32-731: The Midland Railway Workshops in Midland , Western Australia , were the main workshops for the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) for over 80 years, (1904-1994). The first railway workshops in Western Australia were located at Fremantle and shifted to Midland in 1904. The Midland Railway Workshops were involved with all WAGR rolling stock and engine construction and maintenance. Steam engines continued to operate on mainline service until 1971, and all major maintenance occurred at
64-492: A Catholic not-for-profit health care group, serving communities with hospitals, home nursing, and social outreach services throughout Australia, New Zealand and the wider Asia-Pacific region. Since 1954 the Midland area has been served by Swan District Hospital , which initially opened as a maternity hospital, and expanded to a general hospital in 1963. The hospital was further developed in 1971 and 2001. In September 2005,
96-440: A centre was not followed. George Alfred Julius , inventor of the automatic totalisator , was a premium apprentice here in the early years of the 20th century, before moving to Sydney and co-founding his own engineering partnership. Midland, Western Australia Midland is a suburb and historic town of Perth , Western Australia , located 15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of Perth's central business district. It
128-613: A portion of the former workshops site. The section of the workshop area to the east of the main railway buildings has been demolished to make way for projects which the Midland Redevelopment Authority has earmarked for further development. The main buildings in the middle of the workshop area remain. In 2001 and 2004 the Heritage strategy for the Midland Central redevelopment area was produced by
160-558: A private operator, under a public-private partnership. Expressions of interest were called for in October 2010, with St John of God Health Care announced as the campus operator on 14 June 2012. St John of God Health Care's plan included a 60-bed private hospital, which some shared services with a 307-bed public hospital. Construction began in August 2012, and the hospital opened on 24 November 2015 with Swan District Hospital closing at
192-552: Is a health care facility in Midland, Western Australia which opened in November 2015. St John of God Health Care built and operates the hospitals under a public-private partnership with the Western Australian state government . St John of God Midland Public Hospital has replaced the nearby Swan District Hospital . St John of God Midland Public and Private Hospitals are divisions of St John of God Health Care,
224-469: Is being re-developed in part by the Midland Redevelopment Authority, which is organising redevelopment of the Railway Workshops site. Although some museum and storage facilities are being developed at the old workshops site, most of the massive railway superstructure and presence in Midland has gone. The Redevelopment Authority has under its act been vested with lands that do not fully encompass
256-526: Is currently undergoing revitalisation and redevelopment with mixed use commercial and residential property providing the main focus. Midland's townsite is based around both Great Eastern Highway , which carries east bound traffic, and Victoria Street, which carries westbound traffic. It is possible to transfer from one to the other via the Padbury Terrace intersection to access Great Eastern Highway from Victoria Street, or use Helena Street to complete
288-608: Is the administrative seat and commercial centre of the City of Swan local government area. It is also a designated strategic metropolitan centre for the larger Perth metropolitan area. Midland was the site of the Midland Railway Workshops - the main workshops for the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) for over 80 years. It was also a terminus for the Midland Railway Company . At
320-601: The Richard Court Liberal Party (conservative) State Government announced that the workshops would be eventually closed. A number of protests and rallies were held to save the workshops, but they were not successful. On 4 March 1994, the remaining workers assembled at the traditional workshops meeting area, the flagpole. Long-time employee and timekeeper, Kevin Mountain lowered the Australian flag for
352-543: The 1970s the development of Midland Gate Shopping Centre completely changed the focus of the community, with businesses traditionally within walking distance of the Post Office and Railway Station closing down or shifting over the following decades. The re-development of the Midland Gate Shopping Centre has reasserted the car oriented nature of the regional centre, and the old centre of Midland
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#1732772805605384-735: The Lloyd Street railway crossing - a large Harvey Norman store was opened in 2005 on the corner of Clayton and Lloyd Streets. Parts of the Midland Railway Workshops site are home to a large Western Australian Police Operations Centre, Curtin University ’s Midland Campus, as well as other projects. The Coal Storage dam at the western side of the Workshops has become an ornamental lake adjacent to residential redevelopment called 'Woodbridge Lakes'. In November 2005
416-416: The Midland Redevelopment Authority. It identified railway workshops' "zones of significance" and assessed and considered as important heritage items more than 40 structures and areas including: In 2004, the possibility of a railway heritage centre based in part of the workshops was investigated by the Midland Redevelopment Authority, following public meetings and consultation. However, the possibility of such
448-644: The Mundaring Loop - or the original Eastern Railway (Western Australia) , which went through Mundaring , Glen Forrest and Darlington . Until 1949 the passenger service to Kalamunda on the Upper Darling Range railway was still operating via the 'Zig Zag' at Gooseberry Hill to Midland. Midland Junction developed around the Town Hall (1906) and Post Office (1913) sites and spread slowly east and north for over 70 years. The centrality of
480-591: The State Government announced plans to construct a 326-bed hospital on the site of the old railway workshops. The new hospital, to replace the aging Swan District Hospital , was predicted to be open by 2011 at a cost of A$ 182.7 million. The hospital was opened on 20 November 2015 by Premier Colin Barnett , with operations beginning on 24 November. St John of God Midland Public and Private Hospitals St John of God Midland Public and Private Hospitals
512-564: The Woodbridge Lakes housing estate near the site prompted environmental studies of the heavy metals and sludge within the dam. The dam has been retained for its heritage value as a water feature, with some of the area comprising public open space. At the courtyard entrance to the workshops is a Memorial to Fallen Soldiers. The memorial commemorates the 70 railway workers who enlisted from the workshops and died in World War I . It
544-587: The age of the townsite, it has taken on a modern character which blends seamlessly with the original and it is the main port of call for eastern travellers who do not bypass the historical area via Roe Highway. Bus routes serving Great Eastern Highway and Victoria Street: Bus routes serving Great Eastern Highway , Victoria Street, Lloyd Street, Clayton Street and Military Road: Bus routes serving Helena Street, The Crescent and Morrison Road : Bus routes serving Helena Street, The Crescent, Hamersley Street, Margaret Street and Great Northern Highway : It currently
576-683: The end of the Second World War it was the junction of the Midland Railway, the Upper Darling Range railway , and the main Eastern Railway . The Transperth suburban railway system currently has a terminus at Midland station . Until 1966 the earlier railway station at Midland was the connecting location for trains to Bellevue and then onto Chidlow . Prior to 1954 it included the passenger service from
608-419: The government to cancel the contract with St John of God Health Care. Subsequently, the government revealed that termination, sterilisation, and contraceptive procedures would be performed by another service provider within the public hospital. Assisted reproductive technology, which was not offered at Swan District Hospital, remained at King Edward Memorial Hospital . St John of God Social Outreach provides
640-421: The last time, ending not only his career but 90 years of Western Australian railway history. Located at the far western end of the workshops site is a 200 by 50 metres (660 by 160 ft) dam. Initially created as a storage dam for water supplies in the late 1890s, it was increased in size in 1947 for coal storage. A treatment plant built on the site in 1974 used the dam to discharge wastewater. Development of
672-567: The main services, and the unusual presence of the Midland Railway Company sheds and yard directly adjacent to the Town Hall and Post Office, combined with the Government Railway Workshops, gave a focused sense of location to the commercial centre, and the local residences. The commercialisation of Great Eastern Highway roadfront residential properties to Bellevue was not complete before the 1990s. In
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#1732772805605704-419: The reverse. Cale Street which forms the perimeter of the Midland Gate Shopping Centre also provides this access. The townsite is lively and becoming increasingly busy attracting commuters from a wide surrounding area. Commercial and retail trade has been expanded further east on Great Eastern Highway. Continuing development in commercial and residential property within the original townsite means that despite
736-824: The same time. Curtin University has commenced construction of a new medical campus to be based near St John of God Midland Public and Private Hospitals. The campus is expected to be operational by late 2019. Midland Public Hospital provides a range of medical and surgical services. The public hospital includes an emergency department, critical care unit, maternity unit, neonatology unit, paediatric unit, mental health unit, and various clinical support services. The private hospital provides specialist medical and surgical care for both inpatients and day surgery patients. St John of God Health Care, in accordance with its Catholic values, will not provide some procedures and services, including abortion , sterilisation , contraception , and assisted reproductive technology . In April 2012,
768-499: The state government expected that this would affect approximately 250 out of 29,000 patients in the hospital's first year after opening. Terry O'Gorman , president of the Australian Council for Civil Liberties , said that this would compromise the principle of secular public services, and called for contract conditions to require patients to be referred elsewhere. The Opposition's health spokesman, Roger Cook , called for
800-457: The then Health Minister Jim McGinty announced that the hospital would be upgraded to a 326-bed general hospital, either through redevelopment of the existing campus, or construction of a new campus in Midland. He confirmed in November 2005 that a new hospital would be built at the site of the former Midland Railway Workshops . In March 2010 Health Minister Kim Hames confirmed that the new $ 360 million Midland Health Campus would be provided by
832-632: The whole 'old town' of Midland, but only parts of it. The Midland Saleyards which are at the eastern end of the Railway Workshop site have been in the process of closing and all the related businesses and properties are in the process of being relocated and redeveloped. The Midland Military Markets at the northern edge of the Midland Saleyards - literally utilised an old Military site for a weekend market. The markets were destroyed by fire on 25 April 2007. Not far west and adjacent to
864-555: The workshops for a very limited period of time – narrow gauge access to the workshops from the main railway line was re-instated in mid-2004, and effectively ceased in late 2007. The Midland Redevelopment Authority (MRA) appears to have removed the workshops from any significant working rail heritage status. Until late 2007 the Australian Railway Historical Society had performed restoration work and housed part of their collection in
896-524: The workshops for storage of the new B series railcars upon delivery from Queensland until bogie exchanges from standard gauge to narrow gauge could take place, at which time the cars were moved to either the Claisebrook or Nowergup depots. Despite its disinterest in supporting working rail heritage to continue at the workshops, the MRA has produced an undated pamphlet that gives a brief overview of
928-683: The workshops history, which is derived from various sources including the Midland Railway Workshops Site Conservation Policy of 1994 produced by Heritage and Conservation Professionals. The eastern end of the workshops site has already been developed into a bulky goods retail area and the Western Australian Police Operations Centre has incorporated the former Flanging Shop into their centre. The St John of God Midland Public and Private Hospitals also occupy
960-578: The workshops. South Spur Rail Services used to occupy several roads, in part due to their association with the Spirit of the West restaurant train that was stabled in the workshops; they have since moved to an area closer to Bellevue and the Roe Highway overpass. Transwa used the workshops for storage of the new Prospector and Avonlink railcars during their trials. Likewise, Transperth used
992-485: The workshops. Generations of workers at the workshops had considerable numbers of European migrants who arrived in Australia with limited English language, and there were significant groups of Italian migrants in the workforce. The workforce of the workshops had a rich history and, since closing, there have been projects to record oral history and collect information about the place and people involved. In April 1993,
Midland Railway Workshops - Misplaced Pages Continue
1024-534: Was unveiled in 1925. A further 25 men who lost their lives in World War II were later added to the memorial. The figure of Peace atop the memorial was the work of Pietro Porcelli . The memorial reads "In enduring commemoration of the loyalty devotion and sacrifice of workshop comrades who fell in the Great War 1914–1918. These our glorious dead. Erected by their fellow employees." Recent years saw use of
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