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37
Ripponlea Railway Station
There are almost 50 railway stations in
Ripponleas Railway Station, 2002
So why is Ripponlea
Station remarkable? Well, it is quite intact (although windows and fireplaces
were blocked, the lamp-room yard and store, signal box and advertising
boardings were removed). Its station yard was
landscaped as the
Floor Plan & Elevation of the
The architectural drawings for the station are
dated
Locality of Ripponlea Railway Station, and its proximity to Ripponlea Shopping Centre
Prior to the announcement of the opening of
the railway station, Brunnings Nursery (35),
with the two nineteenth century mansions, Rippon Lea
and Quat Quatta, had
occupied its hinterland. The opening of the railway line and
Ripponlea station, stimulated growth and development
openly. Oak Grove was settled as early as early as1900, until 1920.
The downside (eastern) building consisted of
booking office and general waiting room, both with fireplaces, with a lobby
between. The upside (western) building had Men’s Toilets, Ladies Toilets,
Ladies’ Waiting Room, Lobby, Station Master’s and Parcels Office and a Waiting
Room. Their timber frame is clad with roughcast render and weatherboards, with
timbered gables. Roofing is diamond asbestos shingles, like the
In March 1992, Ripponlea Station was assessed by the National Trust Buildings Committee as being in ‘poor’ condition, infested with white ants and subsidence. The rare asbestos roof shingles were loose and windows smashed. However it was classified. The community feared the Ripponlea Station would deteriorate and succumb to fires and vandalism as St Kilda Railway Station (19) almost had. By 1993, a Friends of Ripponlea Station had formed and obtained support from the Alan Brown, the Opposition spokesman for Transport. A ‘Heritage Corridor’ was proposed linking the station with the Glen Eira shops, all carefully restored and leading to the National Trust’s Rippon Lea Estate nearby. In December 1994, a Feasibility Study was prepared by Spiller Gibbins Swan Pty.Ltd and Lecki Ord, architect commissioned by the Ripponlea Transport Committee to prepare redevelopment options proposals. One of the three options allowed retention of the existing buildings, the others to demolish all and build new buildings further along the platforms. By November 1995, Alan Brown was Minister for Public Transport in the Kennett Liberal government and he and Minister for Education, Don Hayward, jointly announced a $305,000 ‘restoration grant’. Finally in February 1999, Ripponlea Station was on the state’s Victorian Heritage Register, and its future assured.
References Bick, David & Wilson Sayer Core Pty.Ltd. St Kilda Conservation Study. Area 2. (No Date).
City of
Heritage
Minister for
Public Transport.
News Release .
National Trust
of
Ward, A. &
Donnelly A. in association with the Australian Railway Historical Society.
V-line.
Original Victoria Railways drawings held: ‘New Station Buildings at
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