Historic Significance

Historical Significance or Value This historic place was registered under the Historic Places Act 1993. The following text is from the original Recommendation for Registration considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration. Historical/Social: The Clyde Railway Station served the small township of Clyde from 1907 to 1989. Since then it has been used by a local museum trust.

Physical Significance

This historic place was registered under the Historic Places Act 1993. The following text is from the original Recommendation for Registration considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration. Architectural: The Clyde Railway Station, 1907, is a good example of one of the 'new' standard station designs introduced by George Troup in 1904. The Clyde Station is what is known as a Troup period Type 'B' & 'C' design which was the new standard design for gable roof stations. This particular example has been confirmed by Paul Mahoney as having an original unaltered interior and, in this sense, the ability of the place to represent the type, and to enlarge our understanding of George Troup's standard designs, is considerably enhanced by this fact.

Detail Of Assessed Criteria

This historic place was registered under the Historic Places Act 1993. The following text is from the original Recommendation for Registration considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration. 23(2)(a) The extent to which the place reflects important or representative aspects of New Zealand history: The Clyde Railway Station's history is modest and is largely restricted to the role that it played in the development of the district. Nevertheless, it also has some representative value as an example of the sort of rural railway station that served the small communities along the often politically contentious Central Otago line. 23(2)(b) The association of the place with events, persons, or ideas of importance in New Zealand history: -Events: Construction of the line was an event in itself, reflecting the usual mix of economic pushes and political pulls. The station played no part in the major event of Clyde's history, the construction of the Clyde high dam, since a new station served that project until 1990 when the line was abandoned. -Persons: Acting premier John Hall was a local MHR and the opening of this station, while undoubtedly gratifying to him, is not known to have been a landmark event in his career or the history of the Liberal Government. The architect, 'Gingerbread' George Troup (1863-1941), is well known for his work on New Zealand railway stations. There is no indication that this station marked any turning point or was a significant achievement in his career. J.D. Mahoney's Down at the Station accords it only a one-line mention and does not illustrate the building. -Ideas: The construction of railway lines was a highly contentious issue in colonial New Zealand. The Central Otago line, debated from the 1870s onwards, commenced in 1879 and was finally completed 42 years later. 23(2)(c) The potential of the place to provide knowledge of New Zealand history. 23(2)(g) The technical accomplishment or value, or design of the place. DATE: 1907 ARCHITECT: George Troup STYLE CODE: DESIGN: The Clyde railway Station is another example of the Troup Period Type 'B' & 'C' stations, commonly referred to as Gable Stations. Distinguishing characteristics of the type found at Clyde are a long narrow building with flush gable ends; fireplaces set on the centreline of the building (two fireplaces sharing one chimney); windows but no door on the road frontage; decorative tied barge boards and finials at the gable ends (the Clyde Station has only one gable left with tied barge boards: originally both gables would have been tied - the finials have been removed); solid four panelled doors along the rail frontage under the verandah and vertical timber posts supporting the verandah, as distinct from railway iron used as cantilevers to support the verandah roof. The following information was included in the Recommendation for Registration considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration but the place was not registered under Section 23(2)(m). Such additional criteria not inconsistent with those in paragraphs (a) to (k). There are five good registered examples of Troup Type 'B' & 'C' stations - Waihi Railway Station, 1905, Cat II; Te Kuiti Railway Station, 1908, Cat II and Otorohanga Railway Station, 1924, Cat II. Waihi, Otaki and Glenhope also appear as 'B' classified stations in the Rail Heritage Trust listing. The above Troup Type 'B' & 'C' stations all vary slightly in their design as built from the standard set for these stations by Troup. As an illustration of this, Waihi, Otaki, Te Kuiti and Otorohanga (four out of our five registered examples) all boast decorative valances to the platform verandah canopy whereas the Clyde Station has none, and consequently has a very plain appearance. Some of the verandah canopies are ridged and have finials, as still may be found at Otaki and Te Kuiti, while other canopies are simply a lean-to as can be seen at Waihi and at Clyde. The decorated Type 'B' and 'C' stations, however, constitute the majority of our registered examples, but Paul Mahoney points out that the decorated examples were the exception rather than the rule with this type. Clyde Railway Station therefore represents the rule - the type that was commonly built, but of which we now have only this one example. From a purely regional perspective, Central Otago is represented by other examples of early railway stations. The Rail Heritage Trust classification list three 'B' classified buildings - Middlemarch Station Building, 1891; Wedderburn Station Building, 1900; and the Wingatui Station Building, 1914. For Central Otago , the Historic Places Trust has listed only the Wingatui Railway Station and Signal Box, Cat II. The question therefore is would registration of the Clyde Station extend our register, and the answer would have to be yes since we have listed only one other Central Otago example. The Clyde Station, however, could not be considered to be either regionally or nationally rare as an early station in view of both the RHT classifications and NZHPT registrations, but it can be considered to be a rare example of a plain Troup Type 'B' & 'C' station, and in this sense listing by us would extend our register by giving it a notable variation of the Troup type, as well as giving the register a better representation of old Central Otago railway stations. RECOMMENDATION: This station derives its significance principally for the role that it played in the history of Clyde and its surrounding district. The Rail Heritage Trust has not registered the station. Its registration criteria differ from those of the HPA by emphasising survival of original fabric over historical, social, cultural and other associations and by limiting its list to a small number of exceptional examples. The RHT considered that other survivors, especially the ones which existed alongside the operational railway tracks, better epitomised this station type. Paul Mahoney (pers. comment, 19 December 1996) acknowledged that Clyde is nevertheless largely authentic.