Mt Evelyn Railway Station opened as the Olinda Vale Unattended Platform on 13 November 1901 at the highest point (225m above sea level) on the railway connecting Lilydale and Warburton.
The station was renamed Evelyn in 1907, and Mt Evelyn in 1919.
Assistant Station Masters were appointed until the Station Master’s residence was built in 1911, after which Mr O’Connor was the first Resident Stationmaster, appointed in 1913.
On 1 January 1942, J.A. Paterson commenced as the last Station Master.
During his time the station was seven times awarded first prize in the Metropolitan District for Management, Maintenance and Tree Planting in the Non-piped Water section of railway competitions.
The railway line closed in 1965.
The Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail is now the major walking and biking trail in the Yarra Valley.
The alignment of the Rail Trail at Mt Evelyn is not the original track alignment, which is on the land now leased by Bowens.
The Stationmaster’s residence is now the Station House, home to the Mt Evelyn Community House.
The surviving parts of the platform are in two sections, as the centre part was demolished to make the current Station House car park.
The last two years have seen several works at the station site undertaken by Yarra Ranges Council, including the highly successful realignment and reconstruction of the platform area.
Care was taken to protect the roots of the trees remaining from the station gardens by excavating using water blasts.
A second project protected and showcased the last parts of the original platform, beneath the library and the St John buildings.
Historical significance is founded on the existence of tangible remains as described in the Burra Charter.
These lumps of reinforced concrete are the oldest station artefacts located at the site, and highly significant.
The third project, created from information provided by Mt Evelyn History Group, was the erection of an interactive sign at the site.
This sign includes audio of the farewell steam train run on 8 August 1965, from the DVD ‘Last Train to … Last Run of …’ , included with permission from Channel 5 Productions.
