| Historical notes: | Statement of Country
Junee is located on Wiradjuri Country, which is the largest Aboriginal Country within NSW (AIATSIS, 2016). Within the Wiradjuri group, there are approximately 30 smaller clans. The name Wiradjuri means 'people of the three rivers', referring to the Wambuul (Macquarie), Galari (Lachlan), and Marrambidya (Murrumbidgee) Rivers (GML 2025).
Junee/Jewnee is believed to be a Wiradjuri word meaning 'speak to me'. The "Gugaa" (Goanna) is the overarching totem for the Wiradjuri Nation. It is the symbol that connects all people, past and present, on Wiradjuri land. Girls belonging to the stolen generations often arrived by rail to the Cootamundra Aboriginal Girls Home (SHR 01873) 50 kms from Junee, which has contributed to intergenerational trauma. Wiradjuri people maintain strong continuing connection to Country (City of Wagga Wagga Council 2021)
Development of NSW Railways and the Main Southern Line
After the construction of the first railway in NSW between Sydney and Parramatta in 1855, two major country lines were planned across the State: the Main Southern Railway (to Albury) and the Main Western Railway (to Bourke). NSW economic wealth in the 1800s was largely from farming and pastoralism. Early railway expansion during the 1860s was primarily undertaken to connect Sydney with developing inland towns, across the Blue Mountains to Bathurst and across the Southern Highlands to Goulburn. These new lines were constructed under John Whitton, who was appointed Engineer-in-Chief of NSW Railways in 1867 (Sydney Trains, 2023). The growth of the railways was seen as a triumph of science and civilisation. The Sydney Morning Herald in 1855 claimed that 'the great agent of civilisation, the best and most effective servant of progress, has been retained by the antipodean colonies of Australia.' (SMH 27 September 1855, Trove)
From the 1860s, colonial rivalry between Victoria and NSW contributed to the rapid expansion of rail networks in both states in the direction of the border and also to conflicts about rail gauge (Lee, 2000). In NSW, the number of railway passengers in NSW rose from 776,707 to 5,440,138, and the railway more than doubled in size between 1870 and 1880 (Sydney Trains, 2023).
The extension of the Main Southern Line beyond Mittagong from the late 1860s was a direct response to concerns that wool and other produce from the Riverina and western NSW would be diverted to Melbourne via river boats and the Victorian railway from Echuca on the Murray River, which opened in 1864.
The line reached Goulburn in 1869, Yass Junction in 1876, Junee in 1878, Wagga in 1879 and Albury in 1881. A journey that once took several days now took about nine hours. Regional economies prospered as local markets had faster access to Sydney. In June 1883, the Sydney-Melbourne link was completed when a temporary railway bridge across the Murray River was opened. NSW standard gauge trains arrived on the eastern side of the Albury platform, Victorian broad-gauge trains on the western side (Ryan, 2022).
Growing towns in the region required branch lines. In April 1879, the Parliament of NSW approved construction of a railway from Junee to Narrandera, with ultimate extension to Hay. The line to Narrandera opened in 1881 (and on to Hay in July 1882) making Junee an increasingly important rail junction. Extensions to Leeton (1912) and Griffith (1916) meant considerably more produce would pass through Junee, either south via Albury or north to Sydney for export (Lee, 1988).
Establishment of the town of Junee
The requirement for depots at regular intervals to house and maintain steam locomotives meant that the railway created its own centres according to the location of junctions and termini, and the distance travelled by train crew shifts. In sparsely populated and hilly areas, towns were established whose existence depended on the railway and the steam locomotive. Key examples in NSW were Werris Creek, Junee, Harden Murrumburrah and Binnaway (McKillop 2009).
Junee is 437 kilometres south-west of Sydney and 491 kilometres north of Melbourne, making it approximately half way between Sydney and Melbourne. In 1878, when the railway line extended to Junee, the NSW Government allocated a 40 acre site to form an official town which was initially named Loftus after the Governor of NSW at the time. The census for Loftus in 1881 recorded 538 people.
The residents petitioned for the town to be renamed Junee (named after an early 19th century pastoral lease for the area 'Jewnee Run'), which occurred in 1885. The town grew rapidly and by 1901 2190 people lived there, largely employed in locomotive maintenance, shipment of goods, and other railway related activities (Junee Council, 2026).
Junee Railway Station
Construction of passenger stations and platforms generally reflected changing architectural styles, local constraints, attitudes to the provision of public facilities and the available technology and materials (Office of Rail Heritage, 2013). The original timber station at Junee was named Loftus. It included a stockyard loop, men's toilet, ladies' toilet, ladies waiting room, ticket office, general waiting room, parcels office and porters lamp room. A carriage dock was also built into the Sydney end of the platform to enable horse carriages to be unloaded from the passenger trains. In 1881 the station was renamed Junee Junction (Forsyth, 2009).
The new Junee station precinct was constructed between 1883 and 1885. It was one of a group of grand NSW railway buildings opened in important regional centres during the 1880s and designated First Class Stations, including Werris Creek, Albury, Dubbo, Goulburn, Hay and Newcastle. The designs were not standardised. Common features include substantial brick construction with late Victorian elements such as towers, mansard roofs, bay windows and decorative ironwork and mouldings. Stations usually had more than six rooms and symmetrical proportions, forming imposing landmarks. As in many other country towns, the railway at Junee was a link to the market and ports of Sydney and also seen as the new gateway to the pastoral and agricultural wealth of the Riverina. Rail freight capacity allowed more diverse agriculture in the region, ushering in wheat and vineyards. Junee continued to develop as a railway town with a major maintenance centre and trans-shipping facilities (Sheedy, 1996; Forsyth, 2009). On the opening of the Junee to Narrandera branch line, the Commissioner for Railways named Junee 'one of the most important railway towns in NSW' (Trove, 1947).
Railway Refreshment Rooms
As journey times increased, the provision of food for passengers became important and railway refreshment rooms (RRR) were established at major stations. The earliest RRRs were at Sydney, Mittagong, Penrith, Mount Victoria and Singleton, serving beverages, hot grills, soup, sandwiches, cold meats and salads and pies. Later, more elaborate buildings allowed Junee, Newcastle and Werris Creek to also provide hotel accommodation for travellers (McKillop, 2009).
Initially refreshment rooms were locally operated. Direct administration by the Railway Commissioners began in 1917. In 1938 the NSW Industrial Commission made the first comprehensive award for RRR staff, who were mainly women (Museums of History NSW, 2025).
At their peak in the late 19th century, the elaborate RRR building was the pride of Junee. Vice-regal parties stayed there, beginning with Lord Carrington in the late 1880s. The Earl and Countess of Jersey stayed there in the early 1890s and expressed their delight with the arrangements. Accommodation at the station became very popular, so an additional wing was added to the eastern side of the RRR in 1892. It included a large showroom room for commercial travellers and a billiard room on the ground floor, with another 19 bedrooms above (Scobie & Ferry, 1999).
In the post WW2 period, the role of the RRR gradually changed. Table service was replaced by counter service, set menus were encouraged for time efficiency and in the mid to late 1950s some closed and others were leased to private enterprise (Museums of History NSW, 2025).
The Junee refreshment rooms continue to operate as a cafe and gift shop under the name Railway Cafe and Emporium.
The Locomotive Depot
Roundhouses were a common form for engine depots in the first half of the 20th century. Compared to a simpler locomotive depot design, they greatly reduced the need for complicated trackwork. From 1915 until 1940, the standard NSW locomotive roundhouse design included a 75 feet diameter turntable. Roundhouses which conform to this standard design remain at Broadmeadow, Casino, Cowra, Muswellbrook and Temora. (Davies 1978)
With the duplication of the line to Junee in 1945, the existing locomotive sheds in the triangle north of the station were deemed too small. A new depot was built a mile south of the station. When officially opened in September 1947, it was claimed that the Junee Locomotive Depot precinct contained the largest roundhouse in the southern hemisphere (Roundhouse Museum 2024). The Junee roundhouse, or loco, as it was called, was the last specialty steam depot built in NSW and was the pinnacle of steam depot development in the state, making it the busiest and most sophisticated depot on the NSW railways for many years. In the following decades, it was adapted for diesel use and continued to be a major railway transport and maintenance depot.
Much of the roundhouse is currently tenanted by the Junee Railway Workshop Pty Ltd, a commercial operation. The primary activities of the business are servicing and breakdown support services, repairs and maintenance of rollingstock for other organisations, and the supply of fuel and other consumables. Other parts of the depot are occupied by the Regional Heritage Transport Association Junee Inc. a community based organisation who operate a museum dedicated to local railway history on the site. In 1989 the Roundhouse welcomed one of the most well-known locomotives in the world - the Flying Scotsman (Junee Council 2024). |