Oi mate, to spot Museum railway station, keep your peepers open for a sandstone entryway at the corner of Elizabeth and Liverpool Streets, or right across from Hyde Park South-just look for the vintage “MUSEUM” roundel signs, cream tiles with maroon highlights, and a structure that looks like it’s popped outta old London or Paris!
Alrighty, take a squiz around-reckon you’re standing on a slice of Sydney’s hidden history here, right above the country’s first ever underground railway station! Now, back in the late 1800s, if you hopped off a train, you’d have to slog it on foot or catch a clattery old tram to get into the city centre, which was packed tighter than a tin of sardines. The streets were chokkers every morning-imagine the hustle and bustle, horse-drawn trams, smoke, the lot. For decades, there were wild plans to tunnel under the city, but every time the bigwigs were close to cracking it, someone chucked a spanner in the works-change of government, moaning about tram noise, fights over Hyde Park land, or just plain old penny-pinching!
Now, push on to 1915, and in barrels Dr John Bradfield-bit of a legend, he was. After gallivanting around Europe and New York, he cooked up this wild scheme: underground stations, electric trains, tunnels, and even dares to dream about a Harbour Bridge. People thought he was bonkers! Sydney had about 800,000 punters by then, so he reckoned we needed a slick, modern city railway. They said “nah, too pricey!” but Bradfield wasn’t one to chuck a wobbly and walk away; he talked up his grand plan everywhere he could. Honestly, if Bradfield did a sausage sizzle, he’d be chatting train tunnels while handing you a snag.
By the early twenties, they started digging this very tunnel you’re standing near. Picture it: whole crowds of stickybeaks gathered in Hyde Park to watch the diggers at work-big “cut and cover” trenches, mountains of earth, steam and sweat everywhere. Imagine the rattle of shovels, the clang of steel beams, and the buzz of Sydneysiders crowding round to peek at the wonders below. All up, cost more than two million quid-not bad in 1920s cash!
They built Museum station in the Inter-War Stripped Classical style, with those creamy tiles and maroon stripes, and arches over the two platforms-a nod to the London Tube but with a whiff of Paris Métro classiness, minus the pigeons. Have a little squiz at the signs: those roundels? Bit of a wink to London, but altogether Sydney’s own. Oh, and they almost named the place Liverpool Street station, but figured “Museum” was snazzier since the Australian Museum is just up the road.
Museum station’s mate, St James (which we’ll see soon), actually has two tunnels they never used for trains-back in World War II, turns out they became makeshift air raid shelters. Blokes and sheilas would dash underground during air raids, hearts thumping as the city rattled above.
The station opened with a bang in December 1926. The joint was so packed in the first few weeks, newspapers joked families came to see “Dr Bradfield’s super Christmas box.” Sure, not all his epic plans got built, but you couldn’t wipe the grin off folks’ faces as those first trains rolled in. For yonks, Museum and St James were full of commuters, until the City Circle loop opened in 1956 and trains could get round without reversing.
Bit of a treat too-the interiors have mostly stayed original, right down to the period adverts and metal stair railings. There’s even a bit of old-school flair left in the sandstone entry building; it’s one of just two leftovers of its kind. And, if you cop a look at the portals and tiles, that’s the “stripped classical” style through and through-simple, strong, but still sharp as a tack.
So stand here, feel the cool air puffing up from the tunnels, the distant rumble of the trains, and think about the sheer grit, hope, and good-old Aussie stubbornness that got this thing built. From crowded trams to sleek electric trains in less than a century-now that’s classic Sydney, mate. Ready for the next stop? Let’s leg it!
For a more comprehensive understanding of the design, platforms and services or the gallery, engage with me in the chat section below.
