THE CAMPAIGN FOR A RAILWAY STATION
The campaign for a railway station between Surrey Hills and Box Hill began in 1885, two years after the Surrey Hills station and three years after the Box Hill stations were opened. The location for the new station was originally proposed on Elgar Rd (on the western side of Elgar Rd) where the current train bridge is located.
At this time Melbourne was nearing the end of the ‘real estate boom’. Since the gold rush of the early 1850’s money had been pouring into Melbourne from banks and investors in England and other countries. The state’s population was growing, foreign and local banks were building branches, manufacturing industries were increasing, railways were expanding and grand public buildings and hotels, theatres and mansions were being built. In Surrey Hills, Mont Albert and Box Hill land speculators were busy subdividing land to sell.
There appears to have been a number of campaigns and protracted negotiations over a number of years regarding the construction of a station on Elgar Rd and covering costs, design and whether it was even needed.
In an article on July 7 1885 in The Herald newspaper in regard to a council meeting mentions that a petition was received by the Nunawading Shire council ‘intimating that a request had been made to the Railway department for a flag station at Elgar road, and asking the Council for its support’. The councillors did not support the proposal as ‘The president said these parties had opposed the request of the Council for a footway along the line from Elgar Road, and now they had the impertinence to ask for their cooperation’. Cr. Witt also stated ‘That this Council is of opinion that the footway from Elgar road to Box Hill station would have afforded sufficient facilities for the residents in that locality, but as a flag station has been applied for, the Council declines to interfere with the same being granted’.
At another meeting later in July it was reported in The Age newspaper that a meeting had taken place at the Railway Department in regard to a proposal for a flag station on Elgar Rd. The meeting was attended by Mr Keys M.L.A, a deputation of Box Hill residents and the Railway Commissioners. At the meeting the deputation presented a petition in support of their request. It was also stated that the Box Hill Shire ‘was opposed to the request on the ground that a flag station was not necessary’. Mr Keys mentioned ‘that a resolution to that effect was carried by personal influence and was therefore not a correct estimate of the desire of the residents. He further explained that the residents were prepared to contribute £100 towards the erection of the station’. The Railway Commissioners stated that Elgar Rd was ‘only half a mile from, the Box Hill station’ and ‘that they would consider the request on its merits’.
In The History of Mont Albert Shopping Centre 1887-1985 by Mona Webster published in 1986, she mentions:
‘of the 1887 plan for a subdivision of the Phoenix Park Estate, an area of land lying between the railway line, which was constructed only five years earlier, and the existing Mount (sic) Albert Road.
At that time the land was open paddocks owned by three gentlemen whose names were McKirdy, Andrew and Dunn’.
They apparently wished to subdivide and sell it, and acted together in their efforts to do so. Their first problem was to ensure that there was transport to their proposed subdivision as there was then no nearby station on the railway line which, this side of Camberwell, was only single-tracked. Surrey Hills had not been opened as a railway station until 1883 as its position on the grade had been considered too dangerous for steam trains to stop and start there.
A reference in an estate agent's advertisement to "the proposed Elgar Road station" shows that alternative sites were being considered. There was also a report in the Argus in July 1885 of a deputation to the Commissioners asking for a station there on the eastern boundary of the former Elgars Survey.
However, the decision was made in favour of a site nearer to the Mount Albert Road level crossing ... The decision on the site of the station having been made, the residents were asked to select a name for it. ... The name [Mount Albert] was selected ... but when the station was built and opened on 18th August 1890, the name boards sent out from the [railway] workshops were found to read MONT ALBERT. Someone had blundered! They were erected just the same, and so Mont Albert it became ...’
James Dunn was a local resident and a large landowner who lived at the heritage protected house he built at 1 Lightfoot St, Mont Albert in c1885 and named it Dulverton - the house is still there. If you are interested you can read about James Dunn on the page titled Dulverton on the Whitehorse Heritage website.
The other members of the syndicate were James C Mckirdy and Frederick Andrew. James Mckirdy lived in Fitzroy and his occupation is listed as ‘traveller’ (salesman) and later as ‘law clerk’. In the 1892 directory Frederick Andrew is listed as living in Hamilton St, Mont Albert and his occupation is listed as ‘traveller’. Frederick and his family lived in Hamilton St until c1903.
By 1888 the Railway Commissioners still had not made a decision whether to build a flag station at Elgar Rd yet a ‘proposed station on Elgar Rd’ appeared in subdivision land sales flyer for the Warrington Heights subdivision in Mont Albert and Mont Albert North. In the same year another subdivision sales flyer for the Victoria Hill – Elgar Park subdivision mentions a ‘Proposed New Central Railway Station midway between Surrey Hills and Box Hill’. It appears at this time that the building of a new station between Surrey Hills and Box Hill was not a priority for the Railway Commissioners as they were focusing their attention on the construction of a second train line between Surrey Hills and Box Hill.
Around June 1889 the Surrey Hills Progress Association (SHPA) was formed by a group of local businessman and business owners. In July at a meeting with the Railway Commissioners the SHPA raised the issue of a new station between Surrey Hills and Box Hill. The Commissioners stated ‘that a provision would be made in the next estimates.’
By August 1889 at a meeting of the SHPA that was reported in The Reporter – Box Hill newspaper it mentions:
‘A movement is being set on foot for the purpose of getting a railway station erected between Surrey Hills and Box Hill. The movement has taken up with spirit, and at the present time about £1800* has been subscribed for the purpose. The promoters will have to provide the cost of erecting the station and working expenses for a year, and judging from the interest which has been taken this amount will be readily forthcoming. As the proposed new station will be of great service to the district, the Government cannot, we should think, place any obstacles in the way of its accomplishment. The Surrey Hills Progress Committee will meet on Thursday evening, when a number of measures will be discussed. All members are requested to attend.’ *$309,741 today.
In between the SHPA’s meetings in August and October 1889, the Railway Department decided to build the railway station, but it is interesting to note that there appears to be no newspaper advertisements asking for tenders for the building of the new station. They were advertising though for tenders to build goods sheds, platforms, footbridges, bridges, station master’s homes, gate keeper’s cottages, cattle yards, signal boxes, engine turntables to be used elsewhere in Melbourne and Victoria.
In October 1889 the Railway Department commenced the construction of the first new railway station building at the northern end of Hamilton St - not at Elgar Rd as had been requested by the SHPA and the Nunawading Shire council. The completion of the station was expected by March 1890 but it was not completed until July.
I have been unable to find any mention of who actually made the decision to locate and build the Mont Albert Station where it was eventually located, but in regard to the location of this new station the book The History of Mont Albert Shopping Centre 1887-1985 by Mona Webster mentions:
‘There was also a report in the Argus in July 1885 of a deputation to the Commissioners asking for a station there on the eastern boundary of the former Elgars Survey. However, the decision was made in favour of a site nearer to the Mount Albert Road level crossing ...’
It appears that there were three names put forward for the new station as an article in The Reporter - Box Hill in January 1890 mentions:
‘The Government is pushing on with the work of the new railway station midway between Box Hill and Surrey Hills. For some time past a difficulty arose regarding the name of the new station. Those who resided in Surrey Hills wanted to call it "Surrey Hills West," while the inhabitants of Box Hill were of the opinion that it should be known as "Box Hill East." Both parties have been pleased by calling it
"Hopetoun Station," in honor of the new governor’. Around this time the Hopetoun Park Estate subdivision on the south side of the railway line and between Elgar Rd and Thurston St, Box Hill was being advertised for sale.
In July 1890 the naming of the new station was decided by the Nunawading Shire council. The naming of the station appears in an article in The Reporter – Box Hill on July 11, 1890 and mentions:
‘At the meeting of the Nunawading Council a fortnight ago, a communication was received from the Commissioners asking the council to give a name to this station. In reply to that letter the council decided to call the station "Mount Albert Road’.
Originally the station was named Mount Albert Road but the new station signs that were delivered read Mont Albert Road. The Railway Commissioners requested that the Nunawading council to fix the name but it appears that they didn’t and it has been called Mont Albert ever since.
In the book The History of Mont Albert Shopping Centre 1887-1985 by Mona Webster she mentions:
‘the name boards sent out from the [railway] workshops were found to read MONT ALBERT. Someone had blundered! They were erected just the same, and so Mont Albert it became ...’
In July 1890 the first new station and building was completed. The completion of the station appears in an article in The Argus on July 12, 1890 and mentions:
‘The new railway station situated midway between Surrey Hills and Box Hill has been completed by the Railway Commissioners, but there is no sign of its being opened for traffic. It has been named by the Nunawading Council Mont Albert Road, the commissioners having requested the council to fix the name. This station, which has cost about £1000 was erected at the expense of a land syndicate. When the agreement was made between the commissioners and the syndicate nothing was said about the number of trains which were to stop, or whether any charge was to be made by the department for trains pulling up at the new station It transpires now that the Railway department will not allow any train to stop except upon a guarantee of 5s. for each train. The company cannot see its way to agree to this demand, and hence the delay in opening the Mont Albert road station. The land near the station would have been cut up into building allotments but for the collapse of the land boom, but at present there is no access to it except through private land and over numerous high fences’.
In August 1890 the Victorian Government published a notice in the Gazette stating that the Mont Albert station ‘on or after 11th August’… will open for passenger traffic’. As well as being used as a railway station it was also used by local pioneer John B Maling (who Maling Rd in Canterbury is named after) for sheep shearing.
It appears that since opening in August 1890 few trains were stopping at the Mont Albert station. An article in June 1891 in The Reporter – Box Hill mentions that at a council meeting Cr. Cooke suggested that the council should approach the Railway Department to grant them further concessions as well as getting more trains to stop at the Mont Albert station. It appears that the councils appeal to the Railway Department was successful as an article in August 1891 in The Reporter – Box Hill it mentions: ‘From the Railway Department stating that all ordinary trains would henceforth stop at Mont Albert station’.
The Surrey Hills Progress Association (SHPA).
The SHPA was formed around June 1889 as it appeared for the first time in the newspapers at that time. It was formed by a group of local businessman/residents which included Charles McDowall (president), P. B. Cooke, Henry Whiteley, Alexander Russell, William G McBeath, William C Taylor and William R Hawkins.
Charles McDowall lived in Surrey Hills and his occupation is listed as ‘estate agent’. In 1889 Charles ran as a candidate in the Boroondara council elections but he was not elected. In 1891 he ran as a candidate in the Nunawading Shire elections and was elected and served until 1894. McDowall St in Mitcham was named after him.
P. B. Cooke (also spelled Cook) lived on Windsor Cres, Surrey Hills and his occupation is listed as ‘operator’.
Henry Whiteley lived on Boundary Rd; Surrey Hills and his occupation is listed as ‘bootmaker’.
Alexander Russell lived at Clifton on Union Rd, Surrey Hills and his occupation is listed as ‘miller’.
William G McBeath lived on Mont Albert Rd, Canterbury and his occupation is listed as ‘agent’. In 1918 he was awarded a C.B.E and was then known as Sir William G McBeath. If you are interested in learning more about Sir William G McBeath, please click on the following link:
Biography - Sir William George McBeath - Australian Dictionary of Biography
Willian C Taylor lived on Mont Albert Rd, Canterbury and his occupation is listed as ‘commission agent’.
William R Hawkins lived on Suffolk Rd, Surrey Hills and later in Box Hill, his occupation is listed as ‘seedsman/nurseryman’. William Hawkins died in Box Hill in November, 1948 and in his obituary in The Age newspaper it mentions: ‘……was one of the State's best-known horticulturists……Mr. Hawkins was a foundation member of the Royal Horticultural Society and also the Nurserymen and Seedsmen's Association, with which he was associated for more than 60 years’.
In 1889 it appears that the patience of both the Boroondara and Nunawading Councils with the SHPA had run out. In an article on September 5, 1889 in The Reporter – Box Hill newspaper mentions:
‘IT seems from all appearances- that the Surrey Hills Progress Association is not going to work with the Councils in an amiable manner. The Nunawading and Boroondara Councils are of opinion that the Surrey Hills Progress Association is interfering with matters which rightly belong to the Council, and for the Association to presume to dictate to the councillors what they shall, or what they shall not do, is considered to be an impertinent act which the Councils…(missing words)…letter was received from the Association soliciting information about the water supply for the district. Cr. Rawlings he said was opposed to the secretary's time being taken up in replying to frivolous communications from that Association, who were evidently desirous of dictating to the Council, and he moved that the next business be proceeded with.
It will be seen from the above that so far as the Nunawading Council is concerned the Surrey Hills Progress Committee need not waste any more time in writing to that body, as the Council, even if it does not commit the epistles to the waste-paper basket, will not send a reply. The Association can do a deal of good if it is properly managed, but it is as plain as a pike staff that if it begins to interfere, or in any way comes in contact with the Councils, instead of being any benefit to the rate payers, the reverse will be the case. The Association has no " locus standi" and it cannot pass laws or motions which can have any effect upon the outside world. It is not recognised by law, it cannot be proceeded against as a public body, and it cannot be said to represent the general bulk of the ratepayers in the shire. If it incurs a debt, the individual members who incurred the responsibility are the persons who are the only ones that could be summoned to pay it. It is utterly powerless to remove a nuisance because it could not take action in a court of law; neither could they instruct the police to take action. In fact, it only possesses the power of any ordinary ratepayer, and if it goes beyond that it will exceed its duties, and do harm instead of good. Yet, rightly managed, the Association is useful. It can point out, to the Councillors what is wanted to be done, and assist the Councillors in the discharge of their duties; but as soon as it commences to take upon itself the onus of doing that which the Council should do, then rest assured it will do more harm than good. It is only right that such should be the case, because the members of the Association are not responsible for what they do, and when they commit an egregious blunder there is no one to bring them to book .
It is to be hoped that the Association will ponder these questions and think twice before it takes in important matters, as the Councils seem bent upon snubbing the Association as soon as it encroaches upon their functions’.
An article in The Herald newspaper on September 9, 1889 mentions that ‘A movement has been initiated at Surrey Hill for the formation of a separate municipality’. At a meeting on September 18 attended by members of the SHPA, councillors and members of the public, Charles McDowall put forward a ‘separation’ motion which failed but an amended motion by Mr Hansen was successful and read as follows ‘That this meeting considers it premature and is injudicious to take steps at the present time to form Surrey Hills into a separate shire or borough. Mr J.J. Underwood seconded the amendment’. The proposed separation movement was not heard of again.
There is no mention of the SHPA after September 1889 and this may indicate that it ceased operating. It did not reform until nearly 10 years later in July 1899 when it reappeared in the newspapers again as a new Surrey Hills Progress Association (SHPA) and by August it had raised a number of issues including the construction of new buildings at the Mont Albert station.
THE CAMPAIGN FOR NEW BUILDINGS AND A FOOTBRIDGE AT MONT ALBERT STATION
There appears to have been a number of campaigns and again protracted negotiations over a number of years regarding the construction of a footbridge and new buildings at the Mont Albert station. These negotiations again covered costs, design and whether it was even needed.
In October 1904 the first meeting was held at the Victorian Railways to discuss the issue of a footbridge being built at the Mont Albert station which was attended by representatives of the SHPA and the Nunawading Shire council.
The President of the Shire Cr. Andrew ‘asked that a subway or a footbridge over the line should be made at Mont Albert Station, to take the place of the present level crossing. The stations, he said, had not cost the Railway department anything in the first place, having been built by the money of the guarantors, and they thought on this account that they were entitled to some consideration’. In response to Cr. Andrew, the Commissioner ‘Mr Tait held out no hope of a subway, but said a bridge might be built at some future occasion.’
In 1910, after another six years of meetings between the SHPA, Nunawading Shire council and the Railway Department, plans for new buildings had been drawn up by the railways chief Architect I W Hardy.
In June 1910 the Railway Department placed an advertisement in The Argus newspaper for tenders for the construction of the new timber buildings at the Mont Albert station and the Railway Department announced that the tender had been awarded to the firm of F. E. Shillabeer. The original 1890 station building was demolished and the new station buildings were completed in 1911.
At the same time the new buildings were constructed, a wooden footbridge was relocated from Armadale and rebuilt at Mont Albert station. The City of Whitehorse Heritage Review - Building Citations 1999 that uses The History of Mont Albert Shopping Centre, 1887-1985 and Andrew Ward's original datasheet as sources mentions:
‘Also at this time, a footbridge which had been in use at Armadale Station for the previous ten years was re-erected at Mont Albert….’
This footbridge was on the western end of the station building and ran from Hamilton St on the southern side to Beresford St on the northern side. The footbridge was demolished in 1926 when the new subway was opened.
The firm of F. E. Shillabeer & Sons was a well-known Melbourne building company and was founded in 1890 by Frank E Shillabeer. The firm was responsible for the construction of a number of Melbourne’s iconic buildings including The Nicholas building at 37 Swanston Street and The Commercial Travellers Association building at 318 Flinders Street. The firm also secured government contracts for building the railway stations at Mont Albert, Canterbury, Woodend, Williamstown Beach and others as well as contracts for the building of factories such as the Footscray Woollen Mills, homes and churches.
In 2023, the 1911 built southern station building was restored and relocated to the newly built Mont Albert Village Plaza (over the new rail cutting) as part of the Level Crossing Removal Project and the building of the new Union Station.
THE CAMPAIGN FOR A SUBWAY AT MONT ALBERT STATION
The first reference to a subway at the Mont Albert station appears to have been made at a meeting that was attended by representatives of the SHPA, Councillors from the Nunawading Shire and the Railway Commissioners in 1904.
As has been mentioned, the President of the Shire Cr. Andrew ‘asked that a subway or a footbridge over the line should be made at Mont Albert Station, to take the place of the present level crossing. The stations, he said, had not cost the Railway department anything in the first place, having been built by the money of the guarantors, and they thought on this account that they were entitled to some consideration’. In response to Cr. Andrew the Commissioner ‘Mr Tait held out no hope of a subway, but said a bridge might be built at some future occasion….’ The Railway Department eventually decided to relocate the existing footbridge from Armadale to Mont Albert station around 1911.
There again appears to have been a number of campaigns and protracted negotiations over a number of years regarding the construction of a subway at the Mont Albert station.
It was not until 1922 that the SHPA (with the support of the Nunawading Shire council) began lobbying the Railway Department for a subway to be built at the Mont Albert station. In their arguments in support of the construction of a subway they mentioned that the elderly and children found it difficult to use the footbridge. Initially the Railway Department was hesitant in building a subway since there were numerous requests for subways and other infrastructure projects on the rail network around Melbourne and the state.
In 1923 it was announced that the railway ‘Commissioners would be glad to be advised whether the residents had considered the suggestion that they might make a contribution of £500 towards the cost of providing a subway, in which event the Commissioners promised to give further consideration to the matter’.
Finally, after another three more years of meetings the construction of the subway commenced in May 1926 and was completed around October. The final cost of the subway was £2430 which was made up by £1900 being paid by the Railway Department, £150 by the Box Hill council and £380 by the local residents.
In the Victorian Heritage Database Report Surrey Hills and Mont Albert Railway Stations Archaeological Precinct it mentions:
‘The overhead footbridge was replaced by a subway in 1926’.
The subway ran under the rail lines from Hamilton St on the southern side to Beresford St on the northern side.
A NEW PLATFORM AND THIRD LINE AT THE MONT ALBERT STATION
In 1971 the third track from East Camberwell was extended through Mont Albert station to Box Hill station. At the same time, the 1911 built northern ticket office building at the Mont Albert station was demolished to make way for the construction of a new northern island platform and building and was connected to the 1926 built subway by an open-air ramp.
THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THE MONT ALBERT STATION
In 2014 the Victorian Government announced that it would removing 50 level crossings around Melbourne. As of March 2025, 85 crossings have been removed and 48 train stations have been built or rebuilt as part of the project.
In December 2020 the Victorian Government announced that the level crossings at Union and Mont Albert Roads would be removed by 2023. The project involved the closure of both Mont Albert and nearby Surrey Hills stations to be replaced with a brand-new premium railway station between the two stations.
In 2021 both Paul Hamer MP for Box Hill and the Whitehorse Council sought public feedback in regard to how the Mont Albert station site would be developed. The feedback they received stated that station should be preserved and retained and used as part of a community hub/space.
Also, in 2021 the Victorian Government sought public input in finding a name for the new station. After 6000 submissions were received, five names were shortlisted. These were:
It was announced on March 23, 2022 by the Victorian Government that the new station will be named Union Station.
In a Media Release by Jacinta Allan the Minister for Transport in May 2022 mentions:
‘The new Union Station will include two entrances, stairwells and lifts, cycling and pedestrian connections through the local area, with thousands of plants, shrubs and grass and new play equipment for children.
Community consultation helped shape the final designs, and feedback was taken into account to ensure the look and feel of Union Station and new open space were in line with the heritage of Surrey Hills and Mont Albert.
This included rehoming the Mont Albert Station building close to its original position as part of a new heritage plaza that will be built over the rail corridor, and an additional 450 square metres of open space at Union Road to connect either side of Surrey Hills.’
On 17 February 2023, the last train departing from Mont Albert was the Belgrave-bound train at 20:37 and the station was permanently closed soon after for demolition (as was the Surrey Hills station). As part of the station redevelopment the 1911 built southern Mont Albert station building was removed, restored and later relocated to the northern side of the railway line where a new landscaped pedestrian plaza had been built over the new railway line and was named the Mont Albert Village Plaza.
If you would like to see the last trains passing through the Mont Albert and Surrey Hill stations please click on the link below:
The Last Trains at Surrey Hills and Mont Albert Stations - Metro Trains Melbourne
In May 2023 the new Union Station was opened.
There are plans underway to convert the relocated Mont Albert station building into a ‘social venture café’.
In June 2023 the Whitehorse Council advertised through Australian Tenders ‘Council is offering three premises for the operation of Social Enterprise Cafes (Harrow Street Carpark, Nunawading Community Hub and the Mont Albert Station Historical Building) …….’
In 2024 in an article in the Mont Albert Bulletin - 14 October 2024 update it mentions:
‘Mont Albert Station building - future use. In May, Whitehorse Council posted a Planning Permit (yellow) notice on the building advising proposed fit out and use as a social venture café. Council will be calling for a further round of Expressions of Interest (EOI) from potential proponents in November. With land rezoning and title transfers needing to happen before the building can be used it is unlikely to be in use for another year.
The fit-out plans are available from Council. They show the former waiting room that is currently open to the weather will be closed in to expand the available inside area. Several doors will be relocated to provide for greater amenity. There will be a public toilet at the other end of the building, maintained by Council. None of these proposed changes compromise the essential heritage values of the building.
The land title situation should have been investigated and the transfer process commenced as soon as the idea of re-purposing the building was mooted 2-3 years ago. It seems synchronous thinking and action by Council was not possible, despite direct recommendations to that effect by two local organisations two years ago’.
As of June 2025 the station building remains as it was when originally relocated by the Level Crossing Removal Project (LXRP).
The beautiful gardens around the Mont Albert Village Plaza have been planted and are maintained by volunteers from the Mont Albert Village Gardening Group and the area is fast becoming a local focal point where many events are taking place since its completion.
The story of the Mont Albert station building continues……
Sources:
© Whitehorse Heritage 2025