Port Wakefield railway station was located on the Balaklava-Moonta railway line. It served the town of Port Wakefield.
Port Wakefield | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General information | |||||||||||
| Location | John Street, Port Wakefield, South Australia | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 34°10′59″S 138°09′04″E / 34.183085128257986°S 138.15123971355086°E | ||||||||||
| Owned by | South Australian Railways 1869 - 1978 Australian National 1978 - 1984 | ||||||||||
| Operated by | South Australian Railways 1869 - 1969 | ||||||||||
| Line(s) | Balaklava-Moonta line | ||||||||||
| Distance | 99 kilometres from Adelaide | ||||||||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||
| Structure type | Ground | ||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||
| Status | Closed | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | 1869 | ||||||||||
| Closed | 1968 | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
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History
editOpening
editPort Wakefield railway station opened on 21 August 1869 when an isolated horse-drawn tramway was built to deliver grain from the plains east of Port Wakefield in the areas of Balaklava, Halbury and Hoyle's Plains (now Hoyleton).[1][2] The line was converted into a steam railway and extended to Kadina and Wallaroo in 1878. The original station building was built the same year. The station consisted of refreshment rooms, goods crane, platforms for loading passengers and freight and worker cottages. The original station building was burnt down in 1926 and replaced by a wooden building.[3] The station was named after the River Wakefield which was discovered in 1938.[4]
Closure and demolition
editThe station closed to regular passenger use in 1968.[5] In 1978, the station and all associated infrastructure was included in the transfer of South Australian Railways to Australian National. The line through Port Wakefield closed on 4 April 1984 and removed not long after.
Present day
editOnly the original refreshment rooms, workers cottages, and the dilapidated and fenced off station remain today. The goods crane from the site was removed due to a land sale in the area.[6] The station building is now a private residence.[7]
References
edit- ^ "PORT WAKEFIELD RAILWAY". The South Australian Advertiser. Vol. XII, no. 3385. South Australia. 21 August 1869. p. 2. Retrieved 24 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "THE PORT WAKEFIELD AND HOYLE'S PLAINS TRAMWAY, AND THE DISTRICT THROUGH WHICH IT PASSES". The Express and Telegraph. Vol. VI, no. 1, 808. South Australia. 27 November 1869. p. 2 (SECOND EDITION). Retrieved 24 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Port Wakefield Hoyleton to Port Wakefield railway line
- ^ Day, Alfred N. (1915). "Names of South Australian Railway Stations with Their Meanings and Derivations" (PDF). R. E. E. Rogers. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
- ^ Railways and Colonisation in South Australia
- ^ Land sale puts history in jeopardy
- ^ Port Wakefield