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The old Railway Goods Shed
home of The Steam Exchange Brewery.
Historically railway goods sheds have been of stone construction. Timber railway goods sheds are relatively uncommon in South Australia making the Goolwa Railway Goods Shed a unique element within the historic Goolwa Wharf and the Goolwa State Heritage Area. While the Shed itself has been witness to many changes the sturdy frame has withstood the test of time.
The Shed’s robust frame consists of timber, clad in corrogated galvanised iron and trimmed with moulded oregon fascias and barges. Its hardwood frame supports heavy oregon trusses that form a typical gable style roof with purpose made cast iron collars. The trusses have an impressive single length of 52’ (15.6 metre) oregon beams that are tied down with wrought iron straps. The integrity of the building is still sound and is a tribute to the workmanship of a bygone era. Some of the striking visual features of the building include the large arched head timber louvre located in the northern gable end and the railway doors. These doors are heavy framed timber, mortice and tenoned with distinctive diagonal boarding.
The Railway Goods Shed was a pivotal point between a wharf and rail and its significance in the trading of goods cannot be underestimated. While the original Goolwa Wharf was built in 1852, extended in 1866 and rebuilt in 1874 to handle the growing river trade, the building of the Goods Shed was relatively late.
James Shaw Harding constructed the Railway Goods Shed in 1879. The shed was originally 13 bays long and was built straddling one of the early horse tram lines. In its original location, the tramway track ran through the centre of the goods shed with a platform on both sides. A sliding door on each side allowed the transfer of goods to drays.
In 1914 the shed was relocated to its current position where now stands parallel with a new line layout and the wharf. The sliding doors were relocated to the river side allowing direct loading from the roadway. The goods siding ran down the other side of the building with a large single platform occupying the remainder of the shed. In 1962 the shed was reduced to its current length of 8 bays.
Regional railways began to suffer a slow decline throughout the latter half of the 20th century as road transport improved. The goods service from Adelaide to Victor Harbor ended in 1980 and last regular passenger train service was in 1984.
After commercial services closed, the SteamRanger group continued to maintain the lines for historical tourist trains. SteamRanger used the shed for storage and maintenance up until 2003, until the condition of the roof and wall cladding deteriorated to the point of being unserviceable. From 2003 to 2005 the building remained vacant. Restoration of the building began in April 2005 in preparation for the installation of the Steam Exchange Brewery.
Reference:
Habitable Places Architects, 2003, Goolwa Wharf Goods Shed Heritage and Design Report