Kunwarara Station - Australian Workers Heritage Centre Barcaldine
Client: Autralian Worker’s Heritage Centre
Category: Museum
Date: 2013
In 2013, Brandi Projects completed the upgrade of the Kunwarara Railway Station at the Australian Workers’ Heritage Centre. We were asked to refurbish the existing museum fitout, undertaken by Brandi Exhibitions many years prior. The scope was to bring to life the amazing story of railway workers, modernising the exhibition and bringing in more technological elements.
The Rockhampton to Kunwarara line opened in 1915, and the station was the last bastion of that line until its closure. The building was moved to Barcaldine’s Australian Workers Heritage Centre in 1994. The Centre is dedicated to telling the stories of the workers who shaped Australia. The station is part of the Railway Precinct, which houses the Kunwarara Station itself and platform. It also houses a loading crane and a workers’ campervan carriage.
The restoration and exhibit is part of a group of heritage exhibits we ave completed for the Australian Workers Heritage Centre (AWHC). The AWHC is an exhibition space showcasing the historical workplaces of yesteryear. Where historical buildings are given a place as part of immersive historical storytelling. This includes the AWU Shearer’s Hall and the “Working For Health” Exhibtions.
Features of the exhibit at a glance
- Didactic interpretive panels
- Sensor-activated soundscape at the front
- Lighting
- Educational children’s board game “Barcy Express” illustrates the dangers and fun involved in rail travel back in 1915.
- Work is also being undertaken to renovate the existing carriage with interpretive panelling linking with concepts from the station.
Collaborations
Curation Crozier Schutt Associates
Comments about this Project
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Warren Truss, said in a joint statement that the Shearers’ Hall and the Kunwarara Railway Station were important displays about the nation’s past.
“The Australian Workers Heritage Centre each year contributes to regional and national tourism, boosts local employment and helps to sustain rural life,” Mr Truss said.
“It is one of the major drawcards on the Matilda Tourist route, with about 25,000 visitors a year, and it is a strong link in the chain of some 33 Queensland Heritage Trail Network attractions.”…Kunwarara Railway Station, built in 1915, is about the crucial role that rail played in serving the communities at the time.”