Welcome to one of three iconic buildings at Central, The Railway Institute Building.
Note, you do not need to enter the grounds or gardens to access the cache. Your real challenge is avoiding the muggles.
Take a few minutes and have a look at the building. It is historically significant as the first Railway Institute building to be erected in Australia, and an important educational facility at the end of the nineteenth and during the twentieth century.
The 1891 section of the building is a rare and fine example of the Federation Anglo Dutch style, demonstrating a high degree of architectural quality and detail, particularly on its exterior. Later additions complement this original portion in scale and quality of materials.
The building is an important and rare known example of the work of architect Henry Robinson.
The building has rare technical significance because it is an outstanding and relatively intact example of a Railway Institute Building and demonstrates the activities which were carried out in association with adult education in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
The building has representative social significance arising out of its seminal role as a railway institute and is still valued by a section of the community. Office of Environment and Heritage.
The Railway Institute was established by the Railway Commissioners to provide a central teaching facility and vocational library for railway staff. The Institute was formally opened on 14 March 1891. Commercial, trade, and vocational courses were offered to railway apprentices and cadets. Subjects were taught either on site or by correspondence. The Technical College curriculum was followed with students admitted to examinations on the same terms as college students. State Archives and Records.
The Railway Institute Building is socially significant because of its strong associations with railway employees in the past in NSW, and apparently is still very meaningful to many older employees. Many such institutes were established in New South Wales, none as grand as this building.
You can download an interesting report about the building and Institute here.
The building is now occupied by commercial use.
The other iconic buildings at Central? The station itself and The Mortuary Station on the western side of the tracks