Visitors can now step back in time at Bullarto Station with new heritage features at the historic destination.
Minister for Rural and Regional Development, Michaela Settle and Member for Macedon, Mary-Anne Thomas MP visited Bullarto, near Daylesford, to mark completion of the upgrades, which were supported by $42,000 from the Government’s Tiny Towns Fund.
Works have installed heritage-style cabinetry in the Station Master’s Office, new furniture for the Lamp Room waiting area and constructed picket fencing around the station grounds.
The funds are supporting the installation of floodlighting to improve visibility and safety around the station grounds.
A water tank has also been installed and will provide a new water supply to the site.
These are the latest improvements in a multi-year redevelopment of Bullarto Station that’s received more than $500,000 from the state government.
Previous works constructed the station’s replica buildings and historical exhibits, and the Van Goods Shed, which has become a popular wedding and events venue.
These works have helped increase visitor numbers by over 10 per cent since 2024 and supported the volunteer activities offered by The Daylesford Spa Country Railway, which run trains from Wombat State Forest to Daylesford.
The project is the latest to help position Hepburn Shire as a must-see destination and complements recent upgrades to Daylesford’s Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens, which have rejuvenated the Victorian-era parkland.
Barry Fell, Director Daylesford Railway said, “The station building at Bullarto is the foundation for the railway to develop a destination for our patrons.”
“The internal fit out of the building that was funded by the Tiny Towns grant allows us to tell them the story of the Victorian Railways employees who worked at similar stations all over the state, and of the small communities which they served, whose daily economic and social life revolved around the arrival of the train”.
This article is based on a media release from the office of Member for Macedon Mary-Anne Thomas.
