george troup

Railway stations came in all shapes and sizes, from imposing big-city monuments to elegant wooden provincial structures and tiny rural shelter sheds.

Like most buildings in colonial New Zealand, early stations were invariably made of timber. During the great Vogel rail making boom of the 1870s, staffed stations were built according to standard plans, ranging from the small Class 5 to the top-ranking Class 1 stations. The most common structure was the unstaffed flag-station, a simple weatherboard lean-to similar to a bus shelter. The name derived from the early American practice of stopping approaching trains by waving a flag.

Oamaru's long wooden station, designed by Railways Department architect George Troup and completed in 1900, was typical of the new stations built in major provincial centres around the turn of the 20th century.

Oamaru station was particularly famous for its dining room (situated at the southern or far end of the building), which was capable of seating 250 diners at long tables. The Christchurch–Dunedin express made a regular 22-minute dinner (lunch) stop here, and for a set price of 2s 6d, travellers could sample delights such as ‘stewed tripe and oysters’, ‘smoked fish with butter sauce’, ‘roast sirloin of beef with Yorkshire pudding’ and ‘compote of pears with boiled custard’.

These decorative floor tiles are just one of the many striking design features of the George Troup-designed Dunedin station.

Look no further for evidence of the prominence and prestige of rail in early 20th-century New Zealand. Dunedin’s spectacular station, designed by Railways Department architect ‘Gingerbread’ George Troup, celebrated its centenary with great fanfare in October 2006.