Herons Creek

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Type : Station
Line : North Coast Line
Distance from Sydney : 439.097km
Location : -31.589320, 152.727326
Opened : 12 April 1915
Closed : 30 June 1974
Status : Closed
Name meaning : After the nearby creek of the same name
Notes : The station opened with a 76.2 metre Up platform and standard timber station building consisting of a general and ladies waiting room and store room. It was later reduced to 15.2 metres in 1969. The station was a major loading point for timber from the adjacent sawmill. There was a 686' goods loop siding on the Down side of the line. Heron's Creek opened 12 April 1915 as an unattended station; green disc by day, lamp by night; all consignments prepaid under siding and platform conditions. ETS sections at opening: Kendall–Heron's Creek and Heron's Creek–Wauchope. The station was a major timber loading point — the 686-foot Down side goods loop siding and proximity to the sawmill made it one of the more active freight stations in the Kendall–Wauchope section. Goods shunting times reflect this: 10 minutes on No. 20 Conditional Stock (1915), 15 minutes on No. 142 Goods (1924 Down), 20 minutes on No. 122 Goods (1930). Station Master Coopernook controlled sidings from Melinga to Heron's Creek inclusive (W.N. — 1920). Platform Reduced — W.N. 33–1969
> **Page 81 — Stations, Platforms and Sidings — Accommodation Provided — Herons Creek** — In the column headed "Length of Passenger Platform" etc., delete **250** and insert **50**. (V. 68–1,349–7.) *(W.N. 33–1969)*  Delete: Melinga, Lansdowne, Moorland, John's River, **Heron's Creek**, Kundabung, Colombatti, Newee Creek, Repton, Bonville, Lanitza. (C. 1–74.) *(W.N. 29–1974)* Heron's Creek is unusual among the 1915 Taree–Wauchope line stations in having a 686-foot goods loop siding — substantially longer than the typical short dead-end sidings at unattended platforms on this line, reflecting the volume of timber traffic from the adjacent sawmill. The 1920 notice placing control under Station Master Coopernook (rather than Wauchope, the more obvious choice) confirms the operational geography of the section at that time. The ETS section structure visible in the 1960 WN — Kerewong as an intermediate crossing station between Kendall and Wauchope — shows how the section structure had evolved from the original 1915 Kendall–Heron's Creek / Heron's Creek–Wauchope arrangement.*

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Location of the one-time station (13/2/2021 - Lance Lyon)

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Herons Creek, 1920

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Approximate location of Herons Creek Station - the whole area has been absorbed by the timber mill. The station opened in 1915 and closed in 1974. (Google Maps)

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Undated image of Herons Creek station

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First class railway ticket used on the vintage train from Heron's Creek to Wauchope on Saturday 25th September, 1965 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the coming of the railway to Wauchope.

The train journey was organised as part of Wauchope's Spring Festival celebrations held in late September 1965. Proceeds from the train went to the Wauchope "Home for the Aged Appeal".

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Herons Creek station (undated)

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Herons Creek, March 1926

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"Old Tin Bridge" at Herons Creek (Herons Creek Road), undated

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Bridge near Herons Creek, undated (State Archives)

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Vintage train to Wauchope at Herons Creek, 25/9/1965 (State Archives)

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Herons Creek yards, 30/9/2023 (Lance Lyon)

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Sign at the old yards (30/9/2023 - Lance Lyon)

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Herons Creek, 30/9/23 (Lance Lyon)

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All that remains of the Herons creek siding today.