Regents Street railway station, Sydney

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Regents Street (Mortuary)
Station information
Line	Rookwood
Distance from Central Station	0.450 km
Number of Platforms	1
Number of Tracks	1
Station Status	Reused
Station opened	29th June, 1869
Station closed	Not closed
Google map of station	33°53′13″S 151°12′09″E / -33.886867, 151.202388 (Regents Street railway station)Coordinates: 33°53′13″S 151°12′09″E / -33.886867, 151.202388 (Regents Street railway station)

Regents Street was a railway station on Sydney's Rookwood Cemetery railway line. Funeral trains departed the station, bound for Rookwood Cemetery. The station found later use as a part of Sydney Yard. The ornate station building is still standing on the western side of Sydney Yard, close to Central railway station and Railway Square.

[edit] History

The station opened as Mortuary on 29th June 1869. At some point its name was changed to Regents Street, after the street on which it is located^[1]. It has also been referred to by different names, including the Necropolis Receiving Station and the Mortuary Station. ^[2]. In practice the station is also referred to by the name Regent Street^[3].

The Receiving station in Regent Street, Redfern was built as part of the larger Rookwood Cemetery line. It was completed on the 22nd March 1869 but had been used since the 1st January 1869.^[4] It was also one end of the service that ran to the Woronora General Cemetery in Sutherlans located in Sydneys south and for trains heading to Sandgate Cemetery in Newcastle.

This station was built in conjunction with the Receiving House at Rookwood Cemetery. Both of the stations were designed by colonial architect James Barnet using elements from the Venetian 13th century Gothic style. Principle sculptors, Thomas Ducket and Henry Apperly worked on the elaborate carvings that were a feature of the stations. These included angels, cherubs, and gargoyles. ^[5] Although both buildings were designed to look like churches, both in structure and it in the symbol elements that adorned them, they were never used as places of worship. ^[6]

From 14th March 1938 the station found a new use as a platform for horses and dogs. From February 1950 it was used as a platform for parcels.^[1].

It was restored by the State Rail Authority in 1981. By this time it had also been classified by the National Trust of Australia and the Australian Heritage Commission and made part of Permanent Conservation by the Heritage Council of NSW. The cost of restoring the site was approximately $600,000. It was reopened on the 21st of April 1985 by Neville Wran.^[7]

In 1986, Peter Shield and John McNally set up the 'Magic Mortuary', a pancake restaurant that used railway carriages to house the diners. Patrons bought ‘tickets’ from the former ticket office and then presented them to an attendant to eat their meal. However, the restaurant did not enjoy a long period of success and all the restaurant cars were removed in February 1989. ^[8]

Since then, the station has been used to launch special train services and public displays of trains and associated rail information (Oakes, 2002). In recent years the station building has seen use as a function centre^[9], and during 1993 it was the venue for a number of boutique dance parties held both in the night and during the day. ^[10]

[edit] Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} State Rail Authority of New South Wales Archives Section, How & Why of Station Names: meanings and origins..., Second Edition, 1982, State Rail Authority of New South Wales,
2. ^ Oakes, J. (2002) From Central Sydney in Australian Railway Historical Society, pp.58-27
3. ^ Name painted on a seat on the platform of the station. Observed on 17th July 2006.
4. ^ Singleton, C.C. (1989) The Rookwood Cemetery Line in The Sleeping City: The Story of Rookwood, Society of Australian Genealogists, NSW.
5. ^ Singleton, (1989)
6. ^ Buckle, E.G. (1987) A station of the cross : All Saints Anglican Church, Ainslie, Canberra, The Church.
7. ^ Oakes, (2002)
8. ^ Oakes, J. (2002)
9. ^ Internet Archive entry for Blue Rock Catering, February 9th, 2005.
10. ^ alt.rave usenet postings for "Platform 31" and "Trance Induction"

[edit] Image Gallery

The ornate stonework of the Regents Street station building.

Mortuary Station	The entrance	Stonework near the entrance	The awning over the entrance
Outside the platform	Inside the platform	Stonework detail inside	Sydney Yard from the platform
A station seat

Preceding Station (inbound)	Line	Following Station (outbound)
terminus	Rookwood Cemetery Line	Cemetery Station No. 1