There’s a railway related factoid that has been doing the rounds for years in relation to Hawthorn Station – that the roof over platform 2 and 3 originally came from Flinders Street Station. So how true is it?
Going digging
Hawthorn station certainly looks old enough.
And the roof over platform 2 and 3 is quite ornate.
But this PROV image shows that the platform hasn’t always had a roof.
PROV image VPRS 12800/P000 H 4668
And the claims as to the provenance of the structure are a little loose – for instance, this web page straight out of the 1990s.
The station buildings are weatherboard and are part of the original buildings used at Flinders Street.
The Wikipedia page on the station isn’t much better:
In 1890, an island platform was provided to accommodate the newly opened branch line to Kew, using a canopy from the original Flinders Street station.
But I finally got somewhere when I opened the ‘Hawthorn Railway Station Complex’ entry on the Victorian Heritage Register.
Hawthorn Railway Station first opened on 13 April 1861. The central portion of the timber building on Platform 1 dates from the early 1880s, and additions have been constructed at both ends of this building.
After the railway line from Hawthorn was extended to Camberwell in 1882 a second platform was built at Hawthorn to accommodate the duplicated track. A two-station single track branch line linking Hawthorn to Kew opened in 1887, and following this the present-day island Platform 2 and 3 was constructed in 1890.
The large canopy on this island platform, originally located at Flinders Street Station over the St Kilda and Port Melbourne platforms, was dismantled and then rebuilt at Hawthorn on its Platform 2 and 3 in 1901.
Paydirt.
And over to Trove
I then headed over to newspaper archives at Trove, and the story became clearer.
From The Age 16 February 1901 spelled out the what.
The following tenders have been accepted by the Railway department:
Taking down iron verandah at Port Melbourne platform, Flinders Street station, and reerecting portion at Hawthorn station,
A. Challingsworth,
£599 12/0
And The Argus explained the why:
Some months ago the Commissioner of Railways promised to provide proper shelter accommodation at the Hawthorn railway station and yesterday he accepted the tender of Mr A Challingsworth for taking down the iron verandah over the present Port Melbourne platform at the Princes Bridge station and re-erecting portion of it at the Hawthorn station.
The dismantling of the Port Melbourne platform is the first step towards re-modelling the Flinders Street Station in accordance with the scheme for the new central railway station. Passengers on the Port Melbourne line may shortly be transferred to another platform while the proposed alterations are being effected.
The material to be employed to cover in the Hawthorn station will, Mr Mathieson states, last for many years to come, and the new verandah will extend well down the platform beyond the overhead footbridge, which will also be enclosed.
By June 18 work on the island platform had been completed.
The time which has elapsed since the railway authorities began to cover the island platform at the Hawthorn station with a shelter shed and the fact, that no steps have been taken to elect a similar roof over the southern platform, has led to the belief that the necessity for it has been overlooked . The deputy Commissioner states, however, that the footbridge connecting the Kew and Camberwell lines and the up platform will also be covered in before Christmas.
With the rest done by July.
The shelter over the “up” platform and Kew side of the Hawthorn railway station is now almost completed. The work was started about three months ago, but was considerably delayed
owing to a difficulty in getting the proper lengths of roofing iron. The structure affords an excellent shelter from the rain and will undoubtedly prove a great boon to the travelling public in wet weather.
But where at Flinders Street did it come from?
Today there is no “St Kilda and Port Melbourne platforms” at Flinders Street Station – back in the 1980s both railways were converted to light rail, and are now tram routes 96 and 109.
But the platforms still exist, immortalised in painted tiles at the entrance to platform 10 and 11.
But the station we’re interested in is the “old” Flinders Street Station.
This photo from 1888 shows platform shelters, but they don’t match the ones found at Hawthorn.
But this aerial view of the station from the north-west is much more useful.
PROV image VPRS 12800/P0001 H 2825
The roof over what is now platform 8 and 9 looks a lot like the one now at Hawthorn.
PROV image VPRS 12800/P0001 H 2825
And this lower angle view from the Swanston Street bridge confirms it.
PROV image VPRS 12800/P0001 H 2770
The fine ironwork detail and mansard roof line clearly visible.
PROV image VPRS 12800/P0001 H 2770
So that factoid was true after all.
Nice detective work, thanks Marcus.