1877: A Holiday-Like Atmosphere – Complete with Flags and “Lovely Weather” – Marks the Inauguration of a Railway Station in Australia

August 13, 1877

In Australia’s colony (now state) of New South Wales (NSW), a railway station in the town of Quirindi was opened to considerable fanfare. This station was built as a link for the Main North Line – also called the Great Northern Railway – in that region of Australia.

The next day’s edition of the NSW-based newspaper Maitland and Mercury described the inaugural festivities for the station. These festivities included the arrival of a train carrying various dignitaries who took part in the celebration.

This newspaper reported, “Mr. Rae, the Commissioner for Railways; Mr. Whitton, the Engineer-in-Chief; Mr. Higgs, Traffic Manager; and Messrs. W.C. Browne, Hasley Bennett, and Scholey, with other gentlemen, formed the official party for the opening . . . Quirindi was making holiday with flags and there was a large concourse of people about the station who cheered lustily as the train came in.” The newspaper further noted, “The weather was lovely.”

Quirindi railway station was the northern terminus for the line until that route’s formal extension to the community of West Tamworth on October 14, 1878. The station in Quirindi remains in operation today as part of NSW TrainLink’s Northern Tablelands Express Xplorer daily train service. In 1999, Quirindi railway station was added to the NSW State Heritage Register.

Photo Credit: Public Domain

For more information on Quirindi railway station, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quirindi_railway_station