The Lifeblood of Regional New South Wales

Many small regional towns were heavily dependent on the railways for their economic prosperity and growth.

From the mid-1850s, the railway system expanded at a rapid rate within Australia, particularly in the colonies of New South Wales and Victoria. The railways linked the separate colonies and had a direct impact on the phenomenal growth of population and prosperity in regional Australian towns. Culcairn is one of those towns that was significantly impacted by the great railway expansion of the 19th century.

In 1878 the construction of the Wagga Wagga to Albury line of the Great Southern Railway was awarded to George Cornwell and F. Mixner. The line contributed to huge industrial and population growth within the Riverina, as evidenced by the founding of six new towns upon completion of its construction in 1881. Culcairn Railway Station became an important rail junction and required a large resident workforce, making it a major employer for the town. 

The rail system supported the growth of rural industries within Culcairn. Railways were the arteries connecting the country and the cities, and carried grain, coal, wool and milk cheaply and efficiently. This resulted in a surge of infrastructure development within small towns, including Culcairn, such as accommodation, schools, meeting halls and hotels.

During World War I – and, later, World War II – rail transport was the main means of shipping service personnel and military equipment around the country. In the later years of the First World War, there was a growing need for railwaymen to enlist, to maintain the overseas railways used for the movement of troops and supplies.

Before the railway gauges were standardised in the early 1960s, passengers travelling between Sydney and Melbourne were required to change trains at Albury. Wartime troops in transit to and from the many camps in the region added to the throng on the platform. When the train rolled into the station, 500 or so soldiers would alight to send telegrams to their loved ones or to take refreshments. Following the First World War, railway stations came to signify the reunion of returning soldiers with their families and those dearest to them. 

The decreasing use of rail as a means for both passenger and goods transport in the 1960s and 1970s directly resulted in a population decrease in small rural towns, including in Culcairn whose economy was heavily reliant on rail.