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Maryborough Public Air Raid Shelter
Former Maryborough Railway Station
The public air raid shelter at the former Maryborough Railway Station is a rare surviving example of the public air raid shelters built at railway stations in Queensland during World War II. Constructed in 1942 by Queensland Railways, it is located on the west side of Lennox Street, south of Ellena Street, in the middle of the access loop and car park just south of the former station building.
The shelter is a concrete structure 47′ 6″ (14.5m) long, and 12′ (3.6m) wide. The flat concrete roof is 6′ (150mm) thick, and the walls are 12′ (300mm) thick. Doorways are located at each end of the northeast elevation, with each doorway being set in a recessed area that is stepped back 4′ (1.2m) from the end of the shelter, and 5′ (1.5m) from the front face of the shelter. A sign on the north-east elevation reads 'Air Raid Shelter for Passengers Only'. The shelter is used for storage, and electrical cables enter it above the double timber doors at the north-west end. There is a single timber door at the south-east end.
Place information
Location
Place type
Civil defence facility
History
The Maryborough Railway Station was built as the terminus of a railway network that radiated out from Maryborough from the 1880s, transporting timber, coal, sugar and other agricultural products to the wharves on the Mary River. This network was later linked to the North Coast railway line, and although the Maryborough station was bypassed and became a dead-end station, it remained busy.
In addition to civilian traffic, after the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942 many Australian and American troops and supplies were railed north on the single railway line to Cairns. The construction of two air raid shelters...
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