Travel Australia

Classic Railway Stations: Penguin, Tasmnia

The little town of Penguin sits midway between Burnie and Ulverstone on Tasmania's Bass Strait coast. It's one of those pretty places that you can keep coming back to time and time again and never get tired of. Though it gained its name from the fairy penguin colonies which dot the coast in this part of Tasmania, you will be unlikely see one of the cute little critters as you saunter along the north-facing Penguin Esplanade, but the chance of seeing a sunbeam shimmering off the sea is likely. And if you are very lucky - and it has happened to me - you might catch a pod of dolphins at plasy or even a whale on its way up or down the coast.


The Tasman Limited passenger train near Penguin

Between the two churches is the old Penguin railway station, now home to the local historical society. The Station was developed as part of the north coast rail transport network, catering for freight and passengers through the early C20th and formed a regional commercial and social hub that was a factor in the growth of the township. The station was built in 1901, when the railway line was extended from Ulverstone to Burnie, with the first train arriving at the Penguin Station on 15th April, 1901. In the early days crowds would fill the platform to watch while teams of horses and bullocks would arrive from the outlying rural areas to unload potatoes to be transported on the train. Passenger trains haven't passed through here since 1978, but there are moves afoot for the Don Railway Museum, on the outskirts of Devonport, to get a special heritage passenger train on the mainline rails again that would run on weekends between Don and Penguin. Now wouldn't that be something?



The station was used regularly for freight and passengers until 1978 when passenger travel ceased. The Railway Station was subsequently purchased by Ron Gee who transported it to his rural property in three sections. It was used as a lunch room for his employees and for storage. In 2000 the Central Coast Wednesday, June 14, 2017, Council decided to return the Station to the original site and it was reopened on the 15th April 2001, one hundred years to the day after it's opening. It is currently used as meeting rooms and is he home of the Penguin History Group.


Penguin Gaol

Alongside the station you'll notice what looks like a giant outhouse. It's not - it's actually a fully functional gaol. Built in 1902 it is the smallest gaol in Tasmania, if not the whole of Australia, and was originally sited in Crescent Street behind the Courthouse (now the senior citizens club). It was built to hold prisoners awaiting transport by train from Penguin on their way to the Law Courts of Launceston. The old gaol was restored and re-sited in 1992 by the Penguin Apex Club. Speaking of trains, though there are no passenger services passing through Penguin any more, freight trains loaded up with containers and other goodies do travel back and forth on the line between Devonport and Burnie, so keep your eyes (and ears) open for a photo opportunity with a difference.