FORMER BEAUFORT STATION MASTER’S RESIDENCE
Location
24 PRATT STREET BEAUFORT, PYRENEES SHIRE
Level
Heritage Inventory Site
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Statement of Significance
The ash pits are associated with the use of the Beaufort Railway Station during the steam locomotive age. Due to the function of an ash pit, they tended to be utilised at the end of a line due to the time it takes to clean and re-stock a locomotive engine before re-use. It is therefore considered likely that these ash pits were constructed when Beaufort was the end of the line extension from Ballarat, before it was extended further to Ararat. This dates the construction of the ash pits to 1874, with the Ararat terminus being constructed the following year.
The ash pits meet the threshold for an archaeological site under the Heritage Act as it contains archaeological features which are older than 75 years old, which provide information about the original layout and use of the station. The site meets the threshold for place history as they link to the period when the rail system in Victoria was expanding at a fast pace to cover the rural network. The railway station was in continuous use until 1994 and has been modified to carry diesel and electric trains. Extraneous buildings and additional train lines have been removed from the rail yard in the intervening years, including the Station Master’s Residence. The turntable, which would have related to the use of the station as the end of the line was removed in 1921. The carriage dock, which was infrastructure relating to the storage of train carriages was removed in 1963. Additional sheds relating to the rail yard and the
The Beaufort Railway Station site is considered to have archaeological value in a local context under the ‘linking Victorians by rail’ and ‘building Victoria’s industries and workforce’ framework in Victoria’s Framework of Historical Themes (Heritage Council 2010).
Group
Transport - Rail
Category
Railway Residence/Quarters
