Historic Railway Mural, Central Railway Station
In September 1952 a new air-conditioned Interstate Booking Office was opened at Sydney Terminal station, with its outstanding feature being a decorative frieze in scagliola along the top of the walls that illustrated transport in New South Wales from the late 1700s to 1951. It was made by Guido Zuliani, an artist brought out from Italy.
A terrazzo floor was installed which includes a large marble mosaic map of Australia, showing the national rail network in 1951. Included at the ends of the terrazzo floor were the shields of the Australian states.
The scagliola frieze, terrazzo floor and marble mosaic were installed by Melocco Bros. Pty. Ltd. of Annandale.
In the mid-1960s the function of the Interstate Booking Office was transferred to a new Interstate Booking Office established in the passageway on the western side of the General Booking Office. Subsequently, the old booking office area had many uses including as a bakery and fast-food outlet. Following a fire in the kitchen area in 2015, the whole area was closed to the public.
Eventually, the former Interstate Booking Office was cleaned of grease and other grime that had accumulated over the years, as well as the residue from the fire, and in November 2017 work commenced on the task of fitting out the area as a new catering outlet, which is the current use.
The whole artwork is available for public viewing and is a superb example of Melocco Bros craftsmanship; it illustrates the history of the NSW railways up to 1951; and is a visual record of the Australian railway network as at 1951.
References:
Clarke, Michael, Proposal to Nominate as Item of Engineering Heritage Interest, April 2024.
Banger, Chris, Australian Railway History, November 2020.
