One of the best Edwardian railway stations - Dunedin

Surveyor Charles Kettle planned the New Zealand city of Dunedin to be an “Edin­burgh of the South”, to create beautiful views over the town centre, the hilly suburbs and the harbour. Dunedin's unique wildlife was what initially drew European settlers to the area; Otago Harbour became an international whaling and sealing port by the late 1830s.

Unlike the English settlement of the rest of New Zealand, Dunedin was founded by the Scottish Free Church in 1848. Dunedin's strong cultural links to its Scottish predecessor continue to this day. It would be interesting to know what difference the strong Scottish links have made.

As in Australia, it was the discovery of gold in Central Otago in 1861 that caused Dunedin’s population and trade to grow rapidly. In a fairly short time, the ornamented Victorian architectural heritage of Dunedin, including the large churches and public build­ings, were built with elaborate and matching ornament­at­ion. New Zealand's first Bot­anic Garden, established in 1863, created a model for public gard­ens around the country. The University of Otago, New Zealand's oldest, was set up in 1869, appropriate since Dunedin was the nation’s commercial centre.

Dunedin Railway Station, 1906

George Alexander Troup (1863-1941) had a strong connection with Scotland and his Scottish parents. He studied in Aberdeen and five years later worked with an Edinburgh engineer, surveyor and architect. He moved to New Zealand in 1883 and worked for the Survey Department in Otago before joining New Zealand Railways as a draughtsman. This was an association with railways that was to last 40 years. 

In April 1888 Troup moved to Wellington to work at the head office of NZ Railways, in the archit­ectural branch. He established a programme for training engineering cadets and was involved in designing the North Island Main Trunk line. He designed the Wellington railway offices, and the Lower Hutt railway station.

His success in winning the competition for the Dunedin station, as we'll see, led to him becoming the Chief Railways Draftsman in the mid 1890s. The Minister of Railways proposed a 5 year budget to build the Railways Head Office in Wellington, and a new railway station for Dunedin. Since Dunedin Railway Station was the commercial centre of New Zealand, Troup designed a grand, Baroque-ish complex. 

Dunedin Railway Station, central hall

The station building consisted of a central entrance hall flanked on both sides by long wings. It was built from dark basalt from a local Otago quarry, with contrasting limestone dressings. The stone for the pillars on the Anzac Avenue facade was imported granite from Scotland.

The new railway station was controversially planned on land that the local Harb­our Board feared would block access to the wharves. So a Royal Commission was established to determine the best site and it ruled in favour of the current location in Anzac Avenue. But the trickiest element turned out to be the reclaimed land. When building began, 600 piles had to be driven into the bedrock to support the weight of the structure. Decades later, the lobby floor had sunk and a new base was needed. Never mind - the station remained a significant part of the townscape for many years.

Note the key design elements chosen for the railway station: 1] domed Italianate tower located at the S-W corner of the station; 2] the Gothic spire at the other end; 3] foyer with stained glass windows depicting loco­motives; 4] frieze of Doulton cherubs and foliage that ran below the balcony; 5] booking hall and mosaic floor of 750,000 tiles of Royal Doulton porcelain and 6] ticketboxes, set within tiled arches. 7] Troup’s original gates, are still part of the surrounding fence that has elaborate wrought iron railings. 8] The one kilometre main platform is the country's longest and 9] The roof was tiled in terracotta shingles and Marseilles tiles, topped by copper-domed cupolas.

Dunedin Railway Station, platform

It was constructed during a period of growth for the New Zealand rail system, the boom period that occurred in the 1895-1905 era. At first, up to 100 trains a day used the station. The main concourse was very impressive, and busy! But eventually the economic decline of rail transport hit New Zealand. During the 1980s, many government departments were reduced, including the railways. As a result, New Zealand Rail began to sell many of its buildings. Dun­edin’s station was sold to the City Council, and a major renovation programme was started to bring it back to its former glory.

Today tourists can now enjoy all the restaurants downstairs, and the Sports Hall of Fame and the Cleveland Living Arts Centre upstairs. The station remains a major tourist attraction. Weekly Saturday farmers markets are held in Anzac Square outside the station. Visitors can stroll around the well kept gardens. And once a year there are the Dunedin Fashion Shows, using the world's longest catwalk (the platform).

Daily sightseeing trains still run from the Dunedin Railway Station through the tourist excursion service Taieri Gorge. The Seasider train, for example, is Dunedin's scenic coastal tourist train operating daily between Christchurch and Invercargill; it offers spectacular views over Otago Harbour and up the wild Otago coastline. 

The Seasider Tourist Train
Cliff top spectacular

Dunedin Railway Station 1906 was definitely the outstanding monument of Edward­ian architecture in New Zealand. So whether or not everyone loved the mixed Gothic-Baroque taste, Troup was deservedly knighted in 1937. And he rightly received a Royal Institute of British Architects Award for the building that became the major hub of the South Island railway network.

He died in Wellington in 1941 at 77. And ever since, New Zealanders have recognised that The Dunedin Railway Station was Troup's most significant building;  Architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner visited New Zealand in 1958, recording that Dunedin Railway Station was his favourite New Zealand building, one that was not at all “provincial”.

Thank you to Waymarks for the architectural information  and to The History of NZ for the city’s history.