What it is
The station was designed by New Zealand Railways architect George Troup, whose nickname Gingerbread George came from this building, and opened on 12 November 1906. It is built of dark basalt from Kokonga with lighter Oamaru stone facings and pink granite columns along the front colonnade, beneath a tall clock tower.
The booking hall has a mosaic floor of around 750,000 Minton tiles, along with stained-glass windows and decorative ceramics. The main platform is about 500 metres long. Today the building is used by Dunedin Railways tourist trains, the Otago Art Society has rooms upstairs, and the Otago Farmers Market fills the grounds on Saturday mornings. The Toitū Otago Settlers Museum is next door.
Getting there by bus
Cumberland St, outside Woolworths (stop 4), about 200 m away, is served by routes 77 and 78 from Mosgiel. Most other Orbus routes meet at the Bus Hub on Great King Street, around 4 minutes' walk away.
At the Bus Hub, Stop H (stop 5007) serves routes 1, 30, 33 and 35, Stop I (stop 5008) routes 8, 44, 55 and 72, Stop J (stop 5009) routes 5, 10 and 19, Stop A (stop 5000) routes 37, 61 and 63, and Stops B, C and G routes 14 and 18 to Port Chalmers and the Otago Peninsula.
