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Eumundi Voice - Issue 80, 6 October 2023
The first Station Mistress
One of the first families to live in the town of Eumundi was the Bedingtons who resided in the Gatehouse from 1891-1909.
The railway used to run through the middle of the town including what is now the Original Eumundi Markets and Dick Caplick Park. There were gates on either side of the tracks to stop road traffic – then horses and bullock carts –crossing the railway whenever a train came through.
Bill Bedington was an English ganger working on the railway at Mellum Creek (soon to be renamed Landsborough) in 1888 where he met Esther Cramp. They wed and moved to Main Camp in 1890 when the railway was being completed between Eumundi and Cooroy. By the time they moved into the Gatehouse they already had two daughters, Ethel and Annie.
Bill Bedington was an English ganger working on the railway at Mellum Creek (soon to be renamed Landsborough) in 1888 where he met Esther Cramp. They wed and moved to Main Camp in 1890 when the railway was being completed between Eumundi and Cooroy. By the time they moved into the Gatehouse they already had two daughters, Ethel and Annie.
Someone had to open and close the gates each time and this person was Esther Bedington, the Station Mistress. The Gatehouse was owned by the Railway Department and part of the employment package.
Bill continued his railway work for some time. As Station Mistress Esther’s knowledge and attention to the timetable was paramount and her duties included collecting and distributing goods as they arrived by train.
The post office moved to the railway station in 1904 and adding to her numerous duties Esther became the Post Mistress while raising six children. She knew everyone and everyone knew her – she was very well liked.
The Bedingtons moved into what became Cook St in 1910 and Esther ran their home as a boarding house. They retired to a farm in Doonan in 1930 at what is now Beddington Rd (with an extra ‘d’).
Joe Hexall – Curator Eumundi Museum
Esther Bedington (nee Cramb), c.1888
