Dunedin Railway Station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dunedin Railway Station | |
 Anzac Square and Dunedin Railway Station |
|
| Station statistics | |
|---|---|
| Address | Anzac Square, Dunedin |
| Lines | Main South Line |
| Connections | Taieri Gorge Railway |
| Platforms | 2 |
| Parking | Yes |
| Baggage check | No |
| Other information | |
| Opened | 1906 |
| Owned by | Dunedin City Council |
Possibly the best-known building in the southern half of New Zealand's South Island, Dunedin Railway Station is a jewel in the country's architectural crown. Designed by George Troup, the station is the fourth building to have served as Dunedin's railway station. It earned its architect the nickname of "Gingerbread George".
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[edit] Construction
In Flemish style, it is constructed from local dark basalt rock from Kokonga in the Strath-Taieri, capped with lighter Oamaru stone, giving it the distinctive light and dark pattern common to many of the more stately buildings of Dunedin and Christchurch. Pink granite, imported from Aberdeen in Scotland, was used for a series of supporting pillars which line a colonnade at the front of the building, and the roof was tiles in terracotta from Marseilles[1]. The southern end of the building is dominated by the 37-metre clocktower, which is visible from much of central Dunedin.
The booking hall features a mosaic floor of almost 750,000 Minton tiles, and a frieze of Royal Doulton porcelain runs around the balcony above it, from which the floors design (featuring a locomotive and related symbols) can be more clearly viewed[1]. The station's main platform is the country's longest, being one kilometre in length.
The building's foundation stone was laid by Minister of Railways Joseph Ward on June 3, 1904[2]. Prime Minister Richard Seddon was also present at the ceremony. The station was opened by Ward, now Prime Minister, in 1906. The construction of the building was kept within budget, and cost £800,000 [3].
[edit] History
In its early days, the station was the country's busiest, handling up to 100 trains a day, though the city's economic decline and the reduction in the prominence of rail transport mean that only a handful of trains use the station today. With the decrease in passenger rail traffic, the station now serves more functions that the one for which it was originally designed. Bought by the Dunedin City Council in 1994, the station's uses have greatly diversified, though it is still the city's railway station, catering for the Otago Excursion Train Trust's Taieri Gorge Railway tourist train. Much of its ground floor is now used as a restaurant, and the upper floor is home to both the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame and the Otago Art Society. Every year in March, it takes centre stage in the South Island's main fashion show, with the main platform becoming reputedly the world's longest catwalk.
A thorough refurbishment of the exterior took place in the late 1990s, accompanied by the landscaping of the gardens outside the entrance, in Anzac Square [4].
In October 2006, the centenary of the station was celebrated with a festival of railway events, including the operation of eight steam railway locomotives from all over New Zealand. In 2006 the Dunedin Railway Station was recognised by DK Eyewitness Travel as one of "The World's 200 Must-See Places"[5][6].
On February 12, 2008, a freak accident occurred when a container wagon struck and partially destroyed a historic footbridge which stands at the southern end of the station. Four pedestrians were on the bridge at the time, with one suffering minor injuries when she fell 4.5 metres from the wreckage. At present it is unclear whether the remaining structure of the bridge will be sound enough to allow for the bridge's reconstruction, but it is likely that a footbridge of some form will again join Anzac Square with the industrial zone close to Dunedin's wharves[7].
[edit] Anzac Square
Immediately outside the station lies Anzac Square, which, despite its name, is roughly triangular in shape, and was extensively remodelled and extended in the 1990s to create a formal knot garden[4].
The square lies at the southern end of Anzac Avenue, a kilometre-long tree-lined street running roughly parallel to the railway, which leads to Logan Park, the northern end of which is part of State Highway 88, which links Dunedin with Port Chalmers. Logan Park was the site of the 1925 New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition, and the avenue and square were named to commemorate the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, the "ANZACs", who were New Zealand's main military force during the then recently concluded First World War. The northern end of Anzac Avenue is likely to be severely affected should plans for a new city stadium to replace Carisbrook proceed close to Logan Park. Directly across the square from the station is Lower Stuart Street, which leads to the city's centre, The Octagon.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ a b McGill, D. (1997) Landmarks: Notable historic buildings of New Zealand. Auckland: Godwit Publishing
- ^ Johnson, D. (1993) Dunedin: A pictorial history. Christchurch: Canterbury University Press.
- ^ McLean, G. (2002) 100 historic places in New Zealand. Auckland: Hodder Moa Beckett.
- ^ a b The Dunedin Railway Station
- ^ Railway Station Recognised
- ^ Dunedin railway station up there with the Taj Mahal as a 'must see'
- ^ Otago Daily Times (14 February 2008) "Council considers replacement footbridge."
