Heritage Significance
The Newcastle Railway Station was built in Victorian Italianate style and is representative of the station type built for larger centres in NSW. It reflects the phases of development in Newcastle as well as symbolising the expansion of rail in NSW. It has had a unique place in the social activity of Novocastrians for nearly a century and a half.
Fun Facts
Today we might like to complain about poor public facilities, but they are unlikely to be quite as dramatic as descriptions of the 1876 railway station building:
“The ladies waiting room….the musty atmosphere…a gloomy, pigeon-hole. Anyone would prefer strolling on the narrow rickety old platform at the risk of being run over by trucks than spend ten minutes inside.”
In all, the station was described as:
“A conglomeration of inconveniences, muddle, danger, confusion, and bricks and mortar under the name of a railway station.” -- Newcastle Morning Herald, 9 June 1876.
Luckily, things improved with the 1878 station building, which by 1930 was the only regional station to have a silver service dining room for passengers.
Railway Stations are not really the place you’d think to take royalty these days, but back then railways were a big deal. In 1901, the Newcastle Railway Station was visited by the Duke and Duchess of York and Cornwall, who later became King George V and Queen Mary.
Future
Undergoing temporary activation and community use.
Heritage Listing
Newcastle Railway Station has state significance and is listed on both the State Heritage Register and the Newcastle Local Environmental Plan.