RAILWAY STATION

Railway Station

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Original Katanning Railway Station c1900

Information below from State Heritage Council website

The railway station has historical, social and cultural significance in that the railway greatly widened opportunities for the district, greatly reducing their dependence on horse and dray or mail coach and opening up the town as a tourist destination.

The station building would have been a central point of activity for the new town and the first point of contact for visitors. The railway made possible ventures such as the flour mill, provided employment and made Katanning the “heart” of the Great Southern region.

The station buildings, which have remained very much intact, also add to the streetscape of Austral Terrace. The original railway station was constructed early in 1889, when the railway line was established. The railway was officially opened in February 1889, with settlers from all over the district gathering to meet the first trainload of passengers.

It was not only as a railway station that this site was important to Katanning. In 1890 the first school classes were held in the stations former corrugated iron kitchen and this was to continue until the town had its first purpose built school in 1894.

The old goods shed was pulled down in 1904 to allow for improvements, which included large railway yards and a new goods shed. The station buildings also underwent some improvements.

Katanning Railway Station – c1970
Credit: Rail Heritage WA

Katanning Railway Station – 2021 – 51 years later
Credit: Arthur Todd – Lost Katanning

In the late 70’s the railway discontinued passenger travel and was subsequently used as a goods service only. The station building is of brick and corrugated iron construction with wide overhanging eaves, supported by large cantilevered timber brackets. Slight alterations and some additions have occurred. The brickwork is laid in English bond and is set above a rendered plinth, with windows being double hung sashes and doors are mostly four-panel timber.

WAGR locomotive “S548 Gardner” with an ARHS special at Katanning on September 2nd 1970.
Photo credit: Don Finlayson.

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STATION MASTERS

A.G. Venner – 1 June 1889 to April 1897
A. Livesey – April 1897 to July 1905
J.H. Byrne – July 1905 to May 1813
A.H. Seaborne – May 1813 to March 1922
G.O. La Roche – March 1922 to February 1923
J. McGowan – February 1923 to March 1928
S. de Garis – March 1928 to October 1928
A.J.C. Wroth – October 1929 to March 1933
A.E.G. Whitney – March 1933 to September 1936
A. Stewart – September 1936 to September 1937
G. Swan – September 1937 to November 1940
H.I. Maldon – November 1940 to November 1945
A.W. Small – November 1945 to December 1946
L.W. Allen – December 1946 to January 1950
F.H. Tonkin – January 1950 to June 1953
W.V. Langdon – June 1953 to September 1959
G.H. Lemin – September 1959 to December 1964
N.E. Rassmussen – December 1964 to February 1970
M.G. Kirby – February 1970 to June 1972
D.A. Smith – June 1972 to May 1974
C. E. Brabazon – May 1974 to June 1980
R.G. Sutton – June 1980 to July 1980
K.J. Kinsella – July 1980 to July 1982
D.J. Reilly – July 1982 – February 1987

Katanning railway station was mainly a 24/7 working station which meant it also had Assistant Station Masters (ASM), Night Station Masters (NSM), and Station Relief Officers (SRO). It also employed junior traffic officers (JTO), porters, junior station assistants (JSA) call-out boys, locomotive drivers, locomotive firemen, shunters, guards, locomotive cleaners, track maintenance staff – and many more over the years.

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Great Southern Railway
MEMORIAL CAIRN

Although a cutting has now been constructed on what was “The Moojebing Bank”, the cairn marks the point where the railway construction between Beverley and Albany met. On June 1, 1889, a silver spike was driven into a sleeper at a point on the Great Southern railway exactly halfway between Beverley and Albany. A ceremony at the same time at the site marked the completion of the railway between Perth and Albany.

Railway Cairn
5km north of Katanning
Photo credit: Arthur Todd

The spot was marked 50 years later by a cairn in the top of which a piece of the original rail laid in the line was placed. As part of their Jubilee celebrations of 1939, the community of Katanning erected the cairn to commemorate the completion of the Great Southern Railway.

The railway was officially opened in February 1889, and settlers from all over Katanning gathered at their newly erected station to greet the first trainload of passengers.

The development of the Great Southern Railway greatly influenced the development of Katanning, with a train station being located in Katanning and the town officially declared. The rail enabled existing markets and industries to grow and develop, such as sheep and wheat, and also stimulated the introduction of new ones, such as tourism.

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Katanning to
Nampup (Nyabing) –
Pingrup Branch Line

The WA Government Railway to Nyabing began construction in 1910, and in April 1912 the Katanning – Nampup (Nyabing) Railway line officially opened by Premier Scadden in January 1913). Nampup was later renamed Nyabing.

In 1923 this line was extended to Pingrup and this ceremony was officiated by Governor Newdegate. A special luncheon was held for this occasion, which was provided by the local women. In 1951 the railway service from Nyabing to Pingrup was suspended by the government and in 1960 it closed. However, the following year the line did open on a seasonal basis. Continue reading

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IN THE NEWS

As an important hub on the Great Southern Railway of Western Australia, the Katanning railway station often featured in news reports. You can read some of those reports HERE

If any photographs on these
pages contravene copyright
please contact me at
admin@lostkatanning.au
and they will be removed.

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Railway Station