Newport local and Hobsons Bay councillor Peter Hemphill,who is leading the charge,believes world protection status of the site in Melbourne’s industrial west is crucial,describing it as among the “world’s most significant railway heritage sites”.
Hobsons Bay councillor Peter Hemphill and his colleagues have voted to begin a campaign to get the historic Newport Railway Workshop on the UNESCO World Heritage List.Jason South
“It’s one of the rare cases in the world where you have unique heritage buildings,rolling stock still there that was built in the workshops,and you’ve got some of the manufacturing equipment used from 100 years ago,” Hemphill said.
There are 20 world heritage sites in Australia,with only two located in Victoria.
This includes the Budj Bim,a site of Aboriginal cultural importance,which includes a dormant volcano and one of the world’s oldest freshwater aquaculture systems,in south-western Victoria. The Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens is also on the list.
Late last year,the council voted in favour of pushing ahead with a formal request to VicTrack to update a conservation management plan of the site,which was once the largest industrial centre in Victoria,where locomotives and carriages now at the Puffing Billy Railway were made.
They are also urging VicTrack to work with Heritage Victoria,the council and rail groups,to lay the groundwork to secure a United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage Listing for the site.
A world heritage listing bid also requires a nomination from the federal government.
It will be an extensive application process,involving a panel of experts,and a final tick of approval from UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee,made up of 21 rotating nations.
About 24 hectares of the 134-year-old site,including the old working sheds and some rail tracks,have been under heritage protection since 1994.
The Newport Railway Workshop pictured in March 2024.Jason South
But in recent years volunteer groups,who care for the 48-hectare site,have taken aim at the state government for trying to and.
Heritage Victoria describes the site as “one of the best surviving 19th century railway workshops in the world,and one of Australia’s most outstanding items of industrial heritage”.
It is also the birthplace of Trugo,a unique sport where a rubber ring is struck with a mallet,in a merger of croquet,lawn bowls and Australian rules football.
The sport was created in the 1920s,when railyard workers began hitting buffer stops with mallets,between carriages,and turned it into a pastime.
The Newport Railway Workshop pictured circa 1905-1928.State Library of Victoria
The site is still being used by VicTrack as a training facility,while several groups lease the land including Steamrail Victoria.
A VicTrack spokeswoman did not respond to questions about whether the authority would support the UNESCO bid,but said it works closely with Heritage Victoria “to ensure the Newport site has maximum capacity for rail operations while protecting its heritage values”.
“The Newport Railway Workshops are a critical part of the Victorian transport network,and support a range of activities including train testing and commissioning,train stabling and maintenance,rail industry skills development and storing retired rolling stock,” the spokeswoman said.
At its peak,the site employed about 5000 people. When World War II broke out,workers pivoted to making machinery and munitions for the war including production of machine-gun carriers,marquees,tents and other military equipment.
“For some time there’s been talk about it[Newport Railway Workshops] having UNESCO world heritage value,but a lot of work has got to be done to do that,” said Hemphill. “We need the support of VicTrack for a big task like this.”
News reports from the 1800s describe its brilliance in design,engineering,and manufacturing.
In 1898,news reports in the Leader describe the Newport Railway Workshops as a “veritable hive of industry”. Another report from theAustralasian in 1924 spoke of daily life at the rail yards where workers doubled as amateur gardeners,carefully tending to flower gardens at the smoky grounds.
“It could become a world-class museum if VicTrack does the right thing and starts preserving the heritage,” Hemphill said.
