Huge celebration to mark Nambucca Heads Railway Station centenary 1923-2023

The opening of a railway station at Nambucca Heads 100 years ago heralded unprecedented change for the Coffs Coast. Now, long-time locals are set to gather to celebrate and swap tales. Find out more. 

Mike Ryan (left) with his brothers outside the Ryan house on the west side of the Nambucca Station gates. A fettler's house was only modest and the Ryan family of 11 filled every inch with the boys following in their father's footsteps as railway workers. Picture: Nambucca Heads Station Rail Centenary 1923 – 2023 Facebook page

Train buffs and the wider community will descend on the quaint Nambucca Heads Railway Station on Sunday to mark its centenary.

An organising committee has spent months putting together a program of events to celebrate the occasion, much in the way as Kempsey did to mark 100 years of its station in 2017.

The gradual, progressive opening of stations on the North Coast line in the early 1900s changed the fabric of coastal communities, who until then had relied mostly on bullocks and ships to haul goods.

Historian and writer Rachel Burns has been at the forefront of the planning, heading the Nambucca Heads Railway Station Centenary Committee.

“In 1923, construction of a railway bridge over the Nambucca River at Macksville made it possible for the rail line to reach the newly constructed station at Nambucca Heads,” Ms Burns said.

The Picnic Train at Nambucca Heads Station on its way to Coffs Harbour on July 8 this year. Picture: Nambucca Heads Station Rail Centenary 1923 – 2023 Facebook page

“The original Nambucca Heads station had a timber station building, a single side platform and infrastructure for steam trains including a 20,000-gallon water tank.”

In 1942 a fire burnt down the station building, worth around 1000 pounds, or about $83,000 today.

Federal Cowper MP Pat Conaghan and Centenary Committee convener Rachel Burns.

The blaze also destroyed the parcels office which contained about 50 pounds of goods ready for delivery.

The current heritage-listed brick station building was opened in 1945.

Many different trains have passed through the station, including World War II troop trains and the school steam train in the 1940s and ’50s, nicknamed ‘The Misery Train’.

It was later replaced by the mail train, which, in turn, stopped carrying students in 1963.

Commissioned tankards made for the Nambucca Heads Station Rail Centenary 1923-2023.

A feast of entertainment is on track for Sunday’s milestone: Live music, a giant model train exhibit, historical displays, food stalls, a petting zoo, Clancy the horse with his cart, topped off by the visit of the North Coast XPT service which is due in at 11.47am.

“The opening of the station on December 3, 1923, connected the local community far beyond the Nambucca Valley, in a way that was accessible and affordable,” regional Transport Minister Jenny Aitchison said.

“Today we continue to see the importance of these rail connections to places like Nambucca Heads, with around 30,000 people using NSW TrainLink north coast services each month.”

NSW TrainLink reported a 44 per cent increase in bookings above forecast in October on the back of an advertising campaign on trips to the regions, including to places like Nambucca Heads.

Centenary events will get underway from 9am when the Nambucca District Band swings into action.