FORMER DERRINAL/WILD DUCK RAILWAY STATION
3915 MCIVOR HIGHWAY DERRINAL, GREATER BENDIGO CITY
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Statement of Significance
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FORMER DERRINAL/WILD DUCK RAILWAY STATION - History
Construction of the Heathcote to Bendigo railway line was originally planned by the Melbourne. Mount Alexander and Murray Rail Company, which was bought out by the government after the failure of the company to raise sufficient funds for the enterprise.[6] The line from Bendigo to Heathcote junction formed part of a larger system of railway lines that developed following the passing of the 12th Railway Construction Act in 1884. The Act became commonly known as the 'Octopus Act', and had been in part prompted by public protest around the need for further development of railways in Victoria.[7] This need was similarly felt in Heathcote fo llowing the development of the diggings at Mcivor in the I 850s.
The massive influx of population prompted not only a need for the establishment of facilities that could supply them with basic necessities. Furthermore, the railway was seen as a means through which local agriculturalists, as well as the timber industry, could expand their markets in towns and cities further afield. Initial debate around the railway centred on the route it would take. There was much support for a route that would connect Wandong and Bendigo via Heathcote, but Mr. Thomas Bent, the Minister for Railways, endorsed a route from Wan dong. Construction of the railway took place in three stages; from Wandong to Kilmore, Kilmore to Heathcote, and finally Heathcote to North Bendigo Junction. The contract for the segment of the line from Heathcote to North Bendigo junction, which incorporated the Knowsley siding, was let to A. O'Keefe in 1887, for his tendered sum of £ 168,818.[8]
Constructlon commenced at the tsendlgo end ot the Ilne, and extended slightly beyond the Junction at tsendlgo, measuring a total of twenty eight miles. The contract for the work called for a completion date of the 30th April 1888, but O'Keefe only finished the work on the I st October of that year. [9] The station at Derrinal was a simple loop siding and platform on the Heathcote to Bendigo line. It was originally known as Wild Duck, but the name changed to Derrinal within a fortnight of its opening.[ I 0]
[I] Randell, j. O. (1985). Mcivor: A History of the Shire and the Township of Heathcote, Shire of Mcivor, p. I.
[2] Randell, j. O. (1985), p. 31.
[3] Randell, j. O. (1985), p. 31.
[4] Randell, j. O. (1985), p. 21.
[5] Heritage Victoria, (n.d), Eppalock Weir, Hermes entry 6482
[6] Turton, Keith W. (1968), Farewelf to the Timber Line: The History of the Heathcote junction to Bendigo and Associated
Railways, p. 3.
[7] Turton, Keith W. (1968), p. 3.
[8] Turton, Keith W. (1968), p. 9.
[9] Turton, Keith W. (1968, p. 9.
[10] Turton, Keith W. (1968), p. 17.
FORMER DERRINAL/WILD DUCK RAILWAY STATION - Historical Significance
The site holds historical significance through its links with the growth of the Heathcote Township and nineteenth century transportation.
FORMER DERRINAL/WILD DUCK RAILWAY STATION - Interpretation of Site
The contract for the Heathcote to North Bendigo junction of the railway was let to A. O'Keefe in 1887, for a sum of £ 168,818. The Derrinal station was a simple loop siding and platform on the line. It was originally known as Wild Duck. but the name changed to Derrinal within a fortnight of its opening. The railway became disused and the site comprises the remnants of the Derrinal station.
Heritage Inventory Description
FORMER DERRINAL/WILD DUCK RAILWAY STATION - Heritage Inventory Description
This site comprises the remnants of the Derrinal Railway Station (part of Bendigo to Heathcote railway line) including sleepers. There is also scattered bricks and corrugated iron at the site. however it the relationship between the two has not been researched.
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FORMER DERRINAL/WILD DUCK RAILWAY STATIONVictorian Heritage Inventory
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WoolshedGreater Bendigo City
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