Shire of Brookton decision to award $2m tender to restore Brookton heritage railway station met with silence

After three years of heated debate, the Shire of Brookton has finally awarded the tender to refurbish its heritage railway station, but the once-vocal community which fought to save it has fallen silent, says the chief executive. At the shire’s August 21 meeting, councillors selected Budo Group’s $2m tender to restore the 98-year-old Brookton Railway Station. Built in 1927, the heritage-listed station requires a complete internal and external refurbishment, suffering from severe white ant damage that has destroyed the base and structural integrity of the building. The awarding of the tender follows nearly three years of controversy in the town. Councillors first voted to restore the precinct in January 2022. They reviewed three tenders ranging from $1.4m to $1.98m to complete the refurbishment’s first stage in September 2024, before backtracking later that month, saying the project was financially unviable. The council voted instead to demolish the station. This revocation sparked community uproar and a 1949-signature petition, which eventually put the station’s restoration back on the council’s agenda for its November 7 special meeting. Shire of Brookton chief executive Gary Sherry said to his surprise, the community response to the restoration announcement had been practically non-existent. “We’ve been keeping the community informed of the process but there hasn’t been any rush of support or opposition,” he said. “We had a number of people in the gallery at the council meeting, but there wasn’t a question about the railway station or tender.” He said the railway station would be “essentially brand new” but assured construction plans focused on maintaining the heritage style. “We’re having a different entrance to one of the buildings, but by and large we’ll be keeping the entire heritage fabric of the overall building,” he said. “It’ll be the same style with as much of the existing material as we can keep, and what we can’t keep we will build from the same material in a similar style.” Despite the silence, Mr Sherry confirmed the Brookton Railway Station was locked in for restoration. “We are now firmly heading towards the refurbishment and restoration of the station,” he said. Once a construction start date is confirmed, the repairs are expected to take eight months to complete.