Railway House – Ballaarat Room
4.5 (164 Google reviews) Railway House – Ballaarat Room
The room may be closed to the public due to the new display works being completed in the room.
Open 7 days (except Christmas Day) from 9am to 5pm.
The Ballaarat Engine is attached to the Busselton Visitor Centre, located inside Railway House on the Busselton Foreshore.
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Railway House is home to two of Busselton's most visited attractions - the Busselton Visitor Centre and the historic Ballaarat Steam Engine, sharing stories of the engine's connection to Busselton, the Busselton Jetty and the timber industry.
Museum, exhibition and interpretive space by day
Built over 150 years ago, the Ballaarat Engine was the first railway steam engine manufactured in the southern hemisphere and the first locomotive to operate in Western Australia. It was name after the original spelling of the town where it was built in Ballarat, Victoria. The locomotive underwent a full restoration as part of its final move to Railway House, now housed inside the Visitor Centre as a showcase piece to the history of the timber railway and its connection to Busselton.
The Busselton Visitor Centre is housed in the original Busselton Railway Station, built in 1894 and originally located in Stanley Street. It served the community for over 90 years before being decommissioned. In 1987 the station was relocated to the public open space at the town's entrance, then moved to the Busselton Foreshore in 2016 and skillfully incorporated into the magnificent Railway House.
Railway House is one of the first stops on the Busselton Heritage Trail and nearby is the northern terminus of the Wadandi Track, a path open to walkers and cyclists following the rail alignment of the original Busselton to Flinders Bay Rail Line, stretching from Busselton via Cowaramup and Margaret River to Augusta (sections still to be completed).
