Railway Stations: Parattah, Tasmania
The township of Parattah was established when the ‘Main Line’ railway was built between Launceston and Hobart. Parattah was once known as Parattah Junction due to the former Oatlands Railway, which branched off towards Oatlands from this area. Today, the railway station serves no passenger traffic, with the last passenger visits occurring in the early 2000s on heritage rail tours.
The railway in Parattah served as an important point on the Main line from Hobart to Launceston, being the halfway stopping point for the Tasman Limited, and the terminus for suburban and inter-regional passenger services on the Tasmanian Government Railways. Within the timetables, Parattah was allocated as a station where refreshments could be purchased, or where train, taxi or airplane connections could be arranged.
Because of the high volume of traffic the station received, it was the location of a coaling stage and water refilling station for steam locomotives, a wye for turning locomotives around, as well as sidings and a loading crane for freight and goods traffic. Whilst not a part of the system nowadays, the sidings and loading crane can still be seen today.
The station building itself has been restored, with a small museum housed there, and is now situated beside a public picnic reserve. Parattah Junction remains the highest elevated station on the Tasmanian rail network, and originally housed the town's post office until 1914.
Parattah and its surrounding area is home to about 100 families, and contains many historic buildings, such as a farmhouse which was once home to Hudson Fysh, one of the founders of Qantas, and a historic railway station. The main street contains a number of attractive dwellings dating from the town's heyday. The village retains the original general store, the impressive Tudor style Parattah Hotel and a number of historic churches.
Parattah is built on land that once formed the Hilly Park estate, granted to Henry Bilton in 1830. The township was established largely as a result of the main line railway in 1876, and was named the Oatlands Railway Station. In 1879 the name was changed to Parattah. John Sawford was one of the first settlers to take up land here, after the founding of Hilly Park, in 1831.
Photo: R B McMillan
Oatlands - Parattah Branchline
Originally the Oatlands Tramway, the Oatlands - Parattah branchline was opened May 13, 1885 and closed June 10, 1949. The line was upgraded from a tramway to a standard light railway to enable heaver rolling stock to be used. The line branched off of the Main Line in Parattah outside the Tudor style Parattah Hotel and followed parallel to the Main Line for approximately 700 metres before branching off in a north west direction towards Lake Dulverton. From there, the railway followed the lake's shoreline before turning in on Wellington Street and ending where it intersects with High Street. The original Oatlands station building is now used as a child care centre.
Big Ben
Much of the former route is now used as a bike trail, a section of it is clearly visible as a terrace like formation at Mahers Point and part of an embankment and small bridge runs alongside the road to Parattah, where it crosses Parattah Creek. The locomotive Big Ben used to operate the line from 1948 until the line closed in 1949. Built by Baldwin Locomotive Works as an 0-6-0 ST type in 1919 as their works number 5212. The locomotive was exported in a new condition on a steamer from New York to Tasmania, where it was first used by the Public Works Department on the Marrawah Tramway in Tasmania's far north west. running between Smithton and Marrawah. After the Parattah to Oatlands line's closure, Big Ben was sent to Launceston as a shunter and was scrapped in October 1951.
