City railway terminus, Melbourne, 1854

Educational value

• This asset shows the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway, the first steam-powered railway in Australia, which opened in 1854 and ran for 3.6 kilometres, connecting the deepwater pier at Sandridge on Hobson's Bay (now Port Melbourne) with Flinders Street Railway Station in Melbourne city.
• It shows the first train station built in Victoria - on the site now occupied by Flinders Street Railway Station, Melbourne's main passenger station.
• It shows a railway run by a private company, a common arrangement between 1854 and 1864 - after the failure of many of these private railway companies, the Victorian Government became directly involved, forming the Victorian Railways Department in 1856 and spending about £50 million by 1931 to construct 7,565 kilometres of railway line.
• It illustrates the importance of railways in enabling the early suburban expansion of metropolitan Melbourne - railways provided an important infrastructure to link suburbs, industries and, eventually, cities and rural communities in Australia.
• It shows the masts of sailing boats in the foreground (on the Yarra River) and in the background (on Hobson's Bay) - the railway provided a vital link between the port and the city, with Railway Pier at Port Melbourne continuing as a major shipping terminus for both passengers and freight until it was rebuilt as Station Pier in the 1920s.
• It is an example of the work of Samuel Thomas Gill (1818-1880), the watercolourist and printmaker, who had arrived in Adelaide from Devonshire in 1839 - he is noted for his acute observation and recording skills; this drawing appeared as one of the plates in his book 'Sketches in Victoria', published in 1855.

Year level

2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12

Topics Australian history Railway stations Digestion Steam trains