FORMER HAVELOCK STATION

MARYBOROUGH-DUNOLLY ROAD HAVELOCK, CENTRAL GOLDFIELDS SHIRE

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Victorian Heritage Inventory

Statement of Significance

• Additional Place Information

  • History

    FORMER HAVELOCK STATION - History

    Havelock station was opened prior to 1884 (VicSig 2018; Waugh 1999a), when it was mentioned in the Kerang Times and Swan Hill Gazette (8 April 1884, p. 4) in relation to a robbery occurring at the station. The railway station was built for the gold mining settlement of Havelock, which had been first established in the late 1850s, and was built along the railway line in a water reserve allotment. However, the first settlement in the area dates to the 1840s, with the Charlotte Plains homestead being built in 1843 approximately 4 km east of the present-day settlement (Victorian Places 2015). Mining operations in proximity to the station and township include Old Havelock, New Havelock Company, and Havelock Reef. The railway station is noted on geological and Parish mapping dating from the early to mid-1900s. The section of the railway line which encompassed Havelock station was affected by the closure of stations during the late 1900s. Havelock station was closed by 1960 (Waugh 1999b). Since the decline in population in the area after the gold rush ended, much of the Havelock township has been removed. Havelock school closed in 1927 after the population of Havelock dropped to approximately 50 people (Victorian Places 2015). Today, the small rural locality of Havelock comprises a mixture of rural land, and much of the Havelock Nature Conservation Reserve. The historical aerial imagery (Aerial Survey of Victoria 1946a; 1946c; 1946d) of the Havelock railway station area is of low quality and the presence or absence of structures is difficult to discern; however, there appears to be a structure to the south of the railway station grounds, adjacent to the railway line in 1946. From modern aerial imagery of this railway grounds, it does not appear that the railway platforms at Havelock are extant, nor do any buildings appear to be present near the railway station grounds. Additionally, the possible structure identified to the south of the Havelock station grounds is not extant in the modern imagery.

    Interpretation of Site

    FORMER HAVELOCK STATION - Interpretation of Site

    The Former Havelock Station site meets the definition of an archaeological site under the Heritage Act, as a site that is likely to contain artefacts, deposits or features 75 or more years old, that would provide information relating to the former use of the site, that requires archaeological methods to reveal such information. There is a wide range of historical archaeological materials present at the site in the location of the former platform. The materials include both building-related and domestic/office related, including items likely related to the 19th century usage of the site (slate pencil, Milk of Magnesia bottle). There is limited historical documentation about the site and no site plans or layouts found to date. However, the limited amount of ground disturbance across the platform indicates there is potential for archaeological features and potentially artefact deposits or scatters to be present. This is likely to contribute to an understanding of early small Victorian railway stations, particularly as related to gold mining in the area. As such, the Former Havelock Station site meets Threshold A (archaeology). As there is limited historical information about the Former Havelock Station site, archaeological investigation could provide information not available elsewhere, particularly in relation to its layout and usage. It is in close proximity to known 19th century gold mining operations including the VHI listed sites of New Havelock Co (H7624-0249, less than 200 m north along the rail line), Old Havelock (H7624-0250, 750 m east), and Havelock Reefs Shaft (H7624-0259, 600 m northeast), as well as another nine VHI mining sites within 2 km of the Former Havelock Station site. Despite the former station having potentially been relatively small and now quite unknown, its proximity to a substantial number of historical mining areas, and the occurrence of a robbery at the station in 1884, suggests its richness or importance for transporting gold and other good in and out of the settlement of Havelock. The site is significant in a local context under the ‘linking Victorians by rail’ (Theme 3.3) and ‘gold mining’ (Theme 4.5) in Victoria’s Framework of Historical Themes (Heritage Council of Victoria 2010). As such, the Former Havelock Station site meets Threshold B (place history). The standing timber communications box on the opposite side of the rail line to the former station site is of historical interest, but is not archaeological in nature, and as a stand-alone item is unlikely to be assessed as being of local heritage significance. It is however of historical interest and should be avoided if possible.

    Heritage Inventory Description

    FORMER HAVELOCK STATION - Heritage Inventory Description

    The area of the former Havelock Station comprises a long slightly raised mounded area immediately to the west of the rail line, around 5 metres wide, and around 120 metres long. It has a steep face on the rail line side, and a less obvious edge along the western side away from the rail line, suggesting it was the former platform for the station. The mounded area is covered in building remnants including bricks, concrete, bricks in concrete, bluestone in concrete, and corrugated iron. There are also scatters of fragments of green glass, white domestic ceramic, blue willow pattern ceramic, a Grimwade Milk of Magnesia bottle, ceramic insulator, glass insulator and a slate pencil, along the mounded area. Other features include two loose timber uprights protruding from the face of the former platform towards the rail line. Just to the west of the mounded platform area is a concrete slab approximately 2m x 3m. On the east side of the rail line is an old timber signal/communications box. It is a handmade timber box with dovetail joinery and a hinged door. The hinged door and sloped roof are covered in galvanised sheeting which has been nailed to the timber. It stands on a post made from rail, and also has an apparently later galvanised support with wiring entering the base of the box. Earlier wiring which has also been disconnected is also inside the box. On the interior to the door, are three stamped metal labels with the words ‘BET BET’ (the next station along the line), ‘1 1B – 1B’ (?), and ‘MARYBOROUGH’ (the previous station along the line) on each. It appears to have been some kind of communication box linking stations along the line. The two different types of wiring suggest it has been adapted and changed over time.
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