FORMER BORONIA STATION MISTRESS' RESIDENCE

The Former Boronia Station Mistress’ Residence represents the site of the dwelling utilised by the caretaker of Boronia Railway Station throughout the early to mid 20th century.

The Former Boronia Station Mistress’ Residence is of local historical and archaeological significance for its association with the development of Boronia as a town, as well as industrial significance for its association with the evolution of the Belgrave Railway Line.

The Former Boronia Station Mistress’ Residence is of historical significance for its status as the official caretaker’s residence for the Boronia Rail Station throughout the early to mid 20th century. Known station mistresses who likely resided at the site include Mrs F. Ellartt (1926), Mrs Philpot (1927-1935), Mrs Dillon Tunstall (1935-1939) and Mrs J. McHale (1939). 

The Boronia Railway Station is notable for the fact that all known station masters (after it was officially staffed by the Railway Commission in 1921) were women. As such, the Former Boronia Station Mistress’ Residence is of further historical significance as a representation of the evolving role of women in the workplace in the wake of the late 19th to early 20th century women’s suffrage movement. Specifically, the site serves a testament to women living onsite to serve an official role in staffing the Victorian railway network, occasionally having to relocate to stations on opposite sides of the state in order to do so (as in the case of Mrs J. McHale in 1939). 

The Former Boronia Station Mistress’ Residence is of industrial significance for its role in the operation of the Boronia Railway Station, serving as an official residence for the Station Mistress appointed to the Boronia Railway Station at a given time. 

The Former Boronia Station Mistress’ Residence is of archaeological significance for the potential for historically significant archaeological deposits and/or features to have been preserved at the site. The former residence was demolished between 1973 and 1987, with no development having been undertaken within the site since that time. As such, there is a moderate to high potential for building foundations and associated subfloor deposits to survive onsite beneath the existing gravel surface. While likely including deposits associated with the later occupation of the building (between the 1950s and 1973), there is moderate to high likelihood of occupational deposits dating to the 1920s to 1940s occupation of the residence also remaining onsite. 

Any archaeological deposits or features are anticipated to shed light on everyday life of the various station mistresses who occupied the site between the early 20th to mid 20th century, when not on duty at the adjacent site office. As such, any archaeological investigations of the site would have the potential to broaden our understanding of the everyday lives of working-class women employed in the Rail Industry in the early to mid 20th century. 

The site has historical significance in relation to the Victorian thematic framework, namely 03: Connecting Victorians by transport and communications and 06: Building towns, cities and the garden state. The site also has scientific significance in relation to the site’s archaeological potential.