Belmore Railway Station Group

Item details

Name of item: Belmore Railway Station Group
Other name/s: Burwood Road
Type of item: Built
Group/Collection: Transport - Rail
Category: Railway Platform/ Station
Location: Lat: -33.9171364778 Long: 151.0887725510
Primary address: Burwood Road, Belmore, NSW 2192
Local govt. area: Canterbury-Bankstown
Local Aboriginal Land Council: Metropolitan

Boundary:

North: Property boundary to Redman Parade South: Property boundary to Tobruk Avenue, excluding shops and carpark to west of Burwood Road East: 5 metres from the eastern end of the island platform West: 5 metres from the western end of the island platform (excluding the overbridge)
All addresses
Street AddressSuburb/townLGAParishCountyType
Burwood RoadBelmoreCanterbury-Bankstown  Primary Address
Redman ParadeBelmoreCanterbury-Bankstown  Alternate Address
Bankstown railwayBelmoreCanterbury-Bankstown  Alternate Address

Owner/s

Organisation NameOwner CategoryDate Ownership Updated
TAHE - Sydney TrainsState Government20 Oct 98

Statement of significance:

Belmore Station is of State significance as it was the initial terminus station on the Sydenham to Bankstown Line which had been constructed to relieve congestion on the Main South Line as well as to promote agriculture and suburban growth. The platform building represents the period of transition from the boom time of the 1880s to the standardisation of NSW railway building design of the 1890s onwards and the high level of aesthetic design of pre-1900 standard railway buildings, which included the use of polychromatic brickwork, decorative dentil coursing, ornate awning brackets and carved bargeboards. The building is relatively intact and is representative of a small group of such ornate platform buildings including Canterbury and Marrickville on the Bankstown Line.
Date significance updated: 21 Jul 09
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: NSW Government Railways
Construction years: 1895-1937
Physical description: BUILDINGS
Platform building, Platforms 1-2 (Type 11) (1895)
Overhead Booking Office and Concourse, (1937, 2008)

STRUCTURES
Platforms 1-2, (1895, 1907)
Overbridge, (substantially modified 1961)
Platform Canopies, (2008)

CONTEXT
Belmore Station has a single island platform with the original platform building and a modified booking office and concourse with an access lift. The platform is accessed directly via the modern stairs through the concourse from the overbridge on Burwood Road. Burwood Road is the main commercial shopping strip in the suburb.

PLATFORM BUILDING (1895)
External: Rectangular polychromatic face brick building with gabled roof and surrounding cantilevered awning clad in corrugated roof sheeting. The face brick is in stretcher bond, which was originally a dark brick up to a dado (the lower brick walls have now been painted) of lighter salmon coloured bricks which frame the upper half of the windows and doors, with a diamond pattern dentil course at the high level. The building is eight bays in length, with the bays defined by engaged brick piers which coincide with the awning brackets. Original chimneys with cement mouldings and terracotta flues remain but have been painted.

The cantilever awning is on filigreed steel brackets supported on decorative cement cornices on engaged brick piers and bolt fixings to the station building brick walls. The soffit lining is the underside of the corrugated steel roof fixed to intermediate exposed purlins. There is a decorative timber moulding at the junction with the brick wall. The awning returns around the eastern end of the building but has been removed at the western end. The edge of the awning is finished with a decorative timber boarded valance.

The external walls rise from a projecting brick plinth (now painted) with a decorative two part cement dado moulding which frames the salmon brick dado and is continuous between door and window openings. Decorative cement window and door frames rise above the dado moulding, each with a decorative keystone.

The window and door openings have segmental arches and the windows feature a decorative moulded cement sill. The original timber windows were double hung with a double paned lower sash and a multi-paned upper sash featuring coloured glass of which some still remains. This detail continued through in the fanlights above the doors. The doors were timber panelled and most still remain. The end brick gable walls feature a louvre within a round brick window framed in salmon coloured voussoir shaped bricks, with four cement keystones.

Internal: The building comprises a booking hall originally entered by a set of double doors at the bottom of the stairs; a booking office; station masters room; general waiting room; ladies waiting room and ladies toilet, a lamp room and men's toilet. The internal usage has now changed, and the toilets have modern fitouts.

OVERHEAD BOOKING OFFICE (1937, 2008)
External: The original weatherboard overhead booking office was constructed in 1937, and had a hipped roof clad in Marseille pattern terracotta tiles which have been replaced by new terracotta tiles. It was constructed by placing steel beams across the Up line and supporting them on brick piers on the railway embankment on the north and on steel trestles on the platform. As well as accommodating the station master and ticket selling facilities it contained a parcels office and a booking hall which opened onto Burwood Road, with a bookstall in the north western corner. The building was substantially modified in 2008 by opening up the front wall on Burwood Road to provide larger full height glazing and more open access to the booking hall. The stairs were replaced and covered with a glazed canopy as well as the addition of an access lift.

Internal: The booking office which is on the platform side of the building contains the area for ticketing and also contains the station masters office as well as staff facilities in the old parcels office. The interior of the booking office and open booking hall has hardboard lined ceilings with timber battens. The walls in the booking office and old parcels office are also lined with hardboard, while the booking hall is lined with weatherboards. The timber floors have been replaced with concrete with carpet internally and tiles in the open booking hall. The original timber panelled doors and ticket window have been replaced.

PLATFORM (1895, 1907))
One Island platform with asphalt surface, original brick platform face and edge. The platform was lengthened in 1907.

OVERBRIDGE (1961)
The Burwood Road overbridge was originally a wooden structure, supported on brick piers. In 1961 the roadway deck was replaced with prestressed concrete which spans between the original brick abutments on each side and the original brick pier on the platform. Not a significant element.

CANOPIES (2008)
Modern glass canopy covers the stairway access from the booking hall concourse.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL POTENTIAL
Based on the surviving documentation and the evidence on site it is unlikely there would be any potential archaeological remains.
Physical condition and/or
Archaeological potential: 		PLATFORM BUILDING
Generally in good condition.

OVERHEAD BOOKING OFFICE
Good condition.

PLATFORM
Generally good condition.

CANOPIES
Good condition.

OVERBRIDGE
Good condition.
Modifications and dates: 1907: Platform extended.
1920s-1930s: construction of various sidings in yard.
c1922: Construction of shop on railway land to north of station.
1926: Western extension of station platform.
1926: Railway electrified.
1937: Construction of overhead booking office.
Early 1950s: Overhead booking office extended to north for parcels office.
1961: Timber overbridge replaced with prestressed concrete
2008: Overhead booking office altered and new stairs , lift and canopies added.
Current use: Railway Station
Former use: Aboriginal land, farm

History

Historical notes: Aboriginal occupation:
Prior to European settlement the Cooks River Valley was the home of a number of clans of the Aboriginal people. The Gameygal lived on the northern side of Botany Bay, between present day La Perouse and the mouth of the Cooks River. To the north of the Cooks River between South Head and present day Darling Harbour lived the Cadigal people and the Wangal people lived in an area between the Parramatta River and the Cooks River from Darling Harbour to Rose Bay. To the south of Botany Bay in the coastal area including Kurnell and Cronulla and the south coastal strip to Nowra lived the Gweagal people. While there is some argument about the location of land of the Bidiagal clan, there is some evidence that this clan lived in the area between the southern bank of the Cooks River and the northern bank of the Georges River. It is also thought the Cooks River formed the boundary between two dialect groups, the Bidiagal and the Gweagal. Previous reports on the Aboriginal past of the area … have suggested that it was occupied by the Bidiagal. (Tranby Aboriginal Co-operative College, 1986; King, 1999; McDonald, 2005). The potential association of the Bidiagal people … should not be discounted as a result of this lack of historical detail as after the collapse of the clan structure due to the smallpox epidemic of 1788 and general impact of European invasion, individuals travelled beyond the pre-1788 traditional boundaries. It is thought that the warmer months were spent nearer the coast and the cold months of winter were spent further inland. (Muir L 2007 Cooks River Valley Thematic History)

Due to the impact of the arrival of European colonists from 1788 and the almost immediate impact that this had on established patterns of subsistence, our knowledge of the Aboriginal people of the Sydney district is limited. Some eight individual groups or clans within the vicinity of the Parramatta area have been identified and two, the Cadigal and Wangal, most likely lived in the area that now makes up the Ashfield municipality (Attenbrow, V. & Pratten, C., quoted in SWC, 2005, 5).

Aboriginal people lived along the Cooks River for thousands of years prior to European arrival...The Cadigal and Wangal peoples made use of the land and seasons to hunt, trap, fish and forage for fruit and plants. As firestick farmers, they burned off scrub near rivers leaving only large trees spaced several meters apart, creating an open, park-like appearance (Marrickville Council website, quoted in ibid, 2005, 5).

While land closer to the town of Sydney was relatively quickly carved up as land grants to settlers in the first years of the European colony, the land on the southern side of the Cooks River was not subject to land granting until 1904. It was not until 1808 when a number of very large land grants were made over land which traditionally provided Aboriginal people access to the resource rich area of the Georges River, Kurnell Bay and Salt Pan Creek that land became the reason for conflict between the Bidiagal and European settlers. In 1809, an attack was made on two farms at Punchbowl led by a Bidiagal man named Tedbury. Tedbury was the son of Pemulway who had led perhaps the best-known campaign of resistance in the Sydney Basin including a spear attack on Governor Phillip's game keeper, a man renowned for his hostility to the Aboriginal people of the Sydney area. Pemulway and Tedbury spoke the Bidiagal dialect, and are known to have come from around Botany Bay (King, 1999)

The attack at Punchbowl was the last reported act of Aboriginal resistance to European settlement in the Cooks River Valley. In the following years due to alienation from their land and its resources and being subject to the devastation of European infectious diseases, the Aboriginal population in the area dramatically reduced. In 1845 it was reported to the NSW Legislative Select Committee that there were only 3 people of the Botany Bay clan and only fifty Aboriginal people were living in the area between the Cooks and Georges River. (Muir, L., 2007, Cooks River Valley Thematic History).

During the 19th Century European settlers transformed the land along both banks of the Cooks river as farms were established for grazing, family food needs and for other industries such as tanning, production of sugar, harvesting of timber and production of lime from many middens left by the Aboriginal people of the area for thousands of years. Lime was a scarce and necessary commodity for European settlement in the early years of the colony. (Renwick, C., Pastorelli, C., Muir, L., Sheppard, H., Denby, J., Chalcroft, G., 2008, Cooks River Interpretation Strategy).

Post-contact, the stretch of land between Iron Cove and the Cook's River was known as the Kangaroo Ground, the natural woodland would have provided a suitable habitat for possums, fern rhizomes and tubers, all of which would have been identified as valuable food sources for the Wangal (Pratten, C., quoted in SWC, 2005, 5).

Canterbury:
The first European land grant in this suburb...was of 100 acres to a "very good, pious, inoffensive man", the Reverend Richard Johnson (1753-1827), the colony's first chaplain, in 1793. He called his grant Canterbury Vale, as a tribute to Canterbury in England, and the suburb took its name from the farm. The farm extended over the area of modern day Canterbury and Ashbury suburbs. By 1800, when it was sold to Lieutenant William Cox, the property covered 600 acres. In 1803, when it covered 900 acres, it was sold to Robert Campbell the elder (1769-1846), who then bought up most of the land north to Liverpool Road.

The village of Canterbury was formed after 1841 subdivision of this land, then owned by Campbell. Sales of the land in the area west of Canterbury Road and north of the railway, were successful, and several other sales followed in the 1840s and 1850s.

Although the soil in this area was rather poor, there was some farm cultivation, but the main work was wood cutting and carting, and brickmaking. In 1840 the Australian Sugar Company bought 60 acres of Campbell's Canterbury estate and a steam engine was installed, but after passing through the hands of several owners, the factory closed in 1856.

The first post office opened in 1858, and the first official public school in 1878, and the district slowly developed. Canterbury Race Course, on the northern bank of the Cooks River has been one of Sydney's major racetracks since 1871. The railway station, on the Bankstown line, opened in 1895 (Pollen & Healy, 1988, 7-8 & 50).

Belmore Railway Station:
Belmore is located on the Sydenham to Bankstown Railway line and was opened as the initial terminus station on 1 February 1895. Its initial construction name was Burwood Road but it was named Belmore on opening. (There is no evidence that the station was to be named St. George as suggested in some sources. However it was not unusual for a number of names to be publicly canvassed in the lead-up to opening of a station and this was probably the case in this instance. The locality and station were named after the Earl of Belmore, Governor of New South Wales between 1868 and 1872.)

The station was built when Belmore was still rural. The station layout featured a typical brick station building on an island platform. A station master's residence was also built in 1895 and is still extant at 346 Burwood Road, opposite the station, but is now in private ownership.

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.

Prior to 1909 there were sidings for the storage of locomotives due to the railway terminating at Belmore. Suburban development intensified post World War I when many War Service homes were built in the area. Sidings at the station were extended during the 1920s for Belmore and Canterbury Councils for the purposes of unloading timber and other material for house construction and municipal works.

In 1925-26 a number of works were undertaken in preparation for electrification of the line including a sub-station and platform extension. The sub-station is now used as a signals training facility.

The overhead timber booking office at Belmore was constructed c.1937 at the top of the steps fronting onto the down side of Burwood Road to take the ticket selling and parcel functions. The change was also made to most other stations built to a similar configuration. The station master's office remained in the platform building for another forty years, but this function too has now moved to the street level building and the platform building remains largely unused.

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)New South Wales themeLocal 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 and parklands of distinctive styles-
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 urban amenity-
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 Transport-Activities associated with the moving of people and goods from one place to another, and systems for the provision of such movements (none)-
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 and maintaining the public railway system-
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 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. Adapted heritage building or structure-
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-
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 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 Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages 19th Century Infrastructure-
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 - administration of land-
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 - building and operating public infrastructure-
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-

Assessment of significance

SHR Criteria a)
[Historical significance] 		Belmore Railway Station possesses state historical significance as it was the initial terminus station on the Sydenham to Bankstown Line 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 represents that period which marked the transition from the boom period of the 1880s to the standardisation of NSW railway building design of the 1890s and onwards.
SHR Criteria c)
[Aesthetic significance] 		The platform building at Belmore Station has state aesthetic and technical significance because it demonstrates the particular design and style of brick island buildings erected by the NSW Railways in the pre-1900s and also because of the excellent quality of its aesthetic features such as the polychromatic brickwork, dentilled brick cornice and cement mouldings which distinguish it from other platform building types.
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 station is representative of, and is a fine example of a pre-1900 standard railway station building. It’s styling reflected the importance of the station at that time, the other important stations on the Bankstown line with the same design being Canterbury and Marrickville. The overhead booking office is also a representative example of this type of railway building and is largely intact.
Integrity/Intactness: PLATFORM BUILDING
Externally the platform building retains most of the original detailing, however the face brick has been painted to dado level. Some windows have been modified by the insertion of fibreglass vandal-proof sheeting into the sashes. Original roof vents have been removed, and the face brick chimneys painted. The male toilet modesty screen has been removed. Three external doors have been replaced by flush doors. The original access stairs were replaced in 2008.

Although the toilets have modern fixtures, a substantial amount of the original finishes remain. This includes plaster wall finishes, plaster ceilings and cornices, ceiling roses, the ticket window framing in the booking hall, benches and cupboards in the booking office as well as the cast iron fireplace. The old lamp room has been converted to a unisex toilet/ baby changing room.

OVERHEAD BOOKING OFFICE
While significantly altered by the opening of the western elevation, and the insertion of new metal glazing, the building retains a large amount of its original fabric including timber cladding and timber framed windows on the north, south and east elevations. The roof remains, but with new terracotta tiles.

Internally the ceiling linings in the booking hall and booking office remain as do the wall linings. The original timber floors are now concrete.
Assessment criteria: Items are assessed against the PDF 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 CategoryDescriptionDate Updated
Recommended ManagementProduce a Conservation Management Plan (CMP) 
Recommended ManagementPrepare a maintenance schedule or guidelines 
Recommended ManagementCarry out interpretation, promotion and/or education 

Procedures /Exemptions

Section of actDescriptionTitleCommentsAction date
57(2)Exemption to allow workStandard 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

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

Listings

Heritage ListingListing TitleListing NumberGazette DateGazette NumberGazette Page
Heritage Act - State Heritage Register 0108102 Apr 99 271546
Heritage Act - s.170 NSW State agency heritage register     
Local Environmental Plan  16 Oct 98 1488286
Local Environmental Plan - Lapsed 015007 Jun 96 0672953

Study details

TitleYearNumberAuthorInspected byGuidelines used
Canterbury Heritage Study Review2006 City Plan Heritage  Yes

References, internet links & images

TypeAuthorYearTitleInternet Links
TourismAttraction Homepage2007Belmore Railway Station Group View detail
WrittenJohn Forsyth2007New South Wales Railway Stations: an alphabetical arrangement of railway station and place names
WrittenK. Edwards1982Beginning the Bankstown Line: a history of the Marrickville to Burwood Road Railway
WrittenMichael Bogle2006Shop Complex Associated with the Belmore Railway Station Group, 363 Burwood Road, Belmore: Heritage Assessment and Statement of Heritage Impact
WrittenPollon, F. & Healy, G. (ed.s)1988"Ashbury" and "Canterbury" entries, in The Book of Sydney Suburbs
WrittenTony Prescott2009Historical Research for RailCorp's S170 Update Project

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.
rez rez rez rez rez rez
rez rez rez
(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: 5045375

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.