Flinders St Station: City leaders call for restoration of Melbourne landmark
City leaders are calling for the heritage-listed landmark to be restored to its former glory— starting with the stained underpass which has been likened to a “urinal”.
Victoria
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Heritage experts have slammed the sorry state of Melbourne’s Flinders St Station, a prized city landmark now trashed by years of neglect and a stained underpass which has been compared to a urinal.
City leaders say the heritage-listed railway icon needs to be brought back to its former glory, with the grimy pedestrian subway a priority.
The underpass, which connects Flinders St to the Yarra and is used by thousands of commuters every day, has had brown stains seeping down its tiled walls since at least the late 1990s, with Metro Trains saying the site was too delicate for a deep clean.
The Herald Sun first exposed the grubby state of the station 20 years ago and, despite some, attempts at restoration, the grand old dame lies neglected.
Former premier and architect Ted Baillieu said Flinders St Station needed to be a drawcard and a destination in itself.
“And I must confess that walking through that glorious tunnel, it’s a feeling of passing through a urinal,’’ he said.
Melbourne heritage expert Professor Charles Sowerwine said the 114-year-old building was a jewel in the city’s crown but described the underpass as a “simply terrible place”.
“We have to restore the heritage fabric of Flinders St station, starting by simply cleaning the tiles and returning them to their Edwardian splendour.’’
Metro Trains say rain flowing from the tracks above the subway made the area susceptible to water and rust marks.
The handmade tiles in the underpass are scrubbed five times a week and hosed down once a fortnight, but high-pressure cleaning could not be used because of the tiles’ fragility, Metro said.
As well as the underpass, signs of the station’s neglect include:
— A large mural created by celebrated Melbourne artist Mirka Mora is partially covered by the entrance to the Clocks pokies den.
— Ugly cabling and conduit covering mar the heritage features.
— Graffiti and litter are a constant scourge despite regular cleaning.
But claims of heritage regulations preventing deep cleaning were questioned by Prof Sowerwine.
“Everyone wants to blame heritage for something they don’t want to do,’’ he said.
Prof Sowerwine, Emeritus Professor of History at University of Melbourne and chair of Royal Historical Society Victoria’s heritage committee, said the station needed a complete overhaul.
The state government in 2015 pledged $100m to overhaul the station, which included repainting the exterior, restoring the heritage clock tower and rebuilding toilet facilities.
In 2018, the government promised to upgrade the Elizabeth St underpass, which included the “cleaning and restoration of the heritage tiles”, lighting improvements and installation of glazed screens.
But the discoloured tile stains – which resemble dirty sewer water – remain.
Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said it was “baffling” the station overhaul did not include cleaning up the dirty underpass tiles.
“It would have made sense while they were fixing up the rest of the station … they really should have included doing the subway, which is used by thousands of people every day,” Mr Bowen said.
Nick Reece, Melbourne Deputy Lord Mayor, said the redevelopment of central stations was a proven way of revitalising great cities.
Cr Reece cited Kings Cross in London, Michigan in Detroit, Tolbiac in Paris and even the recently started redevelopment of Central station in Sydney as good examples of urban revival.
“In each of these examples the redevelopment of a major city station has been the catalyst for the revitalisation of an entire city precinct,’’ Cr Reece, who is head of Town Hall’s planning portfolio, said.
“The stations have been transformed into modern transport hubs while retaining their character and heritage value.
“Flinders St station is arguably Melbourne’s most famous building – it deserves to be renovated, restored, renewed and reimagined – it’s got so much potential and is so important to Melbourne.
“It’s time to rejuvenate the Grand Old Dame and bring it back to its former glory while modernising it so as to unlock its potential as a retail, hospitality, accommodation and entertainment precinct.
“This should begin with exhaustive restoration work – bring back and restore the wood panelling, the polished metal trimmings, the mosaic tiles and stain-glass windows,’’ he said.
The Rone and Rising exhibitions inside the building showed how the station could be repurposed.
Cr Reece said the underpass should be cleaned and upgraded because it had become a main pedestrian thoroughfare for thousands of Southbank residents heading into the city, as well as commuters and tourists.
A Department of Transport and Planning spokesman said Flinders Street Station was “cleaned regularly, including the subway, to provide clean and safe train services and infrastructure for our passengers”.
“Melbourne’s iconic station recently underwent a significant restoration and its ongoing maintenance and cleaning must be carried out in accordance with heritage requirements,” he said.
Works included placing some tiles, hand crafting each one to match the heritage colours and original tile making process.
The station undergoes high-pressure cleaning every two months and is cleaned by Metro Trains twice a day.
Famous Melbourne chef Guy Grossi said the “jewel in the city’s crown — “not just a train station but an attraction in itself”.
And fellow city restaurateur Chris Lucas said Flinders St station was unloved and that its reimagining could be part of a major redevelopment of the precinct.
“Despite talk and lots of discussions over the decades no government has seized the opportunity to create a world-class vision for the site, which in many ways is the epicentre of Melbourne.’’
Mr Lucas called for a new vision for the station, Federation Square and the railyards to create “one of the world’s most exciting retail and entertainment destinations’’.
Flinders Street Station over the years
Previous plans to rejuvenate and revitalise Flinders St Station have fallen flat, with many projects and ideas failing to come to fruition.
In late 2019, a bold proposal by Arbory Bar and Eatery planned to turn much of the inside of the station into an entertainment precinct, failing to gain momentum before Covid hit Melbourne.
Plans were drafted to transform three levels of administration offices into a nightclub, bar and restaurant hub, which would have been similar to places like Cookie in the CBD.
One source at the time told the Herald Sun the cost to transform the offices would be around the $100m mark, but the idea never saw the light of day.
In 2016, former Lord Mayor Robert Doyle believed that a derelict part of the station should have been transformed into a space for pop-up stores to reinvigorate the station.
The western end of platform one – which was used to unload much of Melbourne’s milk from Gippsland and home to parcel offices – still sits abandoned to this day.
At the time, Mr Doyle said there was a missed opportunity to bring more traders into the city’s centre.
“We could easily build a structure that can be used for short-term pop-ups or space for small business; space for start-ups; something that returns it to the people,” he said.
“I’m very much in favour of an interim solution that demonstrates the potential of Flinders St, improves the quality of the station in the short term and ensures this prime site isn’t sitting idle.”
In 2012 the then Baillieu state government ran a design competition to reimagine the station and the site, attracting ideas from around the world.
This year the station’s ballroom had been revamped and brought back to life after decades of disuse to showcase some of Melbourne’s finest art.
While the ballroom’s existence was questioned by many, members of the public have been granted access to admire displays of modern art in recent years, giving the ballroom a purpose once again.
Melbourne’s Rising festival – which wrapped up late June – used the ballroom to display pieces created by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists as part of Shadow Spirit.
Several other public displays of art have also been shown in the ballroom in the last decade, including Melbourne’s own Rone’s stunning pieces.
— Regan Hodge
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