BLANCHETOWN RAILWAY STATION
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The Mayor
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BLANCHETOWN RAILWAY STATION
Here is a picture of what was going to be Blanchetown Railway Station. It was proposed to extend the line from Truro across the plain to Blanchetown but as history tells us this never eventuated. The building is now used as a Post Office. By looking at the building it is easy to see how it was going to be a railway station.
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ALL COMMENTS MADE ON THIS FORUM ARE THE EXPRESS OPINION OF MYSELF ONLY AND NOT OF MY EMPLOYER
Re: BLANCHETOWN RAILWAY STATION
The National Archives of Australia have the original plans dated 1865 showing that it was built as a Telegraph station and Post Office. The same plans were intended for Kingston SE and Jervis but these towns are crossed out. The Kingston Post Office does echo the arches on two sides as seen in Blanchetown. The story of a railway station being built before the railway appears to be a modern myth unsupported by contemporary newspapers. The State Library of South Australia suggests the building is too grand to be a Post Office for a small town like Blanchetown. The NAA plans discredit this, plus at the time Blanchetown was on a major postal route for Adelaide - NSW and river traffic. The other suggestion is that it looks more like a railway station than a Post Office. The plans show clearly the rooms intended as the Postmasters residence and a single room for the Post Office and another for Telegraph. Customers entered through the arches to a semi enclosed arcade (Post Office) or Lobby (Telegraph) and were served through external windows. This is typical of early Post Offices and can be seen in the first Wallaroo Post Office (now nautical museum) also built in 1865. It is hard to see how the building would have served as a Railway station as there is no long straight side which could have logically faced the platform and tracks, there is no suitable waiting room, or even a public passage through the building. In 1863 the Postal service was managed by a Police Trooper from the police station which was outside the town. When the Post Office was built in 1865 the Telegraph Station moved in immediately, but the Post Office did not move from the Police Station for at least two more years. Presumably once a dedicated Postmaster was appointed the building was then be used for its original intended purpose. Original research based on Trove newspapers, State Library of South Australia and National Archives of Australia.