LISMORE RAILWAY STATION - University of Sydney · 2012. 8. 17. · Usmore Station was developed as...

LISMORE RAILWAY STATION

REPORT ON PROGRAMME OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL MONITORING

Nextgen Fibre Optic Cable Project

OCTOBER 2002

Cultural Resources Management

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LISMORE RAILWAY STATION

REPORT ON PROGRAMME OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL MONITORING

Nextgen Fibre Optic Cable Project

OCTOBER 2002

Cultural Resources Management For Sinclair Knight Merz


CONTENTS OF THE REPORT

1.0 PRECIS OF THE REPORT ..................................................................................... 01 1.1 Context and Obligations ......................................................................................... 01 1.2 Historical Context. .................................................................................................... 01 1.3 The Work ............................................................................................................. 01 1.4 The Results ......................................................................................................... 02

2.0 CONTEXT ................................................................................................................ 03 2.1 Background .............................................................................................................. 03 2.2 The Site .................. '" .............................................................................................. 03 2.3 The Work ................................................................................................................. 04 2.4 Authorship, Client and Acknowledgements ............................................................. 04

Site Map Showing Sections

3.0 HISTORICAL PROFILE .......................................................................................... 05 3.1 The Influence of Environment.. ................................................................................ 05 3.2 The Context of Settlement ....................................................................................... 05 3.3 Henry Garrard and Twickenham .............................................................................. 05 3.4 Constructing the Railway ......................................................................................... 06 3.5 The Expanding Railway ........................................................................................... 06 3.6 Norco. Ltd ................................................................................................................ 06

Plan of 130 Acres ... Applied for by Henry Garrard 1856 Plan of Twickenham Estate 1890 Rai/way Contract Drawing for Usmore Station

4.0 THE WORK ............................................................................................................. 07 4.1 Archaeological Profile .............................................................................................. 07 4.2 Cultural Significance ................................................................................................ 08 4.3 Programme Objectives ............................................................................................ 08 4.4 The Results .............................................................................................................. 09

4.4.1 The Western Section ................................................................................... 10 Section 0-5 Metres ...................................................................................... 10 Section 6-20 Metres .................................................................................... 11 Section 21-36 Metres .................................................................................. 12 Section 36-58 Metres .................................................................................. 12 Section 59-79 Metres .................................................................................. 13 Section 80 - 162 Metres ............................................................................. 14 Section 163-176 Metres .............................................................................. 14 Section 177-253 Metres .............................................................................. 14

4.4.2 The Eastern Section .................................................................................... 15 Section 0-16 Metres .................................................................................... 15 Section 17-40 Metres ................................................................................. 16 Section 41-80 Metres ................................................................................. 16 Section 81-140 Metres ............................................................................... 16 Section 141-170 Metres ............................................................................ 17

4.3 Interpretation ............................................................................................................ 18 4.3.1 Evidence of the Pre-existing Environment and C19 Land Clearance .......... 18 4.3.2 Evidence of the Twickenham Estate Occupation c.1855-1870s/80s ........... 18 4.3.3 Railway Construction in the 1890s .............................................................. 18 4.3.4 Railway Use and Development.. .................................................................. 18

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4.3.5 Norco. Ltd and Later History .............................................................. 19

I 5.0

Feature

SUPPLEMENTARY DOCUMENTATION ................................................................ 20

I 5.1 5.2

Bibliography....... .. ....................................................................................... 20 Profile Records ............................................................................................... 21

1 Lismore Railway # 1 ............................................................................... 21 Index Print

I 5.2.2 Lismore Railway # 2 .................................................................................... 22 Index Print

5.2.3 Lismore Railway # 3 ............................................................................. 23

I Index Print

5.2.4 Lismore Railway # 4 .................................................................................... 24 Index Print

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Report of Archaeological Monitoring: Usmore Railway Station, October 2002

SECTION 1.0

PRECIS

1.1 Context and Obligations

The purpose of this report is to document the results of a programme of monitoring, recording and interpretation of archaeological resources carried out within the boundaries of the SHI listed Usmore Railway Station. This was a condition of a Section 60 approval from the Heritage Council of NSW and DA condition of Usmore City Council. The work responded to excavation required for the installation of fibre optic cables part of the Nextgen Fibre Optic Cable Project.

1.2 Historical Context

The study area is contained within land first alienated for European occupation in 1856. The precinct is contained within 130 acres selected by Henry Garrard and developed as the Twickenham Estate. A house, sawmill and other buildings were established on this property but it remained in large part densely forested until the later years of the nineteenth century. The property was sold in 1863 and had several owners until its subdivision in 1890. By that time the rail reserve had been surveyed and the earlier improvements had been demolished, probably some years before.

Usmore Station was developed as the southern terminus of the Tweed Railway system. The station, its yards, wharf and sidings were constructed between 1891 and 1893. Subsequently the yard was extensively added to up to 1930. The principal locomotive and maintenance yard lies on the eastern side of Union Street outside the study area. The SHI precinct encompasses the station, goods yard, railway wharf and later sidings. In 1902 Norco Ltd established one of its co-operative butter factories on a siding between the station and the railway wharf. It remained in operation until 1931 and was then leased to several companies. Other parts of the railway reserve have been leased to businesses that have included Ampol and a saw-mill.

From the 1930s and especially the 1950s the railway yard declined in importance as other means of transport superseded it. Since that time several buildings, sidings and other features have been demolished within the study area.

1.3 The Work

A programme of monitoring and recording was initiated for both open-excavation components. The profile and features recorded by this work were interpreted in light of the historic analysis presented in the assessment.

Cultural Resources Management for Sinclair Knight Merz Page 1


Report of Archaeological Monitoring: Lismore Railway Station. October 2002

1.4 The Results

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With respect to evidence of the pre-existing environment and nineteenth century land clearance it was found that in several places the original top-soil had been removed thus negating any opportunity for environmental recreation. However, in the eastern end of the Western Section and most of the Eastern Section this soil profile was retained above the underlying clay. Environmental investigation could be undertaken at this level up to one metre below the current surface. Only in very few places could evidence be seen that may be interpreted as that of the first period of land clearance. This was largely confined to charcoal inclusions in relict top-soil. These are likely to have derived from burn-off.

No evidence was found of the Twickenham Estate period of occupation, c. 1855 -1870s/80s, other than perhaps the burn-off just described. The narrow sample size constrains any conclusions regarding the presence or absence of evidence of this period within the SHI area away from those sites identifiable from archival sources.

Regarding the original programme of railway construction in the 1890s, evidence was found in both the Eastern and Western Sections of both cutting down the original topography and adding silty clay to level the site. In some areas the upper portion of the soil profile had been completely removed to be replaced by levelling layers of clay and mixed fill. This process of levelling has been carried out more than once as the lenses of different types and layers of fill testify. Some evidence of the construction associated with a concrete culvert channelling a watercourse under the tracks was found in the Eastern Section in terms of introduced bluestone and fill.

The period of railway use and development was documented by extensive quantities of ballast found in the western part of the Western Section disappearing at approximately 58 metres along the trench to be replaced by a deep layer of mixed fill. This has been interpreted as what remains of a small rail siding that came from Union Street. It appears, from archival evidence, to have been built in the Inter-War period. Lenses of different materials such as sand and ash and other wastes testify to an ongoing process to maintain the level of the railway. No track was found in any part of the excavation but one substantial component of railway use was found in the Eastern Section. This was a concrete slab that derived from a railway platform built after 1952 and apparently demolished in the 1970s-1980s.

A substantial concrete slab located in the Western Section most readily identified the history of the industrial use of the site by several companies, particularly Norco Ltd, from the earliest years of the twentieth century. This slab derived from the old Norco Factory. Close by was an addition of two distinctive levels of fill that may have been associated with a timber building also developed by Norco Ltd.

On the Eastern Section were at least two dumps of artefacts and waste materials that appear to represent casual discards from early and later in the twentieth century.


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Report of Archaeological Monitoring: Lismore Railway Station, October 2002

SECTION 2.0

CONTEXT

2.1 Background

This work has been undertaken within the context of the Nextgen Fibre Optic Cable project. This entails, in this section, the installation of fibre optic cable along a route from Sydney to Brisbane, Lismore Railway Station lies along this route (SB1). The station and its near environs is an item of State heritage significance listed in the State Heritage Register of NSW (Item No. 01180).

In response to requirements of the Heritage Council of NSW and Lismore City Council an assessment was made of the impact of the excavation required for laying the cable on archaeological resources within this precind. The work described in this report responds to recommendations made in this assessment. This recommendation required a strategy of monitoring, recording and interpretation for the length of the excavation through the SHI precinct.

An application for an Excavation Permit for this work was made as part of the Section 60 approval. The Heritage Office approved the programme in September 2002 (H02/00133/01) and the work was carried out in the same month.

2.2 The Site

The area of work encompassed a narrow corridor of land predominantly on the southern side of Lismore Railway Station and within the heritage precinct. The site may be identified as part of Lot 18 DP861248 and Lot 2 DP 1006135. It is located within Portion 341 of the Parish of South Lismore, County of Rous. The land is owned and managed by the State Rail Authority of NSW. It is within the Local Government Area of Lismore City Council.

The excavation within the Railway Precinct was defined in three sections as follows:

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The Western Section: here the cable was to be bored from the northern side of Union Street under the level crossing to emerge on the southern side of the railway tracks within the heritage precinct. The cable was then placed in an open-excavated trench that runs parallel to the tracks for approximately 253 metres. It lies within ten metres of the tracks at the western end narrowing to less than five metres at the eastern end of the trench. The trench is bound to the south by containers, identifiable sites of past use and timber stock piles. The route of the cable though, was through a flat grass covered corridor that was devoid of any evidence of sub-surface features.

The Central Section: at the end of the open trench the cable crossed under the railway tracks in the area of the goods siding by means of boring for

, Cultural Resources Management, Archaeological Assessment Lismore Railway Station Nextgen Fibre Optic Cable Project: September 2002,


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Report of Archaeological Monitoring: Lismore Railway Station, October 2002

approximately thirty metres. It emerged on the northern side of the tracks at the western end of the heritage precinct.

• The Eastern Section: the cable emerged in a sloping bank that runs parallel to both Union Street and the railway property. This is an area used as an open but unformed drainage channel. The excavation, for approximately 170 metres, was in the southern bank. The only identified feature in this section is a concrete culvert that runs back to the railway property. The culvert drains a natural watercourse that is recorded on the original contract drawing for the railway. The excavation extended past the end of the heritage precinct. After this point the cable was laid by means of a bore across Union Street to the trestle bridge over Union Street.

These sections may be seen on the accompanying plan.

2.3 The Work

The open trench excavation was monitored for its course throughout the SHI precinct. Representative sections were recorded at between two and ten metre intervals to provide a sub-surface profile throughout the entire site. A similar photographic survey was undertaken along the length of the route. This work was supported by a written inventory of units. The profile was interpreted in light of the historic analysis presented in the assessment. A small scattering of artefacts was identified in the Eastern Section. The information presented by this group was recorded but the assemblage had no particular significance in its own right and was not retrieved.

2.4 Authorship, Client and Acknowledgements

This report as well as the original assessment was prepared by Wendy Thorp (Cultural Resources Management). The initial site survey was undertaken by Wendy Thorp and the fieldwork during the excavation by Suzanne Thompson. The photographs used in this report are by Wendy Thorp and Suzanne Thompson.

The applicant for the Excavation Permit as part of the Section 60 application and the client for this work is Sinclair Knight Merz. The excavation was managed by Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd. The author would like to thank Sarah Marshall (Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd) for her assistance throughout the programme.


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LEGEND

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I NEXTGEN NETWORKS .

FIBRE OPTIC CABLE PROJECTS i ..... <:t ~~~~r~~mental Significance

I Site Plan Surface Works

FIGURE 2.2 Bore

I Source: Drawing Numbers -SB1 T10L052 & SB1 T10.L053



SECTION 3.0

HISTORICAL PROFILE

The assessment presented a detailed historical analysis of this area. The evidence was described in terms of several historical phases. These phases form the basis of interpretation for the archaeological evidence recorded during the fieldwork. These phases are summarised in the following sections.

3.1 The Influence of Environment

The dual feature of good timber and open grazing land that characterize the area around Lismore attracted settlers from the 1830s. From that period development was mainly devoted to large pastoral runs and timber-getting. Contemporary plans indicate that the study area was covered in dense brush until late into the nineteenth century. This environment was of great influence in the subsequent course of development.

3.2 The Context of Settlement

By 1854 most of the good grazing land in the area had been alienated in runs. What remained was usually characterised by dense forests on levee banks. Lismore Station was developed across the river from the study area in 1843 and it was the first settlement in the environs of the study area. In 1855 a village plan was surveyed on the home paddock of Lismore Station. This would develop into the town of that name. By the 1860s the town had grown to an important regional centre. It was in this formative period that the study area was first developed for European purposes.

3.3 Henry Garrard and Twickenham

Henry Garrard through the selection of 130 acres, including the railway station site, made the first European association with the study area in 1856. This was part of a much larger property known as Tunstall that had been established in 1843.

Although selected in 1856 the Garrards had certainly been making improvements to their land before that time. By 1856 there was on the site already a house, a saw-mill and several out-buildings. The property was named Twickenham.

The buildings identified by contemporary surveys were all close to the river and several were outside the area of the railway reserve. However, the site of the house and at least one out-building were within the SHI boundaries. They appear, however, to have been beyond the area of the excavation. Most of the remainder of the land was heavily forested. Only the land around the house and out-buildings had been cleared.


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The mill appears to have ceased operation by 1857. The family sold the property in 1863. The subsequent history of the property and its improvements is difficult to establish. Certainly all the major buildings had been demolished by the time the site was surveyed for the railway in the 1880s.

The only other known improvement to the property separate from the Garrard buildings was a track from Casino to Lismore that was in existence by the 1860s. Ultimately this became the Casino Road and Union Street.

The land was sold on several occasions and had been subdivided into an estate by 1890. Only the railway corridor was preserved from subdivision.

3.4 Constructing the Railway

The Lismore Railway Station was the southern terminus of the line between the Richmond and Tweed Rivers. The first sod for the project was turned in 1891 and the opening ceremony was performed in May 1894. The work was let in six contracts. Contracts 5 and 6 encompassed the construction of the station, yard and other works. Most of the principal buildings and features lie outside the present study area. These include most of the sheds and other features of the maintenance yard. The principal features within the SHI area were the station buildings and platform, a goods shed and platform and a railway wharf on the Wilson River connected to the main line with sidings. The earthworks associated with the development of the station included channelling two small creeks that flowed down to the river from the higher ground, across the area of the tracks.

3.5 The Expanding Railway

Work began in 1901 on an extension of the railway line to Casino. This was opened in 1903. Another extension to the Clarence River was opened in 1905. Between 1904 and 1930 Lismore Railway Station underwent numerous extensions and additions many outside the study area, in particular, the development of the locomotive depot. The evolution of these works is recorded on a number of surveys particularly from 1935 and 1952. From the 1930s and particularly from the 1950s the station and its services have been in decline as road transport surpassed road and river access in importance. In this period several loops, sidings, platforms and buildings have been demolished both within and outside the study area.

3.6 Norco. Ltd

In the later part of the nineteenth century dairy farming became a major industry along the North Coast. Several Co-operatives were opened to process the products. One of these was the North Coast Fresh Food and Cold Storage Co-Operative Company Ltd (Norco) established in 1895. A branch factory of this company was opened at Lismore in 1902. It was located between Lismore Railway Station and the railway wharf. It had its own rail siding. Another was added in 1925. The factory was closed in 1931. BY 1952 it was leased out for use by a timber yard.


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(Source: NSW Railways Contra t L' . Department, Plan MS 200 Grafton~ Ismore to the Tweed River Contract 2: NSW Lands

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SECTION 4.0

THE WORK

4.1 Archaeological Profile

On the basis of the evidence provided by archival sources and site inspection the following profile of potential resources was identified for the excavation area within the SHllisted station:

• Some evidence of the pre-existing environment could be found in the form of residual soils and micro-flora as well as evidence of the processes and impacts of deforestation.

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Evidence of the period of occupation of Twickenham Estate, c.1855 -1870s/80s, was unlikely to be found. The identifiable features are outside the excavation area. However, the potential was considered to unrecorded features of this period of use within the western portion of the railway property.

The principal evidence of railway development within the western portion of the site was assessed to be of the cutting and filling undertaken to level the site in the period of first construction. This was likely to be recorded by the reduction of soil profiles and the addition of fill.

The principal evidence of use associated with the railway was considered to be the presence of railway ballast. Track may also be found within the excavation area of the Western Section. It was impossible to determine on the basis of the available evidence whether the main lines and sidings in this area were removed or covered over after they went out of use.

A small possibility was recognised of some minor foundation being unearthed within the Western Section of buildings associated with the business that occupied the southern side of the tra~ks. Only one is identifiable from archival sources.

The Central Section will not be observed, as it will be bored, however, it was anticipated that this action would inly impact upon fill and ballast.

The only identifiable archaeological feature that is likely to be located in the Eastern Section is part of a rail siding that ran from the main track to behind the Goods Shed. The drainage features identified from archival sources are still visible at the surface.




4,2 Cultural Significance

The archaeological resource of the Lismore Railway Station was evaluated in the assessment. It was concluded that the station precinct and beyond is likely to encompass a very large archaeological resource that makes an equal contribution to the significance of this place as an industrial site as does the above-ground resources. As well, there are likely to be archaeological sites that are of relevance to and in particular the history of Norco. Ltd. However, the majority of these sites may be shown to be outside the excavation area.

The evidence likely to be contained within the excavation area of railway development and use, apart from its contributory value to the entire place, is unlikely to have more than low significance in its own right. It is unlikely to record or demonstrate more than is now available from archival sources and it is likely to represent standard and common forms of industrial technology.

The only exception to this assessment would be the identification of relics associated with Twickenham Estate. This evidence would be of high local and regional significance because of its rarity.

4.3 Programme Objectives

In line with the requirements of Excavation Permit procedures a number of research objectives were identified for the monitoring programme. These may be summarised as follows:

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To identify any evidence that could be specifically relate to the Twickenham Estate development

To identify any evidence that could specifically relate to the association of Norco Ltd with this place

To provide a general archaeological profile of the excavation area and relate this to both the railway development and pre-settlement periods.

View of Lismore Railway Station from the southern side near the excavation corridor.

Cultural Resources Management for Sinciair Knight Merz Page 8


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4.4 The Results

The results of the programme of archaeological work are described, first according to the separate sections of the excavation. A summary evaluation is provided at the conclusion of this work that defines the principal results of the work and their relationship to the archaeological profile assessment and the programme objectives.

Above, view along the Western Section and (below), the Eastern Section


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4.4.1 The Western Section

The Western Section was excavated in open trench for a distance of 256 metres to an approximate depth of 1.2 metres. The profile may be described as follows beginning at the western end. The individual units are assigned numbers in brackets to allow easier resolution between sections.

Section 0-5 metres

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At ground surface, railway ballast to a general depth of 200mm. The ballast here and along the length exposed by the excavation shows signs of being "topped up" over time (1).

Below this and varying in depth from approximately 150-400mm a layer of fill comprising loose, black sandy silt, ironstone and coal inclusions, decomposed limestone and ash, possibly from old coal furnaces. The deposit contains midlater twentieth century glass. This appears to be fill that has been dumped on the site to support the ballast although it may not have been placed as part of the original period of construction in the 1890s. The irregularity of the profile horizon and the inclusions suggest that it has been topped up at various times. Some of the fill is waste that is likely to have come from the railway yard (2).

At the base of the section, a naturally occurring brown-black coloured clay the beginning of the natural profile (3). No intact topsoil occurred above it.


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Section 6- 20 metres

• At ground surface, railway ballast to a general depth of 200mm (1).

• Below this a very thin deposit of the mixed fill described above of silt, ash, limestone etc. approximately 100mm in depth (2).

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Underlying this is a compact deposit of light brown-yellow silty clay to a depth of approximately 150mm. This appears to have been deposited, probably as part of the original railway construction programme, as fill and levelling material. It disappeared at 13 metres (4).

Between 18 and 19 metres this deposit is replaced by iron-stained compact clay with iron stone inclusions. This is likely to have been deposited at the same time and for the same purpose but from a different source (5).

Below this is naturally occurring brown-black clay of the upper soil profile (3).


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Report of Archaeological Monitoring: Usmore Railway Station. October 2002

Section 21 - 36 metres

• This returns to a similar profile as that described in Section 0-5 metres beginning with railway ballast at the surface (1).

• Below a similar fill deposit of wastes (2) except at 36 metres where the ballast lies immediately above the naturally occurring brown-black clay of the upper soil profile (3).

Section 36 - 58 metres.

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This is a similar profile to that described in Section 0 - 5 metres beginning with railway ballast at the surface (1).

Below is a similar fill deposit of miscellaneous wastes (2) with the exception at 44 metres of a small deposit, a lens, of light coloured sand (6) immediately below the fill (2) and above the naturally occurring clay (3). This has been suggested by local informants to derive from roof tile production.

Brown-black clay of the natural upper soil profile (3).


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Section 59 79 metres

• Here, at the surface, the railway ballast disappears. Reference to site plans of 1952 shows that this is approximately the full extent of a small rail siding that came from the main line near Union Street. The ballast, therefore, represents the base of this siding. The tracks may to have been removed or may still be in unexcavated soil.

• In place of the ballast is a grey-brown loam fill approximately 300-400mm in depth (7). This may represent the original fill introduced to the site for the railway levelling programme.

• Below the grey-brown fill is the naturally occurring brown-black clay (3).


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Section 80 162 metres

• At 80 -90 metres the grey brown fill (7) is displaced by 150mm of yellow silty sand (8), possibly derived from the river.

• This silty sand lies above approximately 100mm of black-brown sandy silt (9) that has coal inclusions and some decomposed timber. This lies above naturally occurring brown-black clay (3). Reference to the 1952 survey shows that this is in an area of a building formerly belonging to the butter factory. It may have been timber. The upper silty soil (8) may represent part of the building construction associated with this structure. The lower brown black sandy silt (9) is more likely to be a relict top-soil.

• After 90 metres the profile generally comprises the same grey-brown loam fill (7) above what may be this relict top-soil (9) over the natural clay horizon (3).


• This has the same general profile as the preceding section beginning with brown-grey loose fill at the surface (7).

• Below is the relict top-soil (9) and naturally occurring clay (3).

• The exception in this section of the profile is a concrete slab in the southern face of the trench (10). This ran for thirteen metres from approximately 210 metres and was between 150 - 300mm in thickness. Reference to the 1952 survey shows this to be part of the Norco. Ltd butter factory.


• This section generally comprises grey brown fill at the surface (7).

• Below is a relict top-soil (9) and clay (3).

Concrete slab of Norco Factory.


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4.4.2 Eastern Section

After the cable was bored under the tracks from the Western Section it was laid in an open trench for 170 metres.

Section 0-16 metres

• At ground surface the profile generally encompasses a similar loose greybrown fill (7) as seen at the eastern end of the Western Section

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The fill lies over relict top-soil (9) and clay (3).

At approximately 16 metres there was an introduced deposit over the grey brown fill. This comprised a fine rubble deposit reinforced with cement dust in which were a number of artefacts (11) as well as reinforced concrete pieces. The artefacts comprised a small assemblage of early twentieth century glass, including a Patent Lamont bottle, and terracotta fragments from flower pots. The deposit appears to be a casual dump. It could not be associated with any structure or event visible in the archaeological profile.




Section 17 - 40 metres.

• This section is characterised by loose grey brown fill at the surface (7).

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The fill lies over naturally occurring clay (3) although there is no apparent topsoil remaining here.

At forty metres there is an inclusion in the fill of dry pressed bricks and coal (12). This also appears to be a casual dump unrelated to any particular event or structure. It could not be associated with any feature recorded in archival sources.


• This section was also characterised by loose grey brown fill at the surface (7).

• The fill generally lay over relict top-soil (9) and clay (3).

• Between approximately 70 and 80 eighty metres the loose grey brown fill (7) was replaced by 150mm of yellow silty sand-clay deposit at the surface (4), possibly derived from the river over the relict topsoil (9) and clay (3). In the Western Section this type of fill appears to have been used as levelling in the original railway construction programme. Here, it is in a part of the site that is shown on twentieth century surveys to have been cut back as an embankment. It is possible that this earlier fill was revealed as part of that earthwork.

Section 81 -140 metres

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This comprised the most disturbed section of the trench. Up to 96 metres the surface deposit was the grey-brown fill (7).

At 96 metres the grey-brown fill had an addition of blue stone (13) that continued with varying density to 123 metres. The blue stone comprised small rubble and larger stones at approximately 600mm below the surface. This is likely to relate to the construction of the culvert.

The concrete culvert (14) was located at 123 metres along the trench. This structure channelled the old watercourse under the tracks to the river.

On the other side of the culvert a small amount of blue stone (13) remained in the fill gradually disappearing from the section. This material, too, is likely to have been introduced as part of the culvert construction.

At 140 metres was a concrete slab (15). This was part of an old railway platform demolished, according to local informants, c. 25 years ago. It is not shown on the 1952 station survey so it must have been built after 1952.

Below the slab was a mixture of fill materials introduced to support this platform (16).





• The remaining thirty metres of the trench reverted to the typical profile of grey brown rubble fill (7) over relict top soil (9) and clay (3).

View along the Eastern Section excavation




4.3 Interpretation

The results of this programme of work may best be interpreted in the context of the archaeological profile developed for the site.

4.3.1 Evidence of the Pre-existing Environment and Nineteenth Century Land Clearance.

It was found that in several places the original top-soil had been removed thus negating any opportunity for environmental recreation. However, in the eastern end of the Western Section and most of the Eastern Section this soil profile was retained above the underlying clay. Environmental investigation could be undertaken at this level up to one metre below the current surface.

Only in very few places could evidence be seen that may be interpreted as that of the first period of land clearance. This was largely confined to charcoal inclusions in relict top-soil. These are likely to have derived from burn-off.

4.3.2 Evidence of the Twickenham Estate Occupation, c.1855 - 18705/805.

No evidence was found of this period other than perhaps the burn-off just described. The narrow sample size constrains any conclusions regarding the presence or absence of evidence of this period within the SHI area away from those sites identifiable from archival sources.

4.3.3 Railway Construction in the 18905.

Evidence of both cutting down the original topography and adding silty clay to level the site was found in both the Eastern and Western Sections, particularly the latter. In some areas the upper portion of the soil profile had been completely removed to be replaced by levelling layers of clay and mixed fill. This process of levelling has been carried out more than once as the lenses of different types and layers of fill testify.

Some evidence of the construction associated with a concrete culvert channelling a watercourse under the tracks was found in the Eastern Section in terms of introduced bluestone and fill.

4.3.4 Railway Use and Development

Extensive quantities of ballast were found in the western part of the Western Section disappearing at approximately 58 metres along the trench to be replaced by a deep layer of mixed fill. This has been interpreted as what remains of a small rail siding that came from Union Street. It appears, from archival evidence, to have been built in the Inter-War period.

Lenses of different materials such as sand and ash and other wastes testify to an ongoing process to maintain the level of the railway.

No track was found in any part of the excavation.

Cultural Resources Management for Sin clair Knight Merz Page 18



One substantial component of railway use was found in the Eastern Section. This was a concrete slab that derived from a railway platform built after 1952 and apparently demolished in the 1970s-1980s.

4.3.5 Norco ltd and Later History

A substantial concrete slab was located in the Western Section. This derived from the old Norco Factory. Close by was an addition of two distinctive levels of fill that may have been associated with a timber building also developed by Norco Ltd.

On the Eastern Section were at least two dumps of artefacts and waste materials that appear to represent casual discards from early and later in the twentieth century.

Trench profile typical of the Eastern Section.


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Station Plan of Lismore Railway in 1952

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The position of the excavations are marked along with an approximate metric scale. The features discussed in the report. the siding. butter factory etc, may be seen on this plan in relation to the trench.



SECTION 5.0

SUPPLEMENTARY DOCUMENTATION

5.1 Bibliography

Cultural Resources Management Archaeological Assessment Lismore Railway Station Nextgen Fibre Optic Cable Project Sinclair Knight Merz. 2002.

Sinclair Knight Merz Nextgen Fibre Optic Cable Lismore Railway Station Section 60 Application Report. 2002.

Cultural Resources Management for Sinciair Knight Merz Page 20



5.2 Profile Records

5.2.1 Lismore Railway Roll # 1

Index print following page

FRAME #

01 02 03 04 05 06 07

08 09

10 11

12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23

DESCRIPTION

Western Section: north face section at 0 metres. As for 01 Western Section: north face section at 2 metres. As for 03. Western Section: north face section at 4 metres. Western Section: north face section at 5.3 metres. Western Section: north face section at 8 metres. Shows light brown silty clay under ballast. Western Section: north face section at 10 metres. Western Section: north face section at 10 metres. Shows light brown silty clay under ballast. Western Section: north face section at 12 metres. Western Section: north face section at 13 metres. Light brown silty clay no longer present. Western Section: north face section at 14 metres. Western Section: north face section at 16 metres. Western Section: south face section at 18 metres. Shows ballast above miscellaneous fill. Western Section: south face section at 19 metres. Western Section: south face section at 20 metres. Western Section: south face section at 21 metres. Western Section: north face section at 24 metres. Western Section: north face section at 30 metres. Western Section: north face section at 32 metres. Western Section: north face section at 34 metres. Western Section: north face section at 36 metres. Shows ballast above natural brown-black clay. Western Section: north face section at 38 metres.



Report of Archaeological Monitoring: Lismore Railway Station.

5.2.2 Lismore Railway Station Roll # 2

Index print following page.

FRAME # DESCRIPTION

Western Section: north face section at 40 metres As for #01. Western Section: north face section at 42 metres

October 2002

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Western Section: north face section at 44 metres. Shows lens of sand. Western Section: north face section at 46 metres. Western Section: north face section at 48 metres. Western Section: north face section at 50 metres. Western Section: north face section at 52 metres. Western Section: north face section at 54 metres. Western Section: north face section at 56 metres. Western Section: north face section at 58 metres. Western Section: north face section at 60 metres. Western Section: north face section at 62 metres. Western Section: north face section at 66 metres Western Section: north face section at 68 metres Western Section: north face section at 70 metres Western Section: north face section at 72 metres Western Section: north face section at 74 metres. Western Section: north face section at 76 metres. Western Section: north face section at 78 metres. Western Section: north face section at 80 metres. Western Section: north face section at 82 metres. Western Section: north face section at 84 metres. Western Section: north face section at 86 metres.



Report of Archaeological Monitoring: Lismore Railway Station.

5.2.3 Lismore Railway Station Roll # 3


FRAME # DESCRIPTION

Western Section: north face section at 88 metres. As for frame 01 Western Section: north face section at 90 metres. Western Section: north face section at 92 metres. Western Section: north face section at 94 metres. Western Section: north face section at 96 metres. Western Section: north face section at 98 metres. Western Section: north face section at 100 metres. Western Section: north face section at 102 metres. Western Section: north face section at 105 metres. Western Section: north face section at 110 metres. Western Section: north face section at 115 metres. Western Section: north face section at 1210 metres. Western Section: south face section at 125 metres. Western Section: north face section at 130 metres Western Section: north face section at 135 metres Western Section: north face section at 140 metres Western Section: north face section at 145 metres Western Section: north face section at 150 metres. Western Section: north face section at 155 metres Western Section: north face section at 160 metres.

October 2002

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Western Section: south face section at 163 metres. Shows concrete

foundation slab that ran for 13 metres. 23 24

Western Section: south face section at 170 metres. Western Section: south face section at 175 metres.

Cultural Resources Management for Sinc\air Knight Merz Page 23

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5.2.4 Usmore Railway Station Roll # 4


FRAME #

01 02 03 04 05 06

07 08 09 10

11 12 13 14 15 16

17

18 19 20 21 22 23

DESCRIPTION

Western Section: south face section at 180 metres. Western Section: south face section at 200 metres. Western Section: south face section at 220 metres. Western Section: south face section at 240 metres. Western Section: south face section at 253 metres. Western Section/Central Section: south face section shows bore trench. Eastern Section: north face section at 6 metres. Eastern Section: north section partially excavated at 10 metres. Eastern Section: north face section at 16 metres. Eastern Section: north face section showing cement/iron deposit over grey-brown fill. Contained artefacts At 20 metres. Eastern Section: south face section at 26 metres. Eastern Section: south face section at 36 metres. Eastern Section: south face section with brick. coal in fill at 40 metres. Eastern Section: south face section at 60 metres. Eastern Section: south face section at 80 metres. Eastern Section: north face section showing blue stone in fill at 100 metres. Eastern Section: south face section showing blue stone in fill at 115 metres. Eastern Section: south face section at concrete culvert at 123 metres. Eastern Section: north face section with concrete slab at 140 metres. Eastern Section: south face section at 160 metres. Eastern Section: south face section with bore tunnel at 170 metres. Eastern Section: south face section at 0 metres showing bore. Eastern Section: south face section at 170 metres with bore.


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