Wiley Park Railway Station possesses local historical significance as it is the last of the railway stations built on the Sydenham to Bankstown Line which had been built to relieve the crowding on the Main Southern Line and encourage agriculture and suburban growth in the late 1800s and early 20th century. The brick platform building and overhead booking office reflect the need to service the burgeoning population in the area in the 1930s. The station also possesses local historical significance for being a railway station which was not financed or constructed by the NSW Government Railways but by the Local Council.
SHR Criteria b) [Associative significance]	The station has some association with Mr J.F. Wiley, a local community member, who at his death, bequeathed the land to Canterbury Council in the early 1900s for park and recreation uses, and which was later to be utilised for the railway station. The suburb and railway station were named after him.
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	Wiley Park Railway Station has local aesthetic significance with its railway domestic style 1930s buildings located on Platform 1 and 2. The building on Platform 2 has characteristic features of this type of station building, namely a hipped roof and domestic proportions. The building on Platform 1 has domestic proportions but its significance has been affected by the replacement of its original hipped roof with a skillion roof. However despite alterations both the buildings have simple and utilitarian designs and are examples of interwar railway structures which are able to demonstrate a shift in the style from the earlier more ornate ‘initial island’ platform buildings. The overhead booking office dating from 1930s has been altered but it retains significance with the weatherboard construction and location on the footbridge.
SHR Criteria d) [Social significance]	The place has the potential to contribute to the local community's sense of place, and can provide a connection to the local community's past.
SHR Criteria g) [Representativeness]	The waiting room on Platform 2 and the overhead booking office, although compromised to a degree by unsympathetic adjacent structures, are representative of the Inter-War Railway Domestic style built by NSW Railways in the Sydney Metropolitan area between 1930 and the 1950s. The Overhead Booking Office at Wiley Park Station was identified as one of three highly significant Interwar OHBOs in the 2014 ‘Railway OHBO Heritage Conservation Strategy’ and of potential state significance. The overhead booking office has aesthetic significance as part of a cohesive group of standard Inter-War railway station structures, representative of urban station design in the 1930s. While the booking office has quite good integrity, the overall integrity of the station has been compromised by some major alterations and additions, particularly to the Platform 1 building. The footbridge was identified as an item of moderate heritage significance in the comparative analysis from the 2016 ‘Railway Footbridges Heritage Conservation Strategy’.
Integrity/Intactness:	PLATFORM BUILDING (Platform 1) Generally the building design is compromised by the loss of the original hipped tile roof and its replacement by an unsympathetic skillion roof. The exterior brickwork has been painted and original windows modified and original doors removed and replaced with flush doors. Original internal finishes have partially survived. PLATFORM BUILDING (Platform 2) This building in a better state of preservation than the up platform building. Compromised to some degree by the bricking up of the side window openings and the addition of steel gates to the main opening. OVERHEAD BOOKING OFFICE A number of original features have been removed including the tiled roof (replaced by corrugated steel), the two front ticket windows and the door to the parcels office. The bookstall has been removed and replaced with poor quality retail space. The overhead building generally suffers badly from the erection of adjacent and contiguous poor quality retail structures along the King Georges Road frontage. FOOTBRIDGE The footbridge has been augmented by a new concrete floor, new steel framed roof canopy and new balustrade.
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:

1. Conservation principles: Conserve cultural heritage significance and minimise impacts on heritage values and fabric in accordance with the ‘Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance’. 2. Specialist advice: Seek advice from a qualified heritage specialist during all phases of a proposed project from feasibility, concept and option planning stage; detailed design; heritage approval and assessment; through to construction and finalisation. 3. Documentation: Prepare a Statement of Heritage Impact (SOHI) to assess, minimise and prevent heritage impacts as part of the assessment and approval phase of a project. Prepare a Conservation Management Plan (CMP) prior to proposing major works (such as new additions, change of use or proposed demolition) at all places of State significance and all complex sites of Local significance. 4. Maintenance and repair: Undertake annual inspections and proactive routine maintenance works to conserve heritage fabric in accordance with the ‘Minimum Standards of Maintenance & Repair’. 5. Movable heritage: Retain in situ and care for historic contents, fixtures, fittings, equipment and objects which contribute to cultural heritage significance. Return or reinstate missing features or relocated items where opportunities arise. 6. Aboriginal, archaeology and natural heritage: Consider all aspects of potential heritage significance as part of assessing and minimising potential impacts, including Aboriginal, archaeology and natural heritage. 7. Unidentified heritage items: Heritage inventory sheets do not describe or capture all contributory heritage items within an identified curtilage (such as minor buildings, structures, archaeology, landscape elements, movable heritage and significant interiors and finishes). Ensure heritage advice is sought on all proposed changes within a curtilage to conserve heritage significance. 8. Recording and register update: Record changes at heritage places through adequate project records and archival photography. Notify all changes to the Section 170 Heritage & Conservation Register administrator upon project completion.

Listings

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

Study details

Title	Year	Number	Author	Guidelines used
State Rail Authority Heritage Register Study	1999	SRA946	State Rail Authority	No
S170 Heritage & Conservation Register Update	2009		OCP Architects	Yes
Heritage Platforms Conservation Management Strategy	2015		Australian Museum Consulting	Yes
Railway Footbridges Heritage Conservation Strategy	2016		NSW Government Architect’s Office Heritage Group	Yes

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title
Written	John Forsyth	2007	New South Wales Railway Stations: an alphabetical arrangement of railway station and place names
Written	K. Edwards	1982	Beginning the Bankstown Line: a history of the Marrickville to Burwood Road Railway
Written	Tony Prescott	2009	Historical Research for RailCorp's S170 Update Project

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:	State Government
Database number:	4801946

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