History of Wondabyne

Whenever a Sydney train goes either to or from Woy-Woy, it goes past the small station of Wondabyne.

Most people never stop there, but the station has an interesting history.

Here are some facts about this station:

The Wondabyne rail stop was named after Mt Wondabyne, located adjacent to the station across the bay, known as Mullet River or Mullet Creek.

It was originally built in 1889 for quarry use only and known as Mullet Creek Station.

It was later renamed Hawkesbury Cabin station, then finally Wondabyne.

Wondabyne shares the same postcode as Woy Woy, 2256.

The Australia Post Delivery Centre responsible for delivery to this area is Woy Woy Post Office.

You can reach this station in four ways:

By boat to the public wharf adjacent to the station

By walking along the Great North Walk and taking the turnoff to Wondabyne. The walk from the Mt White RTA Inspection Station takes two hours.

By rail, less than 15 minutes from Woy Woy

By public floating water airplane from Rose Bay.

The house next to the station was originally built for the quarry manager, but is now leased to a family.

There are also a number of "squatter" houses along a few of the creeks and can be seen from the train, which used to be fishermen's huts.

As all these leased houses are in a National Park, and under NSW law they cannot be bought or sold, but can only be occupied by other members of a family.

Wondabyne is one of the few railway stations within a National Park, Brisbane Water NP in this case.

The others include Como on the Southern Line, and Zig-Zag on the Blue Mountains Line.

Express services will not stop here, and for other services the guard must be notified to have the train stop.

The stop is less than the length of a carriage, and is one of the shortest platforms on the network.

The Wondabyne Sculpture Symposium featuring sandstone sculptures by Bruce Copping and 11 other sculptors from six different nations was undertaken along the foreshore area near the railway stop.

Due to access and liability issues, they were relocated to the then-new Mt Penang Parklands in 2004 and are still there.

You can see photos of the sculptures on the internet at http://www.pbase.com/lisalent/wondabyne_sculpture_park

The Wondabyne Quarry next to the station is owned by Gosford Quarries.

In 2000, Wondabyne stone was quarried from this site for the St Marys Cathedral spire renewal project in Sydney.

Matching yellow discoursed sandstone was not available from any other site.

In 1889, there used to be a pub at Wondabyne called "The Centennial", which closed in 1891, a short time after the original Hawkesbury River Bridge opened.

There used to be a steam-boat ferry in 1889 that took people from this station to Brooklyn.

Pindar Caves are located 15 minutes walk up the hill behind the railway stop.

You can also join the Great North Walk here.

Fishing off the public floating pontoon near the station is renowned for good catches of bream and mullet.

Being a very popular bushwalking spot, a number of university walking clubs use this stop, as well as Scouts and Guides.

Alex Portnoy, April 4