Before Goulburn’s railway station was built, a publican took a punt on a site.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It wound up being 1,500 metres from the station, too far for a weary traveller to walk. The hotel strung along for 10-15 years, before the business collapsed.
This was not the case for the Southern Railway Hotel, however.
Built directly across from Goulburn’s station, it was the perfect location for weary travellers to take a rest.
In the late 1800s, travellers would send a postcard ahead, to book a night’s stay.
The building epitomises the rambling railway hotel typical of NSW in that era.
Goulburn’s story is just one of many Scott Whitaker has encountered.
He has spent the past 10 years visiting railway hotels.
Mr Whitaker’s grandfather had been an engine driver on railways in the Victorian era who encouraged both his sons to follow in his footsteps.
Neither did, so when Mr Whitaker came on the scene, his grandfather put every effort into converting his young grandson to his love of rail.
It was to no avail.
Instead, Mr Whitaker became an Air Traffic Controller for 30 years.
It was only when he was forced to retire after losing his hearing that his thoughts turned again to railways. It wasn’t the trains however that caught his interest.
Too young to retire, Mr Whitaker needed a project.
So, he set off to have a beer at every railway hotel in Australia.
His quest has taken him far and wide, literally. At this stage he thinks he has visited every hotel ever labelled ‘Railway’ in the country, apart from one or two in Western Australia.
At some, just the site exists, but to Mr Whitaker, this is no disappointment.
“I’ll often go and visit the site, and grab a stubby out of the esky, and sit down and celebrate the hotel that was there years ago,” he said.
And what began as a hobby, has now become his passion.
“It’s been an amazing journey around the country, visiting people and documenting bits and pieces of Australian history that up until now haven’t been told before,” Mr Whitaker said.
“People of today don’t understand how important the railways were back then. How it changed so many people's lives, especially in country towns.”
Initially, it was a project purely for his own personal satisfaction. However, his friends and family thought differently.
With each exciting tale Mr Whitaker returned with, they would tell him to write a book. So, Mr Whitaker did.
He has now published three volumes of history on Railway Hotels of Australia, encompassing Victoria, NSW and Queensland.