The construction of the Sale Railway line was the seminal event in the establishment of the town of Garfield. The Gippsland line to Sale was opened in stages - Sale to Morwell June 1877 (the material for this stage was shipped along the coast to the Port of Sale); Oakleigh to Bunyip October 1877; Moe to Morwell December 1877; Moe to Bunyip March 1878 and the last stretch from South Yarra to Oakleigh in 1879. Originally, the only Stations between Dandenong and Bunyip were Berwick and Pakenham. However a number of timber sidings developed along this line including the Cannibal Creek Siding which opened in December 1884. (1) The town of Garfield developed around this Siding. In June 1886, the Cannibal Creek Post Office was established at the Railway Station and this changed its name to the Garfield Railway Post Office on May 16, 1887. (2) The name Garfield came from the assassinated American President, James Garfield, who was shot July 2, 1881 and died September 19, 1881, you can read about him here.
In the book Rigg of the Railways: Station Masters of the Victorian Railways (3) the author Tom Rigg lists the following Station Masters as having served at Cannibal Creek or Garfield -
McGillycuddy, Daniel - around 1884
Godrey, James Joseph - around 1885
View of the Goods Shed at the Railway station in 1920. The Garfield Hall is in the background.
Image: Berwick Pakenham Historical Society photograph
McGillycuddy, Daniel - around 1884
Godrey, James Joseph - around 1885
McLean, Roderick - February 1910 to August 1911
Finnie, Norman - July 1912 to August 1917
McCauley, John Alexander to June 1918 to March 1920
Lanigan, Patrick - September 1919 to February 1919
Finnie, Norman - July 1912 to August 1917
McCauley, John Alexander to June 1918 to March 1920
Lanigan, Patrick - September 1919 to February 1919
Mather, James - around 1920 or 1921
Stewart, Francis David - March 1920 to September 1921
Lang, Elmo Thomas - December 1921 to July 1923
Stewart, Francis David - March 1920 to September 1921
Lang, Elmo Thomas - December 1921 to July 1923
Bartlett, Hermann Colin - August 1923 (4)
Marks, John Alexander - July 1924 to January 1927
Bently, Leslie George - December 1926 to June 1928
Callaghan, Henry Richard - July 1928 to January 1933
Hosking, Henry Towers - January 1933 to September 1937. Due to the economic depression his wife was caretaker part-time at Garfield.
Smith, Arthur Leslie - June 1942 to December 1944
Graham, Norman Joseph - December 1944 to December 1954.
Marks, John Alexander - July 1924 to January 1927
Bently, Leslie George - December 1926 to June 1928
Callaghan, Henry Richard - July 1928 to January 1933
Hosking, Henry Towers - January 1933 to September 1937. Due to the economic depression his wife was caretaker part-time at Garfield.
Smith, Arthur Leslie - June 1942 to December 1944
Graham, Norman Joseph - December 1944 to December 1954.
I couldn’t find anyone listed after 1954, but Mum says that a Mr Tighe was the Station Master around the late 1950s/ early1960s. This was Ferdinand George Tighe, occupation railway employee, who in 1949 and 1954 was listed in the Electoral rolls at Tynong and in the 1963 Electoral rolls at Garfield. (5)
This is a view from the Station towards Main Street Garfield - taken in the 1980s.
Image: Shire of Pakenham slide, Casey Cardinia Libraries
Station Masters were classified according to the Station to which they were appointed, there were nine classes, and Garfield (in 1923 at least) was a Class 8 station, as were its neighbours Tynong and Nar Nar Goon. Bunyip and Pakenham were Class 7 and so must have had more freight and was therefore busier; and Koo Wee Rup was a Class 6. (6)
There are other Railway Station employees listed in various sources prior to 1910 but it does appear that Garfield wasn’t busy enough for a permanent Station Master until then. For instance, in Bill Parrish’s notes on the history of Garfield (held at the Berwick Pakenham Historical Society) he lists James Godfrey as ‘Porter in charge’ at Cannibal Creek siding in October 1885 and he became the Post Master in 1886. The Post Masters and Mistresses at Garfield were all Railway employees until around the end of the First World War, when the Post Office moved from the Railway Station. Bill also lists a Mrs Thomson as being the Station caretaker in 1904.
Over the years, all sorts of produce was loaded at the Garfield Railway Station - livestock, milk and other dairy products (such as cheese from the Cora Lynn factory), chaff and timber. There was a spur line that went off the main line to the Goods Shed and loading area (where the car park is now on the Highway side of the railway line).
1965 Garfield Railway Station diagram from www.victorianrailways.net
Over the years, all sorts of produce was loaded at the Garfield Railway Station - livestock, milk and other dairy products (such as cheese from the Cora Lynn factory), chaff and timber. There was a spur line that went off the main line to the Goods Shed and loading area (where the car park is now on the Highway side of the railway line).
My Dad, Frank Rouse, used to load potatoes there. All potatoes in the 1940s and until 1954 had to be sold through the Potato Board and had to be loaded at a prescribed loading area, in this case Garfield. They were loaded onto the rail and sent to Spencer Street railway yards where the marketing board had their shed. They were then sold by the Board. If you sold ‘out of the Board’ you were up for massive fines. Farmers were given a quota for the week, for instance seven bags (each bag was 150 lbs or 65 kg, later on they were reduced to 50kgs) and that was all you were allowed.
The railway trucks could take 12 tons but before they were loaded they had to be inspected by the Potato Inspector, Jack Stalker. Apparently, he was a fan of the VW Beetle, so if you wanted to get your potatoes passed you just talked about VWs or if you told him you were a ‘bit worried about them’, and then he would just pass them. If they weren’t passed then you had to empty the bag, remove the bad ones and re-pack them and re-sew the bag. The farmers had to load the railway trucks themselves and some railway trucks had doors but others were like carts, with a wall about a metre or so high and in this case the bags had to be lifted by hand over the wall and then stacked in the truck. Sometimes the produce just sat there for days before they were picked up. The Potato Board finished in 1954 and after that you could sell them where you wanted. Dad and his brother Jim used Dan Cunningham as an agent and they also later loaded at Nar Nar Goon. If you sold them interstate they could be delivered by truck.
The railway trucks could take 12 tons but before they were loaded they had to be inspected by the Potato Inspector, Jack Stalker. Apparently, he was a fan of the VW Beetle, so if you wanted to get your potatoes passed you just talked about VWs or if you told him you were a ‘bit worried about them’, and then he would just pass them. If they weren’t passed then you had to empty the bag, remove the bad ones and re-pack them and re-sew the bag. The farmers had to load the railway trucks themselves and some railway trucks had doors but others were like carts, with a wall about a metre or so high and in this case the bags had to be lifted by hand over the wall and then stacked in the truck. Sometimes the produce just sat there for days before they were picked up. The Potato Board finished in 1954 and after that you could sell them where you wanted. Dad and his brother Jim used Dan Cunningham as an agent and they also later loaded at Nar Nar Goon. If you sold them interstate they could be delivered by truck.
There was an interesting report in The Age in October 1929 about the theft of potatoes at Garfield, and the length that the police went to in order to solve the crime -
Theft of Potatoes. Man Arrested at Garfield.
For some weeks residents of the district have suffered heavy loss owing to the theft of potatoes from the local railway platform. Detectives Beale and Milne, of the Railway department, assisted by Constable Dale, of Garfield, have been investigating the thefts. After a long vigil, they saw a man at 3 a.m. today loading potatoes on to a motor truck, and placed him under arrest. Later, at the local watch house, Gibdin de la Revierre was charged with illegally removing potatoes from the Garfield railway station. (7)
The Garfield railway station, on the main Gippsland line was totally destroyed by a fire which broke out about two o'clock this morning. The station master, Mr Bartlett, locked up at 10.30 last night, when everything appeared to be safe, and the origin of the outbreak is a mystery. The crew of a goods train gave the alarm, but the fire had gained such a hold that nothing could be saved. (9)
Another report in The Argus has more information about the fire -
The Garfield railway station was completely destroyed by a fire which occurred about 2 o'clock on Thursday morning. The fire was first noticed by the crew of a goods train who awakened the station master. Owing to no water supply being available, the onlookers were unable to prevent the flames from spreading. A few milk cans were rescued from the goods shed. A number of parcels, including two bicycles and a perambulator, and a quantity of passengers' luggage, were destroyed, in addition to departmental records. The origin of the fire is unknown. (10)
After World War Two, the production of briquettes at Yallourn was increased and it was expected that the 1.7 million tonnes from two briquette factories would require 20 additional trains daily above the seven existing services. (11) To facilitate this, the Victorian Railways made the decision to duplicate and electrify the line from Dandenong to Traralgon. This work took place from 1950 to 1962, with the section from Tynong to Bunyip completed in August 1956. On July 22 1954, an electrified rail service to Warragul commenced, the first such non-suburban rail service in Australia (12)
The two level crossings and the pedestrian crossing at Garfield were removed in conjunction with this work. The level crossing which was basically opposite the Picture Theatre was closed and the overpass constructed. Dad said the Thirteen Mile Road used to continue over the railway line to the goods yards and this was also closed. The pedestrian crossing was replaced by the sub-way. (13)
In 1929, the Sun News-Pictorial published a letter complaining about the conditions at the station - Chilly Wait - I would like to draw attention to the ‘‘comfort’’ on the Garfield railway station. Thursday night was bitterly cold, and how nice it was to sit on the platform seat, with five young children, including baby! Surely a fireplace could be built and people waiting for trains could have a little comfort. I wonder what the writer would think of the banal and tacky structures that pass for railway architecture today. (14) I wonder what the correspondent would have thought about the banal and tacky structures that pass for railway architecture today.
The railway buildings which were constructed after the 1924 fire were still there in December 1989 - if you want a nostalgic look at them, then check out this website When there were Stations - http://www.stationspast.net
Garfield Station, up platform, view west. 11/12/89. Photographer: Dave Phillips.
Image: When there were Stations - http://www.stationspast.net
Garfield Station, up platform, view east. 11/12/89. Photographer: Dave Phillips.
The Garfield Hotel is on the right.
Image: When there were Stations - http://www.stationspast.net
Garfield Station, up platform, ticket window. 11/12/89. Photographer: Dave Phillips.
Bill Parish's Fruit depot is behind, facing Railway Avenue, on the corner of Garfield Road.
Image: When there were Stations - http://www.stationspast.net
Footnotes
(1) https://vicsig.net/infrastructure/location/Garfield
(2) Warragul Guardian, June 10, 1886, see here; Riverine Herald, May 6, 1887, see here.
(3) Rigg, Tom, Rigg of the Railways: Station Masters of the Victorian Railways (The Author, 2001)
(2) Warragul Guardian, June 10, 1886, see here; Riverine Herald, May 6, 1887, see here.
(3) Rigg, Tom, Rigg of the Railways: Station Masters of the Victorian Railways (The Author, 2001)
(4) For some reason, Hermann Bartlett's only service in Rigg of the Railways is at Kilmany from March 1917. However, the Gippsland Times of August 30, 1923 (see here) reports that he left Kilmany after six years for Garfield.
(5) Mr Tighe is not listed in Rigg of the Railways
(6) Rigg, Tom, op. cit.
(7) The Age, October 23, 1929, see here.
(8) South Bourke and Mornington Journal, February 21, 1906, see here; South Bourke and Mornington Journal, August 8, 1906, see here; South Bourke and Mornington Journal, March 13, 1919, see here.
(9) The Herald, February 21, 1924, see here.
(10) The Argus, February 25, 1924, see here.
(11) Dornan, S.E. and Henderson, R.H. The Electric Railways of Victoria : a brief history of the electrified railway system operated by the Victorian railways 1919 to 1979 (Australian Electric Traction Association, 1979), p. 88
(12) Dornan, S.E. and Henderson, R.H., op.cit., pp 88-92.
(13) Dandenong Journal, September 26, 1951, see here; Dandenong Journal, November 26, 1952, see here. The location of the old level crossings comes from my Dad.
(14) Sun News-Pictorial, June 18, 1929, see here.
