There is nothing special about St James Railway Station - it is just a simple, short, unsealed platform bereft of any buildings - but the town it serves and district surrounding it has many an interesting story to tell, some of which are illustrated by the paintings on its silos which stand silently beyond the platform.
The towns of St James and its neighbour, Devenish, came into being as a result of selectors taking up land in the district. The Holian family selected land on both sides of the boundary of Devenish and St James Parishes with the bulk of it in St James.
An increasing number came to the district and took up selections, and it was soon established the district could produce good harvests, plantings of wheat, barley and oats were increasing, but getting them to market was a problem. As the numbers grew, a campaign soon got underway for a spur line to be built north from the main railway at Benalla to service the region which had primitive transport options.
Delegations from competing localities went to meet the State Minister for Railways and well-attended public meetings were held. Construction of railways was government policy. In the last days of 1880, the Railway Construction Bill was passed by the Victorian Parliament approving construction of a number of railway lines including one from Benalla terminating in the Parish of St James.
There were to be three main stations on the line, Goorambat, Devenish and St James, but the termination point - St James - was not at an existing town. The future town was to be built around the railway station. The line took one year to build and the first train pulled into St James on 3 September, 1883. It was the intention of the Government that the line would be extended to Yarrawonga and this commenced in mid-1885 and the line opened for traffic on 6 May, 1886 with a station at the existing town of Tungamah.
Construction of the railway, which initially terminated at a station in a selector’s paddock, prompted ther building of a township before a train had come down the line. Benalla blacksmith Michael Dowling set up business beside the line. Lake Rowan carpenter Joseph Caruthers built houses in St James and he and Michael moved there in 1882.
On the other side of the railway W. McCague opened a butchery and a bakery and across the road an opposition butcher opened. By late 1882 a general store had begun trading. A post office was opened at the end of 1882, and on the completion of the railway it was relocated to the railway station, with post, telegraph and money order facilities.
In April 1883 a real estate company announced the establishment of their business. At the same time a forwarding agent advertised their presence. The National Bank opened a branch followed by the Bank of Australasia. Even a football team, the St James Football Club, was formed in May 1883 before the railway opened. Horse racing and coursing were also popular sports. In 1884 the St James Railway Station School was built.
St James stopped growing around the turn of the 20th century and is little changed today. The Benalla – Yarrawonga line is now used for the movement of grain deposited by farmers in the operating silos along the line. The passenger rail service closed in the 1980s and a limited bus service now operates between Benalla and Yarrawonga.
The grain silos beside the railway line at St James are featured on the Silo and Water Tower Art Trail, Australia's largest outdoor gallery. Painted by artist Tim Bowtell, the St James silos pay tribute to the town's rich history. Pride of place is given to St James's most famous son, Sir George Coles, who grew up in the St James township and took over the St James General Store from his father, expanding it to the empire it is Coles today. Sir George Coles and his Northern Eastern general store, the original G.J. Coles general store, are both portrayed on one of the murals. The store still stands in St James.
The other murals depict St James’ grain transporting history. Before the railway extension in 1886, St James was the drop off point for all the wheat from Tungamah in the North, Warby Range to the East and Yabba to the West. In the 1915-16 season, a record of 405,000 bushels (135,000 bags) of wheat was transported to St James by horse and wagon, a motif that is displayed in the artwork.
George James Coles, the founder of the G.J. Coles shopping empire, is a famous son of St James. He owned and operated his first store at St James before moving to Melbourne and establishing the G.J. Coles chain of stores. He retained a close connection with St James throughout his life and the town was a beneficiary of his and his wife's philanthropy.
The paintings on the wheat silos of Devenish are a popular feature created by North Vic Trails, a non-profit community group trying to help regional towns of North East Victoria that have suffered as a result of drought, bushfires and COVID 19 restrictions. By promoting the silo art, other artworks and features for small town communities, the group hopes to increase tourism to the northern regions of Victoria. The Devenish Silos are part of the North East Victoria Silo Art Trail, which can be completed in approximately 2 hours, though much longer is required if you really want to take in the landscape in all its glory. For directions, pop into the Benalla Visitor Information Centre.
From Benalla drive on to the small town of Goorambat, where you'll find two works of public art. The grain silos feature three works by Melbourne street artist Jimmy Dvate. 'Sophia' was painted by Adnate and its his depcition of the female aspect of the Holy Trinity on the wall inside the Uniting Church. Continue along the trail to the town of Devenish, where Cam Scale's three towering murals pay homage to local community involvement in military service. They depict a Word War I Nurse, a modern Combat Medic and a Lighthorseman with his Steed. Continue on for the short drive to St James, where local Benalla artist, Tim Bowtell has dedicated this mural to Sir George Coles, a St James local who founded Coles supermarkets.
Next on the trail is Tungamah, where Sobrane Simcock was the first Australian female street artist to participate in the silo project, painting dancing Brolgas and a Kookaburra onto the privately owned Tungamah Silos in 2018. These silos were updated in 2019. Finish your journey along the North East Victoria Silo Art Trail in the Winton Wetlands, where Guido van Helten painted portraits of three local Country Fire Authority (CFA) volunteers on a water tank in 2017. The tank can be found along the self-drive Art Trail within the wetlands, featuring works such as 'Martins Barge' and the famous 'Fish Trees'. Access to the Winton Wetlands is via an unsealed road.
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