High Camp Station was variously known as Glenaroua, High Camp Plain and finally High Camp and served as the closest rail access point for the surrounding district. For decades before it closed in 1965 and then dismantled in 1975 it was central to everyday life, carrying mail, goods and passengers.

High Camp Station underwent many changes over its life-time and these are not obvious with a casual inspection of the site today. In basic terms, Crawfords Road did not cross on its current alignment. A map of the land sale after the line closed shows a different alignment with the road crossing the line at about 100 metres beyond the current road alignment, a short distance on the Heathcote side of the still-standing No. 2 Road buffer stop, at the Down end of the station.

There were two access or approach roads from the highway into the station. The Down end approach road is visible between the goods platform and Crawfords Road. Another approach road existed near the Up end of the station. Access was also available to the West, or passenger side, from Crawfords Road, near the bend.

A walk around the station precinct, especially under the pine trees, reveals other evidence of station infrastructure. Between Crawfords Road and the buffer stop are the remains of the stock yards loading platform. Pieces of concrete, possibly from the stockyard fencing, are also scattered in this area.

The original road crossing is behind the buffer stop as depicted in the image above. The nearby Northern Highway was re-aligned in the 1970s.

By the middle of the 20th century Australia’s love affair with trains was declining as car ownership increased. There was a partial closure in 1958, followed by regular passenger services ceasing in 1965 and the line fully closing in 1968. The track between Heathcote Junction and Heathcote was dismantled in 1975 and the land mostly now in private hands. The Station Masters house was removed and became a private home.

Unlike today’s trains which mostly carry commuter traffic, the train lines of old were an integral part of the community and there were train stations every few kilometres. Residents of settlements like High Camp relied on the train to get their stock to markets down south, their timber to the timber yards and their milk, butter and cream to processing dairies. The trains were also their lifeline to the outside world. They brought the mail from down south and vital things that farmers needed, such as superphosphate fertiliser.

The station at High Camp contributed to the life and, indeed, growth of the community in other ways. A station requires a Station Master or Mistress and the late Gordon Fullard courted and married Miss Mabel Millard when she was appointed Temporary Station Mistress. The late Norman Fullard courted and wed Miss Mary Wright, a teacher at the High Camp State School, located in the station grounds in 1923.

The station master or mistress held a certain status in the small settlement. A Mrs Sutton (shown in the photo above) held the position of Station Mistress for 17 years and at a farewell function in the district she was described in the Kilmore Free Press as “one of the most capable and able officers on the line”.

Just 10 years after the opening of the line, the Kilmore bushfires of February 1900 had a big impact on the small settlement at that time. The local newspaper reported that the Presbyterian Church was “saved with difficulty” and Carstens Hotel “had a narrow escape.”

The bushfires in the High Camp Plain district “were the most disastrous ever known locally” according to the Kilmore Free Press.

“The whole country for miles was a mass of flames.”

It was only through the actions of a gang of men from Kilmore that the railway station was saved but all the fences and yards were destroyed, the paper reported.

Further tragedy struck in October 1907 when a goods train from Wallan to Tooborac left the rails when approaching the bridge spanning the Kurkuruc Creek, plunging into the creek. Both the engine driver and fireman were killed. The guard, who had hurried to the High Camp station to report the accident, survived. At the time it was Victoria’s worst rail disaster.

Another serious accident occurred in March 1942 when the 6.15am train from Heathcote crashed at the first of three rail crossings between Pyalong and High Camp. All 23 passengers were injured but only three were admitted to hospital. The derailment was caused by sand and gravel being washed across the level crossing. The Argus Melbourne reported “Thrown on its side the Diesel rail motor ripped through the redgum beams of the cattle pits and skidded nearly 40 yards before coming to a rest at right angles to the track”. Despite being injured, Pat Ryan of Pyalong, ran to a nearby farm to seek assistance.

The late John Leahy 93, formerly of Pine View Glenaroua, on his first memories of High Camp Station in the late 1930s, aged about eight years.

“Probably the first memory would be going to the Melbourne show with Auntie Molly and Kit. I think they had an old rugby car. Dad probably drove us to High Camp and we caught a steam train to Heathcote Junction. Now I’m not sure whether that train went all the way to Melbourne, or whether it linked up with a train on the Melbourne train line, I’m not sure, but we finished up at the Melbourne show. That was an experience because you could open the windows on the old trains and we were always told, don’t put your head out because you’ll get a face full of soot from the steam engine.”

Funny incident –Jack Leahy, John’s Dad using the buckets of water at the station.

“Dad had an old Hupmobile car. One time that we had to go to the dentist. He spent a lot of time adjusting the brakes because it had mechanical brakes on it. And he must have left something a bit tight and we were heading to Melbourne. He got to High Camp and we could get this awful burning smell and ohh he’d tightened the brakes up too much, so he pulled into the railway station. A couple of buckets of water there, he got, and he threw the water over the brakes of the car. And then we continued on to Melbourne.”

A Memorable Journey – Ruth Ryan

There is one train journey that I remember well. I think it was before I started school. Mum took Gerard, Tom and me to Melbourne on the train from Pyalong. She normally drove to Melbourne as her mother lived in Essendon but this day, to give us a special experience, we went by train. The train that ran from Heathcote-to-Heathcote Junction was what they called a motor-train. The driver was behind a small wooden partition, a bit like today’s tram drivers, but there was also a seat for passengers beside the driver’s seat. We three kids sat on this front seat which gave us a great view out the front of the train, and we were able to watch and chat with the train driver as he drove the train. I think we also shared a bag of lollies from Mr White at the Pyalong General Store! We changed trains at Heathcote Junction and were most disappointed that we could not sit beside the driver!