Geraldton’s old railway station on Chapman Road on the market for first time in almost 24 years

Geraldton’s old railway station on Chapman Road has been listed for sale for the first time since the turn of the century. Activewest Real Estate owner Phil Sorgiovanni has been tasked with selling the once-in-a-career property. “When you look at the history of it, it’s a community meeting spot. People were always coming and going, and now we have the bus port there and the markets. It’s a historical place of activity,” he said. The building is currently used as a bus port for TransWA and has a cafe leasing space at the end of the building. Owner Colin Dymond said he hoped the next owner would also be community-minded. “I bought it after the State Government put it up as a public tender and there were three offers. Someone wanted it for free, the other person offered $2 and then I offered a significant portion more,” Mr Dymond said. A property valuer by trade, Mr Dymond paid $495,000 for the station in May 2000, but has invested a lot of time and money into upkeeping the space. “I don’t feel as though I own it, but I do feel I have it in trust to the community to maintain it,” he said. “I don’t think people understand the passion it takes to maintain something like this.” When Mr Dymond bought the station, he said the place was in total disrepair and had been vacant for a significant portion of time. “I had to clear out about 300 dead pigeons, and live ones too before I was able to refurbish it,” he said. Those weren’t the only surprises left for Mr Dymond, who found a time capsule from 1979 when digging up the floors to put in new lights and paving. The plaque alongside the capsule instructs the owners to open the treasure in 2029, 50 years on from the time it was buried. Mr Dymond said the station carried more historical significance being one of three stations with this specific architecture and structural design. The Fremantle and Perth City train stations are the only other two with similar structural design. The station is also the city’s kilometre 0 point, which means any distance from Geraldton is measured from the station. The historic Chapman Road landmark was the third railway station in Geraldton, with construction starting in 1912 and it being opened on June 13, 1914. A Geraldton Express article from 1915 states Geraldton’s third station, with its Federation Freestyle architecture, will be “an ornament to the town”. Geraldton’s original railway station on Marine Terrace was built in 1878, formed part of the Geraldton-Northampton line, and was the first railway station constructed on a government line in WA. The sale of the Chapman Road station is being done via expressions of interest, which will close on Thursday December 7.