Stanthorpe station opened on 3 May 1881, when the Queensland Railway’s Southern line was extended from Warwick.
It served as the terminus of the line until it was extended to Wallangarra on 14 February 1887.
Until 1972, Stanthorpe was served by passenger trains operating between Brisbane and Wallangarra.
The station remains in place and is used as a calling point by Downs Explorer (formerly the Southern Downs Steam Railway) heritage services.
The following is an excerpt from a newspaper clipping about the opening:
‘The people of Stanthorpe have had a most exciting week.
Having with unbounded liberality invited the Ministry, the members of both Houses of Parliament, and a large number of leading residents of the southern districts of the colony, they naturally expected a large assemblage at the railway opening celebrations.
But the response must have been quite beyond their expectations, for so great was the crowd of visitors that on Tuesday evening the Commissioner, Mr. Herbert, was induced to send away a trainful of bedless people to Warwick.
Every inn was crowded to excess, and a large number of the guests could not be accommodated with beds or even “shake-downs”.
However, the proceedings passed in a most successful manner; the excitement, change of scene, and bracing air of Stanthorpe – not to mention the feast of good things provided for the guests – more than compensated for the inconvenience suffered.
The chief directors of the ceremony were Mr. J. de Poix Tyrel, the member for the district, and Mr. W. A. Noble, the chairman of the Divisional Board, who spared no pains to promote the comfort of the visitors, and the gentlemen named were ably seconded by the Stanthorpe residents.’
1881 was a particularly busy year with three railway lines opening in Queensland.
1. 3 May 1881: Southern Railway to Stanthorpe
2. 19 July 1881: First section of the Bundaberg Mount Perry railway to Moolboolaman
3. 6 August 1881: Maryborough to Gympie.
All of these lines had been approved by Parliament in the late 1870s, and all had a ‘mining centre’ as its ultimate destination.
For instance, Stanthorpe with its tin workings.
