Fernside

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Type : Station
Line : Murwillumbah Branch
Distance from Sydney : 824.350km
Location : -28.788536, 153.166995
Opened : 1904 (as a cream stage platform, un-named), named "Fernside" in December 1904
Closed : 19 February 1972
Status : Closed
Name meaning : An adjacent property was named Fernhill but this was the same as Hurlstone Park's then naming so it was decided to name the station Fernside. Fernhill still exists as the name of the property.
Notes : The Up side platform was 51.2 metres in length, later reduced to 32.9 metres (July 1941) and then to 15.24 metres by September 1964. A 10' x 8' cream shed was on the platform - this was added in 1912 according to local newspaper reports. It was used as a loading platform for vegetables and bananas until 1933 when goods loading was relocated to Tuncester for farmers in the area. By 1944 fruit was again being loaded at the station after agitation by local farmers. A fettler's residence was at the site and was connected to No. 83 Telephone Circuit North on 25/02/1938. Fernside Railway Station unusually still exists as an official place name per the NSW Geographical Names Board having been gazetted on 30-04-1971 - normally closed stations are removed.

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Details of railway cottage at Fernside

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Fernside (Hi Res)

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Fernside, 1942 diagram.

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# Fernside (Murwillumbah Branch)
## Entries from NSW Government Railways Weekly Notices, 1924–1975

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**Type:** Station / Platform (Closed) 
**Line:** Murwillumbah Branch (Casino–Murwillumbah; Grafton-Tweed Line) 
**Distance from Sydney:** 824.350 km 
**Location:** -28.788536, 153.166995 
**Between:** Bungabbee (south) and Leycester / Tuncester (north) 
**Opened:** **1904** — as an unnamed cream stage platform; named **Fernside December 1904** (per your notes; no WN opening notice found in OCR) 
**Closed:** **19 February 1972** (per your notes; W.N. 7–1972 deletions effective) 
**Status:** Closed 
**Name meaning:** Adjacent property was named Fernhill — the same name as Hurlstone Park's station at the time; renamed Fernside to avoid duplication 

### Note on Opening
Small cream stage platforms on the Murwillumbah branch in this period were typically not formally gazetted in the WN. Fernside's opening as an unnamed cream platform in 1904 and its naming in December 1904 is from your notes. No WN opening notice found in the 1903–1905 volumes.

### Unattended Platform (1924)
**Fernside (P)** — listed between Bungabbee (P) and Leycester (P) in accommodation table

### Motor Service (1930)
Listed in Casino–Murwillumbah motor car service timetable — **request stop** (code "a") between Fairy Hill (Down direction) and Bungabbee/Leycester

### Deletion History
**W.N. 7–1972 (ref. B.2–71–64,258 and C.1–72–29,810):**
- Railways of Australia Goods Rates Book (page 49) — delete FERNSIDE station name and relative particulars
- Merchandise and Livestock Rates Book Vol. II (page 157) — delete Fernside
- Merchandise and Livestock Rates Book Vol. II (page 189) — delete Fernside
- Casino–Murwillumbah Line — delete **Fernside (P)** and relative mileages (page 191); also delete Laureldale (P) and Tyagarah (P)
- List of Stations on all Lines — Casino–Murwillumbah Branch (page 204 area) — delete Fernside
- Alphabetical list (page 65) — delete Fernside
- All six separate book entries use ref. B.2–71–64,258 (a 1971 file for 1972 WN action)

**W.N. 26–1975 (ref. A1 73 77203):**
- Grades table (page 104) — delete all reference to Naughton's Gap, Bentley, **Fernside**, Woodlawn College, Bexhill, Eltham, Booyong, Talofa and St Helena

### Nearby Closure — Laureldale
Laureldale (P) was deleted from all books simultaneously with Fernside in W.N. 7–1972 (ref. B.2–72–27,904) — suggesting Laureldale was an adjacent platform on the same Bungabbee–Tuncester section, also closed around the same date.

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> **Notes:** Fernside opened in 1904 as an unnamed cream stage platform on the Murwillumbah branch and was named Fernside in December 1904 — the name chosen because the adjacent property was Fernhill but that name was already in use for Hurlstone Park station. Listed as unattended platform (P) in 1924, between Bungabbee and Leycester. Request stop on the Casino–Murwillumbah motor car service in 1930. Closed 19 February 1972; deleted from all rates books W.N. 7–1972 (ref. B.2–71–64,258 and C.1–72–29,810); Grades table deleted W.N. 26–1975.

---

## 1924 — Unattended Platform

### Unattended Platform — W.N. — 1924
> **Fernside (P)** — unattended platform; between Bungabbee (P) and Leycester (P). *(Source: 1924 Weekly Notices — Local Appendix)*

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## 1930 — Motor Car Service — Request Stop

### Motor Car Timetable — W.N. — 1930
> **Casino–Murwillumbah Motor Car Service** — Fernside listed as a **request stop** (code "a") — between Fairy Hill and Bungabbee/Leycester on Down journey; request stop on Up journey between Leycester/Bungabbee and Fairy Hill. *(Source: 1930 Weekly Notices)*

---

## 1972 — Closed and Deleted — W.N. 7–1972

### Rates Books Deleted — W.N. 7–1972
> **Railways of Australia Goods Rates Book — Page 49 — Alphabetical List of Stations** — **FERNSIDE** — delete station name and relative particulars. (B.2–71–64,258.) *(W.N. 7–1972)*

> **Merchandise and Livestock Rates Book, Volume II — Page 157 — List of Stations** — Delete **Fernside** and relative particulars. (B.2–71–64,258.) *(W.N. 7–1972)*

> **Merchandise and Livestock Rates Book, Volume II — Page 189 — Alphabetical List of Stations** — Delete **Fernside** and relative particulars. (B.2–71–64,258.) *(W.N. 7–1972)*

> **Page 191 — Casino–Murwillumbah Line — List of Stations (Mileages to Darling Harbour)** — Delete **Fernside (P)** and relative mileages. Delete Laureldale (P) and relative mileages. Delete Tyagarah (P) and relative mileages. (C.1–72–29,810.) *(W.N. 7–1972)*

> **Casino–Murwillumbah Branch Line — List of Stations on all Lines** — Delete **Fernside** and relative particulars. (B.2–71–64,258.) *(W.N. 7–1972)*

> **Page 65 — Alphabetical List of Stations** — Delete **Fernside**. (C.1–72–29,810.) *(W.N. 7–1972)*

---

## 1975 — Grades Table Deleted — W.N. 26–1975

### Grades Table Deleted — W.N. 26–1975
> **Page 104 — Grades at Stations, Sidings, Platforms and Signal-boxes — Casino–Murwillumbah Branch** — Delete all reference to Naughton's Gap, Bentley, **Fernside**, Woodlawn College, Bexhill, Eltham, Booyong, Talofa and St Helena. (A1 73 77203.) *(W.N. 26–1975)*

---

## Summary of Key Events

| Date | Event |
|------|-------|
| **1904** | **Opened as unnamed cream stage platform** (per your notes; no WN notice found) |
| **December 1904** | **Named FERNSIDE** — adjacent property was Fernhill; Hurlstone Park station also named Fernhill at the time; renamed Fernside to avoid duplication (per your notes) |
| By 1924 | **Fernside (P)** — unattended platform; between Bungabbee (P) and Leycester (P) |
| W.N. — 1930 | Listed as request stop on Casino–Murwillumbah motor car service |
| **19 February 1972** | **Station closed** (per your notes) |
| **W.N. 7–1972** | Deleted from all rates books — Railways of Australia Goods Rates Book, Merchandise and Livestock Rates Book (pages 157 and 189), Casino–Murwillumbah Line distances (page 191), List of Stations on all Lines, Alphabetical List (page 65) — refs B.2–71–64,258 and C.1–72–29,810; deleted alongside Laureldale (P), Tyagarah (P) |
| **W.N. 26–1975** | Deleted from Grades table (page 104) alongside Naughton's Gap, Bentley, Woodlawn College, Bexhill, Eltham, Booyong, Talofa and St Helena (ref. A1 73 77203) |

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*Extracted from NSW Government Railways Weekly Notices, 1924–1975.* 
*Note: Fernside's naming history is one of the more unusual in the North Coast collection — a deliberate departure from the adjacent property name (Fernhill) to avoid confusion with a metropolitan station (Hurlstone Park, then named Fernhill). The W.N. 7–1972 batch deletion removed Fernside alongside Laureldale, Tyagarah, Cougal, Carstairs, Puggoon, Treberth and Myamyn — a single WN that systematically closed a large number of small unattended platforms across the Casino–Murwillumbah and North Coast branch network in February 1972. The 1971 file reference (B.2–71–64,258) confirms the closure decisions were made in 1971, consistent with the 19 February 1972 operative date.*