Type : Station
Line : Murwillumbah Branch
Distance from Sydney : 908.182km
Location : -28.488101, 153.515407
Opened : 15 October 1922
Closed : 1972
Status : Closed
Name meaning : Aboriginal word for "the sun"
Notes : Construction name was Dirty Flat. The Up platform was 74 metres long, later reduced. On 30/9/1922 a sleeper built cream platform was built for the Dirty Flat Progress Association (two weeks prior to the formal opening). 1952 - platform reduced from 250' to 136'.
Loading bananas in the 1920s at Dirty Flat for delivery to Yelgun Station
Location of Yelgun platform (Six Maps)
Line near Yelgun, 1937 (State Archives)
3017 departing Yelgun (undated)
# Yelgun (Casino–Murwillumbah Branch)
## Entries from NSW Government Railways Weekly Notices, 1922–1972
---
**Type:** Station (Platform)
**Line:** Murwillumbah Branch (Casino–Murwillumbah)
**Distance from Sydney:** 908.182 km
**Mileage (Working TT):** Mileage 44.75 from Mullumbimby / 130 miles from Grafton
**Between:** Billinudgel and Crabbe's Creek
**Opened:** 15 October 1922 (as Yelgun); construction name "Dirty Flat"
**Closed:** 1972
**Status:** Closed
**Name meaning:** Aboriginal word for "the sun"
**Under control of:** Mullumbimby
---
> **Notes:** Construction name was Dirty Flat. The Up platform was originally 250 feet (74 metres) long, later reduced to 136 feet (approximately 41 metres — your figure of 13.1 metres may reflect a further later reduction not captured in the Weekly Notices). A sleeper-built cream platform was provided for the Dirty Flat Progress Association on 30 September 1922, two weeks before the formal opening of the station as Yelgun.
---
## 1922 — Opening
### Platform Opened — 15 October 1922
> **Yelgun (Grafton–Tweed Line) — Provision of Platform** — On Sunday, **15th October, 1922**, a new platform, **250 feet in length**, situated on the Up side of the line at **Mileage 44.75**, between Billinudgel and Crabbe's Creek, and known as **YELGUN**, will be brought into use.
>
> The regular Passenger trains will stop when required, to pick up and set down passengers.
>
> Parcels and Goods traffic for Yelgun must be dealt with under Platform and Siding conditions.
>
> **Yelgun will be under the control of Mullumbimby.**
*(Source: 1922 Weekly Notices)*
### Mileage for Rates Purposes
> **Yelgun (Grafton–Tweed Line)** — The mileage for Rates purposes is **130 miles from Grafton**.
>
> Page 91 of the Passenger Fares and Coaching Rates Book, and pages 115 and 133 of the Merchandise and Livestock Rates Book to also be posted accordingly. (22–31,401.)
*(Source: 1922 Weekly Notices)*
---
## 1923 — Confirmed Under Control of Mullumbimby
### Mullumbimby Continues to Control Yelgun
> Since 18th October, 1923, an adult Porter is in charge at Billinudgel and that Station opened as a Booking Station for Coaching and Goods traffic. **Mullumbimby will continue to control Yelgun**, Crabbe's Creek and Mooball Sidings.
*(W.N. 46–1923)*
> **Note:** This confirms that even after Billinudgel was upgraded to a staffed Booking Station in October 1923, Yelgun remained under Mullumbimby's administrative control rather than being transferred to the now-staffed and much closer Billinudgel.
---
## 1925 — Cream Traffic; Working Allowances
### Cream Lifted from Yelgun
> No. 35 is timed at Mixed speed and conveys traffic from Lismore for Bangalow, Byron Bay, Mullumbimby, Burringbar, and Murwillumbah; lifts cream at Mooball and **all intermediate stations and sidings from Yelgun to Dunbible, inclusive**, for Murwillumbah.
*(Source: 1925 Weekly Notices — repeated in multiple issues)*
> **Note:** This confirms Yelgun's primary economic function was cream traffic — consistent with its origin as a platform built for the local Progress Association to serve dairy farmers in the district.
---
## 1931 — Working Time Allowances
### Cream Train — 5 Minutes Allowed at Yelgun
> No. 57 is timed at limited speed (75 per cent of full load), and lifts Cream traffic from **Yelgun to Dunbible inclusive**, and is allowed **5 minutes Yelgun**, 4 minutes Crabbe's Creek, 8 minutes Mooball, 5 minutes Upper Burringbar, 5 minutes Stoker's, and 3 minutes Dunbible for work.
*(Source: 1931 Weekly Notices)*
### Down and Up Goods — 2 Minutes Allowed
> No. 50 (Up goods) is allowed: ... 2 minutes **Yelgun**, 12 minutes Billinudgel ...
>
> No. 59 (Down goods) is allowed: ... 10 minutes Billinudgel, **2 minutes Yelgun**, 3 minutes Crabbe's Creek ...
*(Source: 1931 Weekly Notices)*
---
## 1932 — Listed in Station Sequence
### Station Sequence and Distance Table
> Station sequence: Mullumbimby, Billinudgel (P), **Yelgun (P)**, Crabbe's Creek (P), Mooball (P), Burringbar, Upper Burringbar (P), Stokers (P), Dunbible (P), Murwillumbah.
>
> Distance table: Billinudgel — 563 [miles]; **Yelgun (P) — 565 [miles]**; Crabbe's Creek — 567 [miles]; C.S.R. Co.'s Siding — 567 [miles]; Mooball — 569 [miles].
*(Source: 1932 Working Timetable listing)*
---
## 1951–1954 — Electoral and Shire Boundaries
### Shire of Byron — Yelgun as Boundary Marker
> **Shire of Byron — Yelgun to Nashua, inclusive.**
*(Source: 1951, 1952 and 1953 Weekly Notices — Electoral/Public Holiday schedules, repeated across multiple issues)*
### Shire of Byron — Billinudgel and Yelgun
> ... to Myocum, inclusive; **Billinudgel and Yelgun**.
*(Source: 1954 Weekly Notices)*
> **Note:** Yelgun's repeated appearance as a Shire of Byron boundary marker across multiple years confirms its administrative significance as a recognised locality, despite its modest railway facilities.
---
## 1952 — Platform Length Reduced
### Platform Shortened — 250 Feet to 136 Feet
> **Stations, Platforms and Sidings — Accommodation Provided — Yelgun (Casino–Murwillumbah)** — Delete **250** from column headed "Length of Passenger Platform" and insert **136** in lieu. (V. 51–2,228–3.)
*(W.N. 37–1952)*
> **Note:** This confirms the platform was shortened from its original 250 feet (76.2 m) to 136 feet (41.5 m) by 1952. Your notes record a further reduction to 13.1 metres, which may represent a later, more drastic reduction not separately documented in the Weekly Notices collection, or may reflect the final remaining stub of platform at the time of closure.
---
## 1958 — Speed Restriction on Billinudgel–Yelgun Bridge
### Steel Bridge Speed Restriction
> **Steel Bridge at Mileage [Billinudgel]–Yelgun. Bridge 564m. 04c. — 10 miles per hour.**
*(W.N. 14–1958)*
---
## 1962–1963 — Speed Board Sections
### Section Speed Boards
> **Billinudgel–Yelgun**: 564m 20c — 30 mph
> **Yelgun–Crabbe's Creek**: 564m 76c — 35 mph
*(Source: 1962 and 1963 Working Timetables — speed boards)*
### Bridge Restriction Deleted — 1963
> Delete: **Billinudgel–Yelgun** — Yelgun bridge at 564m 04c, 10 mph.
*(W.N. 1–1963)*
> **Note:** The deletion of the 10 mph bridge restriction in 1963 — just five years after it was imposed in 1958 — suggests bridge strengthening or replacement works were carried out in the intervening period.
---
## 1971 — Speed Board Reference
### Final Speed Board Listing
> **Billinudgel–Yelgun**: 564m 20c
> **Yelgun–Crabbe's Creek**: [continuing reference]
*(Source: 1971 Working Timetable — speed boards)*
---
## 1972 — Closed; Deleted from All Publications
### Yelgun Deleted from All Publications
> **Pages 241 to 244 inclusive** — Delete Yelgun and relevant particulars. *(W.N. 30–1972)*
>
> **Country Timetable** — Delete Yelgun and relevant particulars. (A. 1–72–57,804.) *(W.N. 30–1972)*
>
> **Page 105 — Grades at Stations, Platforms and Signal-boxes — Casino–Murwillumbah Branch** — Delete Yelgun and relevant particulars. (A. 1–72–57,804.) *(W.N. 30–1972)*
>
> **Page 191 — Stations and Platforms — Casino–Murwillumbah Branch** — Delete Yelgun and relative mileages. (C. 1–72–29,810.) *(W.N. 32–1972)*
>
> **Page 71** — Delete Yelgun. (C. 1–72–29,810.) *(W.N. 32–1972)*
*(W.N. 30 and 32–1972)*
> **Note:** Yelgun's closure and deletion from publications spans two Weekly Notices (30 and 32 of 1972), reflecting amendments needed across multiple separate publications — the Country Timetable, gradient tables, and station/mileage listings.
---
## Summary of Key Events
| Date | Event |
|------|-------|
| 30 September 1922 | Sleeper-built cream platform provided for Dirty Flat Progress Association |
| 15 October 1922 | **Platform formally opened as "Yelgun"** — 250 feet long, Up side, Mileage 44.75 (Source: 1922 Weekly Notices) |
| 1922 | Mileage for Rates purposes set at 130 miles from Grafton |
| 18 October 1923 | Confirmed remaining under control of Mullumbimby despite Billinudgel's upgrade to Booking Station (W.N. 46–1923) |
| 1925 | Cream traffic lifted from Yelgun to Dunbible inclusive |
| 1931 | 2–5 minutes allowed for goods/cream work depending on train |
| 1932 | Listed as platform (P) at distance 565 miles |
| 1951–1954 | Used as Shire of Byron boundary marker in multiple Electoral schedules |
| W.N. 37–1952 | **Platform shortened from 250 feet to 136 feet** |
| W.N. 14–1958 | 10 mph speed restriction imposed on steel bridge at 564m 04c (Billinudgel–Yelgun) |
| W.N. 1–1963 | Bridge speed restriction deleted (bridge presumably strengthened/replaced) |
| 1972 | **Closed** — deleted from all publications (W.N. 30 and 32–1972) |
---
*Extracted from NSW Government Railways Weekly Notices, 1922–1972.*