Nioka

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Type : Siding
Branch : Ballina Branch
Distance from Sydney : 864.338km
Location : Exact lat/long not known
Opened : May 1942
Closed : 12 January 1949
Status : Closed
Name meaning : After the property name, Nioka was a stud farm in the area (it went out of business in 1990).
Notes : An 8 foot loading race was constructed on the site (Down side) for the use a Mr W H Jones for the loading of fruit and produce in 1942. Nioka loading race opened May 1942 (W.N. 21–1942) between Tyumba and Teven on the Booyong Junction–Ballina Branch. An 8-foot loading race erected on the Down side at Mileage 537m 6c for Mr. W. H. Jones to load produce and fruit traffic. Controlled by Bexhill; siding and platform conditions; Power's Ordinary code 2899.

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General vicinity of Nioka siding on the Ballina branch

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# Nioka (Booyong Junction–Ballina Branch)
## Entries from NSW Government Railways Weekly Notices, 1942

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**Type:** Siding / Loading Race (Closed) 
**Line:** Booyong Junction–Ballina Branch 
**Distance from Sydney:** 864.338 km (Mileage **537m 6c** from Sydney; rates purposes **538 miles** from Darling Harbour / **438 miles** from Newcastle) 
**Location:** Between Tyumba and Teven — Down side at Mileage 537m 6c; exact coordinates unknown 
**Opened:** **May 1942** (per your notes; W.N. 21–1942) 
**Closed:** **12 January 1949** (per your notes; with closure of Ballina branch) 
**Status:** Closed 
**Name meaning:** Named after the Nioka stud farm property served (Nioka stud farm closed 1990 per your notes) 

### Infrastructure
**Loading race:** **8 feet long** — **Down side** of line at Mileage 537m 6c 
**Traffic:** Produce and fruit — for **Mr. W. H. Jones** 
**Working:** Under **siding and platform conditions** 
**Control:** **Bexhill** 
**Power's Code:** Ordinary **2899** 

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> **Notes:** Nioka loading race opened May 1942 (W.N. 21–1942) between Tyumba and Teven on the Booyong Junction–Ballina Branch. An 8-foot loading race erected on the Down side at Mileage 537m 6c for Mr. W. H. Jones to load produce and fruit traffic. Controlled by Bexhill; siding and platform conditions; Power's Ordinary code 2899. Notably established in the same period the branch was put out of use for regular passenger traffic (15 February 1942), suggesting continued use of the branch for produce haulage. Closed 12 January 1949 with the formal closure of the Ballina branch.

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## 1942 — Loading Race Opened — W.N. 21–1942

### Nioka — W.N. 21–1942
> **Page 64 — Nioka (between Tyumba and Teven, Booyong Junction–Ballina)** — A loading race, **8 feet long**, has been erected on the **Down side of the line at Mileage 537m 6c**, for **Mr. W. H. Jones**, and approval is given for **produce and fruit traffic** to be loaded at Mileage 537m 6c, which is to be known as **"Nioka."**
>
> The traffic from Nioka will be dealt with under **siding and platform conditions**, and controlled by **Bexhill**.
>
> **Mileage for Rates Purposes:** 
> From Darling Harbour — **538 miles** 
> From Newcastle — **438 miles**
>
> **Power's Freight Accounting:** 
> Ordinary traffic — **2899** *(W.N. 21–1942)*

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## Summary of Key Events

| Date | Event |
|------|-------|
| **15 February 1942** | Ballina branch put out of use for regular passenger traffic |
| **May 1942** | **Nioka loading race opened** — 8-foot race; Down side; Mileage 537m 6c; Mr W. H. Jones; produce and fruit; siding and platform conditions; control Bexhill; Power's Ordinary **2899** (W.N. 21–1942) |
| **12 January 1949** | **Closed** — with Ballina branch formal closure |
| **26 October 1949** | Branch formally abolished (W.N. 43–1949) |

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*Extracted from NSW Government Railways Weekly Notices, 1942.* 
*Note: Nioka is one of the few infrastructure additions to the Ballina branch made after the branch was put out of use for passenger traffic. Its establishment in 1942 — when the branch was already effectively closed — reflects the continued importance of produce haulage to local farmers even after wartime suspension of regular services. The naming after the Nioka stud farm (operational until 1990) provides an unusually precise end-date for the property that generated the siding's creation.*