Nyora Railway Station needs a new shot at life

NYORA residents have expressed concern about the town’s railway station, left vulnerable since the op shop there was required to relocate, with the building recently vandalised and Member for Gippsland South Danny O’Brien critical of the State Government’s approach to the building.

Nyora resident and South Gippsland Shire councillor Mick Felton would love to see the station revitalised, expressing concern about the risk of further vandalism and the ongoing deterioration of the building.

He said the need for action to save the station and turn it into a community asset has been raised at ‘Coffee with a Councillor’ sessions and locals have taken to Facebook to express their desire for the building to be given a new life.

During the recent vandalism, entry was gained by kicking in a door, windows were broken and fluorescent tubes and their fittings smashed.

The door and windows have now been boarded up, with Cr Felton among those to draw council’s attention to the damage and pleased to see a quick response to the issue.

The building’s wooden structure is showing considerable decay, including visible rotting and some holes.

Long-term local identity Gilbert Kelly recalls Nyora Railway Station as far back as the 1950s and is saddened by its current plight.

He recollects steam trains often shunting there and the water tower that used to supply them via wooden pipes.

In somewhat more recent times, school barbecues were held on the railway platform and a ‘mystery’ train ran from Melbourne.

Gilbert’s 15-year-old grandson Jonah Mercieca is a train enthusiast who assisted Korumburra history buff Bob Newton with his book on the Great Southern Railway Line.

Jonah’s passion illustrates it is not only the older generation keen to see railway heritage preserved.

Gilbert believes the station could be used as a tourist drawcard by turning it into a museum, displaying trains, carriages and other machinery, with potential for restoration and maintenance.

While Sylvia Casey no longer lives in Nyora, having relocated with husband Denis, she retains a strong attachment to the town and holds fond memories of running the op shop during its time at the station.

The shop raised funds for Nyora Hall Committee to maintain the hall and pay expenses incurred in its operation.

Sylvia explained the shop moved into the station during the period in which the tourist railway operated.

Members of the hall committee and others in the community worked to improve the building.

“When we moved in, it had already been vandalised and we repaired the floors and painted,” Sylvia said, adding no further vandalism occurred at the station during the years the op shop was there.

She explained the shop eventually had to relocate, with its operators advised they would need a commercial licence to continue operating there and that VicTrack intended to do works on the building.

The shop ran on a not-for-profit basis and Sylvia said the cost of a commercial licence was not viable.

Mr O’Brien was outspoken about the removal of the op shop from the station building and its repercussions when asked for comment.

“The Government has messed up management of the Nyora station by forcing out the community run op shop and now leaving the building vacant, deteriorating and open to vandalism,” he said.

“Unfortunately, this is exactly what I and the community warned could happen.”

Mr O’Brien called on VicTrack to ensure the station building is fully secure and consider all options for its future use, warning it will otherwise become an eyesore and community hazard rather than a community asset. 

VicTrack has been contacted for comment.