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Camberwell Railway Station Complex

Location Cookson Street,, CAMBERWELL VIC 3124 - Property No B7220 File Number B7220 Level State

[1/4] B7220 Camberwell Railway [2/4] B7220 Camberwell Railway [3/4] B7220 Camberwell Railway [4/4] B7220 Camberwell Railway

Statement of Significance

What is significant? Camberwell Railway Station complex was built as part of the major expansion of the Melbourne suburban railway network which occurred during the late nineteenth century and which was consolidated and improved during the early twentieth century. The railway line from Melbourne was extended from Hawthorn past Camberwell in 1862. It was then only a single line, with a level crossing over Burke Road. After about 1910 there was a concerted effort to improve and expand the operation and facilities of the suburban network. In 1918 the line to Camberwell was electrified and the originally steep grade west of Camberwell Station was levelled, partly by means of a deep cutting at Camberwell, and new station buildings were constructed. The chief architect was J W Harding. The development of the railway, the establishment of a station at Camberwell, and improvements made to the line and to station in the early twentieth century were important stimuli for the development of the suburb.
Camberwell Railway Station complex, begun in 1918, includes the central island platform and a side platform, the brick station buildings, including staff rooms and a signal box, elevated walkways and ticket office, ramps descending to the platforms, and associated landscaping. The main station building on the island platform is a two-storey structure of red brick, with roughcast on the first floor level, and with a tiled hip roof. At each end there are parapet gables with chimneys on either side, and over the first floor entrance there is a smaller parapet gable inset with a large semicircular window. This building contains the ticket office and other offices on the first floor. A series of three segmentally arched and nested metal roof forms cover the ramp leading from the ticket office down to the platform, most of which is covered by a wide awning with exposed lattice trusses and sheet-iron valences. The rooflines of the main building and the three stepped elements covering the main ramp form a most picturesque composition when viewed from Bourke Road and from the ends of the platforms. The central platform also contains a signal box (still operating), various staff rooms, store-rooms and toilets. The building on the side platform is of red brick, with decorative striped arched openings on the platform side and a wide decorative awning extending out over the platform. On Cookson Street there are remnants of the original landscaping and gardens, including some palms trees, which are local landmarks.
How is it significant? Camberwell Railway Station complex is significant for architectural, historic and social reasons at a State level.
Why is it significant? Camberwell Railway Station complex is historically significant as an important reminder of the central importance of the early railway, and its electrification after World War I, in shaping the character of Camberwell and in defining the commercial character of Burke Road.
Camberwell Railway Station complex is socially significant as a reflection of the importance of the railways in the lives of working people in Melbourne, which has continued from the nineteenth century up to the present day. The railway was the impetus for the residential and commercial growth of Camberwell in the early twentieth century, and continues to provide cheap and efficient travel for those living in the suburbs and working in the city.
Camberwell Railway Station complex is architecturally significant as a notably comprehensive and intact complex of early twentieth century railway station buildings. It is one of the best examples of the large, red brick station buildings erected in Melbourne in the early twentieth century as part of a concerted effort to improve operations and facilities. The architectural quality of these station buildings is a reflection of the importance attached to railway stations at the time.
Classified:19/06/2004