My posts about Mount Gambier so far have focused on the natural beauty of the region, adding some pictures of grand buildings.
There is a seamy side to the place though, as there is everywhere.
Trains haven’t run in Mount Gambier for about 15 years, but the railway tracks remain because the South Australian Government has committed funds to reopen the line if the Penola Pulp Mill goes ahead, which now looks doubtful.
The Victorian Government seems even keener to reinstate rail and last week released plans for multi-million dollar transport infrastructure upgrades in the Green Triangle, including reopening of the line between Penola and Heywood via Mount Gambier.
I get the impression our city council and local MP don’t want rail to return. The council wants to redevelop the “railway lands”.
Meanwhile, the overall look of the area around the railway station is somewhat seedy. All the rail warning signs remain and the tracks are there … forlorn and neglected.
Mount Gambier yesterday had its wettest ever December day with 75mm recorded in 24 hours. The average December rainfall is 37mm and the average annual rainfall is 708mm.
I woke up early, and feeling inspired by Vanilla Monkey Bear’s (VMB) urban landscape photos I thought I’d try something similar.
VMB is in France (I think), where it’s winter, but a rainy Mount Gambier morning in early summer is sombre enough. I really wanted to capture these scenes without traffic interference.
The pictures were taken between 5.45am and 6.30am today.
This appears to be an abandoned warehouse across the tracks from the railway station. I haven’t looked around the other side yet.
The platform at the abandoned Mount Gambier railway station.
Pretty ugly on a grey morning. This shows Railway Terrace, the front of the train station and the back of the Centro shopping centre.
The Odeon tenpin bowling alley shares a facade with the Good Vibrations sex shop. Ugly at any time.
Shadows Nightclub is where the party crowd hangs out until closing time, which I think is 4am. This photo was taken just a couple of hours later. The heritage building used to house the Caledonian Society. I can’t understand why garish signs are allowed on a heritage building.
Forgive the rain drops on a couple of the photos please.
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Bonjour !
Great photos Michael,
the abandoned railway station is a perfect ghost station
at 6am in a super rainy day like that !
Everything looks different in early morning .
That’s why sometimes it’s nice to wake up earlier
and just walk around, you can also see lots of things
that you never noticed before !
You don’t find there to be a little beauty in this ugliness? I love the railway yard for precisely this reason: that certain beauty of urban decay.
Twitter: mgorey
says:
Vanilla Bear: Your photos inspired me to take pictures in the dawn light on a rainy day. I don’t normally get up that early on Saturdays, but it was a wild night with heavy rain and strong winds.
Matthew: I find it hauntingly beautiful. The warehouse is a classic urban Australian image. As a boy I used to often take the train from Traralgon to Melbourne and the last few miles into Flinders Street were full of scenes like that. Not today.
That’s a very impressive tone, particularly in the first one. Pity about the railway; so much effort goes into building them and they’re left to rot.
We have been into this building with the owners permission, our website is http://www.abandonedaustralia.com and this exploration is on abandoned houses page 2 – it is a fantastic place!!! The direct link to the old oatmill is http://abandonedaustralia.googlepages.com/oatmillmansion
We have explored lots of abandoned places in the south east, and have even had a film crew come in with us. Mt Gambier is a fantastic place to explore…
What great photos. I started my railway career in Mt Gambier 1974. The old signal box still stands and i can still see the Bluebird on the inner platform. That shed at the end of the platform was to heat the footwarmers for the overnight service to Adelaide. Great memories seeing the pictures, thanks for posting them
I too think that Mount Gambier is a fascinating place with lots of history. The railway station in particular interests me as I have a great interest in trains. The old buildings opposite the station, I find really interesting, even in their derelict state. One can only wonder what they must have looked like years ago when in full use, and with the trains going past. There is a video on YouTube that depicts the station and old turntable. You can view it by typing in ‘Mount Gambier Railway Station’. Worth a look.
And it’s been raining ever since the photos were taken. Time to leave this town!
Yes, I remember the old train station well. The ‘Bluebird’ used to run between Mt Gambier and Adelaide and I even caught it myself once. It really is strange that in this day and age the SA government can’t subsidise a rail service which could then link to Warrnambool, Portland, Geelong etc. I thought we were trying to get cars OFF the roads.
Hello there,
I’m a previously local Mount Gambier resident. I now like 50 kilometers away and I have to say, you have caught the beautiful wreckage of our town wonderfully. You should pass back through some time soon and see the monstrosity it has become.
It has become awash in Orange, Brown and Grey, most unappealing if you ask me. Something new and fantastic if you ask the people who created it.
Amazingly enough the bowling alley/sex shop are the only things to change of the photos you have here, but the rest of the town has had a ‘make over’.. Lovely work, keep it up
Wonderful photos — a powerful testimony to the stupidity and shortsightedness of our council, and the relevant transport authorities.