Emma Pritchard

Senior members of the Glenreagh Rail and Station Preservation Society (GRASPS) met with representatives from the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) on August 30 to discuss and identify the best and safest options available to progress in their ambitions to save and preserve a historically significant building.

Constructed more than a century ago, the Glenreagh Railway Station Precinct has a long and illustrious history.

Opened in 1915, it serviced the North Coast Line and the Dorrigo Line for more than 50 years, uniting communities across the Orara Valley and the Clarence Valley, and connecting them to metropolitan services.

While the simple weatherboard structure sits forlorn, empty, and in a state of disrepair in 2022, its iconic status as the only wooden station with an island platform in the state, makes it a remarkable piece of local infrastructure.

GRASPS President Brian Leedham said the Glenreagh Railway Station Precinct will be 107 years old on October 12, and it is vital the structure and its unique history is saved.

Mr Leedham also revealed further information regarding the meeting last week will be made available to the public in due course, and he confirmed both groups engaged in “a really good conversation.”

“We (GRASPS) feel some progress has been made,” he said.

“We want to save the station, and that has always been our goal.”

In a recent statement posted on their Facebook page, GRASPS revealed the meeting with ARTC representatives was “very positive”, with legal and moral safety issues discussed at length, along with several proposals to overcome the aforementioned obstacles efficiently and effectively.

Senior GRASPS members said they participated in a “good discussion” with ARTC, and three separate plans had been outlaid as both groups look ahead to the future.

The Clarence Valley Independent will continue to provide updates as soon as more information becomes available.