WERRIBEE RAILWAY STATION

COMBEN STREET WERRIBEE, WYNDHAM CITY

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Victorian Heritage Register

WERRIBEE RAILWAY STATION SOHE 2008

Statement of Significance

• Additional Place Information

  • History

    WERRIBEE RAILWAY STATION - History

    Contextual History:History of Place:
    
    The Werribee Railway Station was built as an integral part of the Geelong-Melbourne Railway which was begun in 1853 and opened in 1857. It was the first country railway in Australia and was constructed at the same time as the earlier Port Melbourne and St Kilda lines but took longer to complete. It was built, as were all railways in this early period, by a private company, but with government support and encouragement. The Melbourne-Mt Alexander line was the first of these companies to be taken over by government and completed. By 1860 all railways, including the Geelong line, were being operated by the government.
    
    History of Place:
    The Werribee Railway Station is an original component of the Geelong line and was probably completed in 1857. The station was a “crossing station” where trains from Melbourne and Geelong met and could pass each other on the otherwise single line. Andrew Ward attributes the design of the building to Edward Snell, the engineer of the Geelong line. Certainly there are similarities with other Snell works in the Gothic style. Snell’s partner in private practice in 1853-54 was Frederick Ferdinand (Fritz) Kawerau who also designed in the Gothic style, and as he was the Geelong railway’s architect while Snell was the engineer, the design of the station building may well be Kawerau’s. The station shows stylistic similarities with Snell’s own house which was “put up in a rascally manner under the superintendence of Kawerau” in late 1854 after their private partnership had been dissolved. The house was next door to Kawerau’s whimsical Swiss cottage.
    
    The station building was gutted by fire in 1927. It was subsequently rebuilt with a tiled, low pitched, hipped roof. The bluestone ashlars and sandstone quoins were cement rendered and a 1920s style cantilevered station awning added. In 1979 a derailment of a wheat train demolished most of the awning.
    
    The building has been disused for many years.
    Associated People: Owner PUBLIC TRANSPORT CORPORATION;
    Owner PUBLIC TRANSPORT CORPORATION;

    Plaque Citation

    WERRIBEE RAILWAY STATION - Plaque Citation

    Completed in 1857 as part of the Geelong and Melbourne Railway, Australia's first country railway, this is one of Victoria's oldest railway buildings. Although damaged by fire in 1927 it retains its original walls, platform and cellar.

    Permit Exemptions

    WERRIBEE RAILWAY STATION - Permit Exemptions

    General Exemptions:

    General exemptions apply to all places and objects included in the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR). General exemptions have been designed to allow everyday activities, maintenance and changes to your property, which don’t harm its cultural heritage significance, to proceed without the need to obtain approvals under the Heritage Act 2017.

    Places of worship: In some circumstances, you can alter a place of worship to accommodate religious practices without a permit, but you must notify the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria before you start the works or activities at least 20 business days before the works or activities are to commence.

    Subdivision/consolidation: Permit exemptions exist for some subdivisions and consolidations. If the subdivision or consolidation is in accordance with a planning permit granted under Part 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the application for the planning permit was referred to the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria as a determining referral authority, a permit is not required.

    Specific exemptions may also apply to your registered place or object. If applicable, these are listed below. Specific exemptions are tailored to the conservation and management needs of an individual registered place or object and set out works and activities that are exempt from the requirements of a permit. Specific exemptions prevail if they conflict with general exemptions.

    Find out more about heritage permit exemptions here.

    Specific Exemptions:

    Nil

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