The Old Bunbury railway station was the main railway station for Bunbury from 1894 until 1996. The original station building was opened by Sir John Forrest on 14 November 1894 as the terminus for the South Western Railway, that was constructed for the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) by various private contractors.
Construction was completed in two parts. The first, East Perth to Pinjarra, was undertaken by William Atkins (former mill manager of the Neil McNeil Co. at the Jarrahdale Timber Station) and Robert Oswald Law (who built the Fremantle Long Jetty) from the end of 1891. Work began in 1892 but was slowed by difficulties with building the bridge (appropriately named the Bunbury Bridge) over the Swan River. This section opened on 22 May 1893.
The second phase of construction was also completed by Atkins and McNeil, starting at Bunbury and working north to Pinjarra, opening on 22 August 1893. A fire in December 1904 destroyed the original wooden station building; its brick replacement was opened in 1905. In 1928, the station was rebuilt again. The Old Bunbury railway station was the main station for Bunbury from 1894 until 1996.
Bunbury station yard, 1984
It was the terminus for the Australind passenger railway service from Perth. It was replaced in May 1985 by the current Bunbury Terminal in East Bunbury. After World War II, Bunbury became a popular holiday destination for the people of Perth, thanks in part to The Australind rail service, which embarked on its first trip on November 24, 1947. As regional railway passenger services declined, and branch lines were closed, railway bus services were put in place to replace the loss of rail access. The former branch lines to Flinders Bay, Nannup, Manjimup and Pemberton were served by WAGR road buses.
Photo: Rail Heritage WA
The Australind was kept busy bringing holidaymakers between the two cities, particularly during school holidays. I recall numerous trip on the train to Bunbury as a child, and walking past the steam locomotives warming up in the railway yard opposite the station on the walk from the town centre to Koombanna Bay.
The last train to use the station departed on 28 May 1985 with a new station opening at East Bunbury, 4 kilometres to the south-east the following day, along with the railway marshalling yard and other railway facilities. The old station building is still used as a bus station which serves as the main terminus for TransBunbury bus services to surrounding suburbs, as well as being the Bunbury Visitor Centre.
The port city of Bunbury is the second largest city (after Mandurah) in Western Australia outside the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Bunbury is an attractive and interesting mixture of a pleasant, gracious city combined with a strong and successful industrial base built around the city's port. Bunbury was once an important port for the shipment of wheat from the hinterland. Today no wheat leaves through the port. Instead the port concentrates on woodchip and alumina and the city of Bunbury has become the regional commercial centre.
Bunbury has a large number of genuinely interesting historic sites ranging from the old lighthouse (which is an extraordinary combination - an earlier lighthouse has been placed on top of the present lighthouse) to St Marks Church, King Cottage and the Regional Art Gallery Arts Complex.
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