Galong Railway Station and yard group

Item details


Name of item:	Galong Railway Station and yard group
Type of item:	Complex / Group
Group/Collection:	Transport - Rail
Category:	Railway Platform/ Station
Location:	Lat: -34.6040736232 Long: 148.5585650466
Primary address:	Main Southern railway, Galong, NSW 2585
Local govt. area:	Hilltops
Local Aboriginal Land Council:	Onerwal

Property description

Lot/Volume Code	Lot/Volume Number	Section Number	Plan/Folio Code	Plan/Folio Number
PART LOT	3		DP	819818

Boundary:

The listing boundary is formed by the property boundary to the south running parallel to the railway track (Station Street), the overbridge to the west, the property boundary to the north and the eastern boundary is the Sydney end of the station platform.

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
Main Southern railway	Galong	Hilltops			Primary Address

Owner/s

Organisation Name	Owner Category	Date Ownership Updated
TAHE - Sydney Trains	State Government	28 Oct 98

Statement of significance:


	Galong station and yard group is an excellent example of a location which was constructed largely at the same time and retains that form to the present day. It is a good example of deviation site where the former wayside platform was replaced with 2 platforms and 2 buildings when the line was duplicated and deviated in 1915. The station buildings are excellent examples of standard buildings constructed in a country location, only a few of which survive (e.g. Binalong). It is a good and rare surviving country example of a signal box constructed as part of the main station building, again a result of the common building time of the structures. As a junction station for the Boorowa branch (now closed) the site had an importance that is reflected in the quality of the structures, particularly for buildings built as late as 1915 when most locations were suffering from cutbacks and rationalised construction. It is one of the finest country examples of buildings from this period. The ancillary structures such as weighbridge, gantry crane and goods shed are significant to the whole and are good examples of their type, strengthening the significance of the group. The residence is a remnant of the original 1877 station and is significant because of this connection.
	Date significance updated: 27 Nov 00
	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


Construction years:	1880-1915
Physical description:	BUILDINGS Station buildings comprise: - type 11, initial island side platform (northbound trains), 1915 - type 11, initial island side platform (southbound trains) including signal box in station building, 1915 - Out of shed - brick on southbound platform 1915 - Goods shed - 61x16 sub-type 3 side shed - This is a typical small country side shed constructed of corrugated iron walling and roof with overhang to both platform and road sides. It has a platform to each face. The structure is supported on stumps. - Residence - 1877 (SRA, 1999) - timber type 5. The residence was built for the earlier station location which was relocated at the time of duplication in 1915. The building dates from the 1880s. It is a simple timber L-shaped building with corrugated iron roof projecting front room with gable roof, the other roofs being hipped, a front entrance verandah linking to the projecting bay and a rear skillion skillion section containing amenities. It is typical of many sirnilar structures throughout the state. It is of particular interest on this site as the only remaining structure from the early period of construction. The station group is an excellent example of a location which was constructed largely at the same time and retains that form to the present day. It is a good example of deviation site where the former wayside platform was replaced with 2 platforms and 2 buildings when the line was duplicated and deviated in 1915 (SRA, 1999). The station buildings constructed are austere examples of standard buildings, typical of the later use of these standard forms of building which were developed in the 1890s. They are also unusual in that not many examples of buildings of this style were built or survive in the country. The main building is a 9 bay station building with little decoration around openings and the use of concrete lintels. The attached signal frame, under the main roof of the building is enclosed with a timber and glazed screen. The awning is simply bracketed with curved steel angle supports. The minor station building is of the same design but is much smaller containing only a waiting room. Access between platforms is across the tracks which is unusual for a junction station. All access to the buildings is from the platforms with a defined entry point at one end of the station. The planning is linear. The parcels office at the far end of the platform is consistent in materials and detailing with the station buildings and forms an integral part of the group. STRUCTURES Platform faces - brick, 1915. The platform faces are brick with a rich coping, all of which were constructed at one time with the buildings. The platform is an excellent example of its type particularly as it is constructed on the curve. Weighbridge - 14062 Pooley 20 ton - no longer extant, possibly removed c1993 with transfer of part of railway land to Graincorp. A typical example of a country weighbridge of significance as part of the whole group. It is in particularly good condition. Gantry Crane - The crane in this location is a gantry crane located some distance from the goods shed which indicates the type of goods that was loaded from the yard. The gantry crane is intact and is a rare surviving example of this type of crane.


Current use:	Railway Station
Former use:	Aboriginal land, farm

History

Historical notes:

Galong is believed to be the local Aboriginal word for 'flying fox' or 'swamp plains' and was used as the name of Edward Ryan's 1836 selection (Forsyth, 1989; SRA, 1993).

Galong House/estate:
Galong was settled and named by Irish transportee, Edward 'Ned' Ryan in the late 1820s (AGHS, 2018). Galong House, later Galong Castle, was noted for its hospitality to rich and poor alike. It was a port of call and a haven of rest to the early priests on their journeys in the days when accommodation was the scarcest thing in the land (Kass, 2009).

By 1850, when the surveyor J. Larmer prepared a map of the Lachlan squatting district showing the positions of stations and proposed reserves for towns and villages, Ryan was shown as owner of four stations: Jaraldara (now Geraldra), Burthong (now Berthong), Tumatel, and Nubba. Gungewalla and Jallong (Galong) stations are also indicated and although Ryan is not named as lessee an 1866 Gazetteer indicated that both were still then occupied by Ryans, the latter by Edward (40 960acres), and the former by his son John Nagle (17 280 acres). About 1859 the two-storied, crenellated eastern tower was added to provide a dining room and visitor's bedroom, and from this date the appellation of 'castle' was bestowed on the homestead (ibid, 2009).

John Nagle Ryan took over the management of Galong on his father's death in February 1871. John, in turn, died sixteen years later (1887) and left Galong Castle estate to his sister Anastasia Nagle Ryan (ibid, 2009). The western tower was begun in 1887 on John's death to accommodate, at Anastasia Nagle Ryan's direction, a priest's chapel and bedroom. When Anastasia Ryan died it was the Redemptorist Order who claimed Galong and their monastery buildings now surround and engulf the original homestead (ibid). The order established a monastery and a jevenate named for St. Clement Hofbauer (AGHS, 2018). The western tower was in turn enlarged by the Redemptorist Order in 1931-2 to accommodate a library. The Redemptorists also demolished the two-feet thick internal stone walls of the homestead to allow for its use as a dining-room and common room. Photographs taken between 1870 and 1920 illustrate how this simple, somewhat quaint vernacular building became surrounded and enveloped by the monastery (Kass, 2009).

Over 2000 men were educated at Galong before the College closed in 1975 and a retreat and conference centre was eventually established. Following on from the Ryan family's tradition of agriculture, the Redemptorist priests, brothers and students and now the Friends of St. Clement's ensure the farm's viability and sustainability through the implementation of an extensive environmental plan. The Friends consider St.Clement's a sanctuary for the soul and the environment, with friends and visitors encouraged to adopt an established tree providing for its care and ultimate replacement, or by planting a new tree in many groves still to be established (AGHS, 2018).

Galong town:
The town became a rail location in the 1870s as part of the development of the Great Southern Line. The Great Southern Line had reached Goulburn in May 1869, Gunning in November 1875, Yass (later 'Yass Junction') in 1878, Bowning in July 1876 and Galong in 1877, with the station opening on 12 March 1877. The Great Southern Line later extended to Cootamundra (1877), Junee (1878), Wagga (1879), and finally Albury in 1881 (SRA, 1993).

The original railway yard at Galong opened on 12 March 1877 with a 67 metre long platform on the Down side of the main line and a loop on the Up side. Some of the early additions at the first site included a waiting shed in 1879, various yard alterations (1891) and the construction of trucking yards (1893). The station closed and was relocated as part of the deviation of the line in April 1916, with the second site opening on 16 April 1916, approximately 19 kilometres from the original location. The relocated site included sheep and cattle yards, a loading bank, residence (1916), wheat stacking site (1917), a permanent junction for the Boorowa Branch line (1917), a 10 tonne gantry crane (1917), and a gate house (1921) (Forsyth, 1989).

The Galong Public School was established in 1890.

Galong Railway Station residence is the only building surviving from the 1880s. It was built for the earlier station location which was relocated at the time of duplication of the railway line in 1915. Most of the station dates to 1915 (SRA, 1993).

The railway station closed in 1980 (Forsyth, 1989; SRA, 1993), with closure of the Galong- line.

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Agriculture-Activities relating to the cultivation and rearing of plant and animal species, usually for commercial purposes, can include aquaculture	Private farming-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Pastoralism-Activities associated with the breeding, raising, processing and distribution of livestock for human use	Agisting and fattening stock for slaughter-
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-
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	(none)-
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	Resuming private lands for public purposes-
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	Townships-
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 - providing rail transport-
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 operating public infrastructure-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria f) [Rarity]	This item is assessed as historically rare. This item is assessed as arch. rare. This item is assessed as socially rare.
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:

Recommendations

Management Category	Description	Date Updated
Recommended Management	Produce a Conservation Management Plan (CMP)
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		01146	02 Apr 99	27	1546
Heritage Act - s.170 NSW State agency heritage register

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title	Internet Links
Written	Forsyth, Forsyth, J.H.	1989	Stations & tracks: volume 2: Main Southern Line Granville Junction to Albury.
Written	State Rail Authority of NSW	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:	Heritage NSW
Database number:	5012011
File number:	EF14/4685

Every effort has been made to ensure that information contained in the State Heritage Inventory is correct. If you find any errors or omissions please send your comments to the Database Manager.

All information and pictures on this page are the copyright of Heritage NSW or respective copyright owners.