Dunedin Railway Station

Dunedin Railway Station, originally uploaded by euthanised.

During the school holidays when I was a teenager I used to take the bus into Dunedin to go to the cinema. If I missed the bus home from Queens Gardens then the next option was the later bus leaving from the Railway Station. The one way system used to run directly past the station but I’m glad to say that the whole area has been redeveloped so that everyone can enjoy the wonderful Victorian architecture. I have to say that the formal gardens are a stunning improvement. The old Scottish forefathers would be proud.

New Zealand – Dunedin, originally uploaded by Chris&Steve.

Mosaic in the Dunedin train station, originally uploaded by Nelson Minar.

Mosaic flooring at Dunedin Station, originally uploaded by trayflow.

tile floor, originally uploaded by pluckytree.

Mosaic in the Dunedin train station, originally uploaded by Nelson Minar.

Dunedin Railway Station – New Zealand, originally uploaded by Irish Guy’s World the World Trips.

Possibly the best-known building in the southern half of New Zealand’s South Island, Dunedin Railway Station is a jewel in the country’s architectural crown.Designed by George Troup, the station is the fourth building to have served as Dunedin’s railway station. It earned its architect the nickname of “Gingerbread George”.

In Flemish Renaissance style, the station is constructed from local dark basalt rock capped with lighter Oamaru stone, giving it the distinctive light and dark pattern common in many of the more stately buildings of both Dunedin and Christchurch. The booking hall features a mosaic floor of almost 750,000 tiles of Royal Doulton porcelain. Its main platform is the country’s longest, being one kilometre in length.

It was opened in 1906 by Prime Minister Joseph Ward. A thorough refurbishment of the exterior took place in the late 1990s, accompanied by the landscaping of the gardens outside the entrance, in Anzac Square.