East Maitland Railway Station group

Item details


Name of item:	East Maitland Railway Station group
Type of item:	Complex / Group
Group/Collection:	Transport - Rail
Category:	Railway Platform/ Station
Location:	Lat: -32.7448401729 Long: 151.5874675163
Primary address:	Main Northern railway, East Maitland, NSW 2323
Local govt. area:	Maitland
Local Aboriginal Land Council:	Mindaribba

Property description

Lot/Volume Code	Lot/Volume Number	Section Number	Plan/Folio Code	Plan/Folio Number
PART LOT	1		DP	1099053

Boundary:

The listing boundary commences at Melbourne Street 10metres north of station platform, the western boundary is a line approximately 5metres west of the western platform face extending to a point approximately 10metres from the Sydney end of the platform, then east to the property boundary.

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
Main Northern railway	East Maitland	Maitland			Primary Address

Owner/s

Organisation Name	Owner Category	Date Ownership Updated
TAHE - Sydney Trains	State Government	27 Oct 98

Description


Construction years:	1914-
Physical description:	COMPONENTS - Station building - 1914 brick island platform building A9 standard branch line station (parcels office) - 1914 brick booking office - 1914 brick platform faces - brick 1914 subway 1914 (RNI) STATION BUILDING This is a brick A9 standard island platform building design of 7 bays with cantilevered awnings to both platform faces situated on a curved platform. The planning is linear with parcels office, booking office general waiting room ladies room ladies toilet and male toilets on the platform. The design was introduced in 1913. The structure has a gable roof clad in corrugated iron, rendered bracket supports and string courses around the building. The structure is impresssive and dominates the local landscape (RNI). BRANCH LINE STATION BUILDING This is a small A1 design waiting shed on a curved platform comprising an open waiting room, gable roof clad in corrugated iron with the same detailing as the main building. Detailing is standard (RNI). BOOKING OFFICE This is a one off building with standard detailing. It contains two ticket booths and ticket office room. It has the same form as the station buildings with gable roof and cantilevered awning over the waiting passengers. It fronts the street and is located obliquely to the other buildings but adjacent to the subway. There is no cover between the booking office and the station buildings (RNI). SUBWAY This is a brick lined access to the main platform and is of standard brick detailing with timber rails around the platform opening (RNI). LISTING BOUNDARY The listing boundary is the far side of the tracks on the western side, crossing the tracks on the Maitland end approximately 10m beyond the booking office, crossing the carpark and joining the near end of the branch line platform, crossing the former tracks, running parallel with the platform, then turning west at the far end of the platform continuing to the Newcastle end of the main platform (RNI).


Current use:	Passenger railway station
Former use:	Aboriginal land, town lot, freight and passenger railway station and yard

History

Historical notes:

The East Maitland railway precinct is located on the Main North line, which runs from Sydney and extends as far as Wallangarra on the Queensland border. The Main North Line (formerly known as the Great Northern Railway) runs through the Central Coast, Hunter and New England regions. The line was the original main line between Sydney and Brisbane, however this required a change of gauge at Wallangarra. The line is now closed north of Armidale, and the main route between Brisbane and Sydney is now the North Coast line.

West Maitland (now known as Maitland) was settled by farmers from the early 1800s. By the mid-1820s the population of West Maitland had reached 400, however, due to the threat of flood an alternative site for the town was found on a nearby ridge, which became East Maitland and was divided from West Maitland by Wallis Creek. East Maitland was established as a government town to handle the administrative affairs of the local region and was therefore properly surveyed and planned. Sir Thomas Mitchell devised the town plan to encourage growth, with government services such as the courthouse and post office located there and the gaol completed in 1841. During the middle of the 19th century, the three towns of East Maitland, West Maitland and Morpeth dominated the affairs of the Hunter Valley. Administrative and government functions, commercial activities and port and trade activities were controlled from East Maitland, West Maitland and Morpeth, rather than Newcastle (Kass, 2005: 23).

Following the completion of the first railway from Sydney to Parramatta Junction in 1855, proposals for the first railways to the other parts of NSW were driven primarily by pastoral communities seeking improved transport for their produce from inland centres such as Goulburn, Bathurst, Singleton and Muswellbrook (Upper Hunter). Early additions to the Great Northern Railway included Victoria Street to Maitland (opened 1858) and Maitland to Singleton (1863). These were followed by extensions to Muswellbrook in 1869, Aberdeen in 1870 and to Scone in 1871 (Rappoport, 2001; SRA, 1993).

The East Maitland railway precinct has an unusual arrangement and a slightly confusing history, with four separate East Maitland railway precincts identified in the ‘How and Why of Station Names’ (SRA, 1993), each one differentiated by location and date. The original East Maitland station opened on 5 April 1857 at what is now Victoria Street. The first East Maitland station closed in March 1858 but was reopened as 'Victoria Street' in 1877. The second East Maitland station opened on 27 July 1858 near the courthouse and at a location not far from the existing station precinct. The third East Maitland station opened as ‘Morpeth Junction’ in 1864, changed to ‘East Maitland’ in 1879 and closed in 1914 (SRA, 1993; Forsyth, 1985).

On 14 June 1914, the third station at East Maitland closed and was replaced by a fourth station at what is now East Maitland railway precinct. The Morpeth line junction was then altered to join the Northern line closer to Newcastle. A separate platform was established on the branch line to handle trains to and from Morpeth, this being adjacent to the main line platforms but at a lower level. The extant buildings on the former Morpeth branch line are believed to have been constructed in c1914 (Forsyth, 1985).

In the 1920s, Morpeth’s traffic declined due to changes in the transportation of wool and improvements to wharf facilities at Newcastle. The line closed to traffic on 31 August 1953 and was officially closed by Parliament in December of the same year (Forsyth, 1985). The station building and other infrastructure located on the main Newcastle to Maitland line at East Maitland remain as operational facilities with regular passenger services.

Extant items include those on both the Newcastle to Maitland line and on the adjacent closed Morpeth line. These include the platform building (1914), brick booking office (1914), parcels office (branch line station), brick platform faces (1914), brick subway, station lights, fences and station signs. The building believed to be the parcel office may have been the former station building on the earlier alignment of the Morpeth branch line (before construction of the fourth East Maitland railway station in 1914) (SRA/ORH, 2009).

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
1. Environment-Tracing the evolution of a continent's special environments	Environment - naturally evolved-Activities associated with the physical surroundings that support human life and influence or shape human cultures.	Other open space-
1. Environment-Tracing the evolution of a continent's special environments	Environment - naturally evolved-Activities associated with the physical surroundings that support human life and influence or shape human cultures.	Changing the environment-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Environment - cultural landscape-Activities associated with the interactions between humans, human societies and the shaping of their physical surroundings	Developing local, regional and national economies-National Theme 3
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Environment - cultural landscape-Activities associated with the interactions between humans, human societies and the shaping of their physical surroundings	Landscapes of institutions - productive and ornamental-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Environment - cultural landscape-Activities associated with the interactions between humans, human societies and the shaping of their physical surroundings	Landscapes and parklands of distinctive styles-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Events-Activities and processes that mark the consequences of natural and cultural occurences	Developing local landmarks-
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	Railway Station-
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	Building the railway network-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Accommodation-Activities associated with the provision of accommodation, and particular types of accommodation – does not include architectural styles – use the theme of Creative Endeavour for such activities.	Building settlements, towns and cities-National Theme 4
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Land tenure-Activities and processes for identifying forms of ownership and occupancy of land and water, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal	Administering and alienating Crown lands-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Land tenure-Activities and processes for identifying forms of ownership and occupancy of land and water, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal	Changing land uses - from rural to suburban-
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	Developing suburbia-
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	20th Century infrastructure-
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	Creating landmark structures and places in suburban settings-
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	Impact of railways on suburban development-
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 rural development-
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	Railway Suburbs-
5. Working-Working	Labour-Activities associated with work practises and organised and unorganised labour	Railway work culture-
7. Governing-Governing	Government and Administration-Activities associated with the governance of local areas, regions, the State and the nation, and the administration of public programs - includes both principled and corrupt activities.	State government-
7. Governing-Governing	Government and Administration-Activities associated with the governance of local areas, regions, the State and the nation, and the administration of public programs - includes both principled and corrupt activities.	Developing roles for government - conserving cultural and natural heritage-
7. Governing-Governing	Government and Administration-Activities associated with the governance of local areas, regions, the State and the nation, and the administration of public programs - includes both principled and corrupt activities.	Developing roles for government - facilitating horticulture-
7. Governing-Governing	Government and Administration-Activities associated with the governance of local areas, regions, the State and the nation, and the administration of public programs - includes both principled and corrupt activities.	Developing roles for government - facilitating agriculture-
7. Governing-Governing	Government and Administration-Activities associated with the governance of local areas, regions, the State and the nation, and the administration of public programs - includes both principled and corrupt activities.	Developing roles for government - facilitating pastoralism-
7. Governing-Governing	Government and Administration-Activities associated with the governance of local areas, regions, the State and the nation, and the administration of public programs - includes both principled and corrupt activities.	Developing roles for government - building and administering rail networks-

Recommended management:

Recommendations

Management Category	Description	Date Updated
Recommended Management	Prepare or include in a Development Control Plan (DCP)
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	HERITAGE ACT 1977 ORDER UNDER SECTION 57(2) TO GRANT STANDARD EXEMPTIONS FROM APPROVAL I, Penny Sharpe, the Minister for Heritage, on the recommendation of the Heritage Council of New South Wales and under section 57(2) of the Heritage Act 1977: revoke the order made on 2 June 2022 and published in the Government Gazette Number 262 of 17 June 2022; and grant an exemption from section 57(1) of the Act in respect of the engaging in or carrying out the class of activities described in clause 2 Schedule A in such circumstances specified by the relevant standards in clause 2 Schedule A and General Conditions in clause 3 Schedule A. This Order takes effect on the date it is published in the NSW Government Gazette. Dated this 29th day of October 2025 The Hon Penny Sharpe MLC Minister for Heritage For more information on standard exemptions click on the link below.	Nov 7 2025

Standard exemptions for engaging in or carrying out activities / works otherwise prohibited by section 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Heritage Act - State Heritage Register		01135	02 Apr 99	27	1546
Heritage Act - s.170 NSW State agency heritage register

Study details

Title	Year	Number	Author	Guidelines used
S170 Register Update Project	2009		ARTC/ ORH	Yes
S170 Heritage & Conservation Register Update	2009		Office of Rail Heritage - Australian Rail Track Corporation	Yes
SRA Heritage Register Study	1999	SRA 6	SRA	No
Heritage Platforms Conservation Management Strategy	2015		Australian Museum Consulting	Yes

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title
Written	Archives Section, State Rail Authority of NSW	1993	How and Why of Station Names
Written	Cottee, J	2004	Stations on the track: selected New South Wales country railway stations: an historical overview
Written	Forsyth, J	1985	Historical notes on railway lines: volume 1 - volume 2, 1983-1985
Written	Office of Rail Heritage	2012	Railway garden and landscape conservation guide

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 NSW
Database number:	5012002

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