Glenbrook Tunnel (1892)

Use as a railway tunnel 's 1891 painting of ''Fire's On!'', depicting a fire in the Glenbrook railway tunnel. . The original line of railway was opened in 1867, scaling the escarpment above Emu Plains by the Lapstone Zig Zag. At the top of the Zig Zag the railway followed the route now occupied by the Great Western Highway through Glenbrook as far as Blaxland. When increased rail traffic caused delays on the Lapstone Zig Zag, it was decided in 1891 that a tunnel should be built bypassing the Zig Zag. The tunnel and its new approaches were designed to form an elegant S-shape, starting at the Bottom Points of the Zig Zag and ending at old Glenbrook station (now demolished, on the present Great Western Highway). The building of the tunnel in 1891-2 was contracted to George Proudfoot, whose labourers and their families were established in two substantial camps at either end of the works, one at Glenbrook, the other at Lapstone. Sir Arthur Streeton's famous painting 'Fire's On!', saw the building of the tunnel and the fatal blasting accident which killed Thomas Lawless become a part of Australian mythology as well as railway history. over Knapsack Gully to the east and the new line then ran through virgin country south of the old alignment as far as the present Lapstone station and then turned west through a short tunnel under The Bluff and finally north to the present Glenbrook station. == Description ==

The S curved railway tunnel is constructed internally of brick (some areas are cement rendered) and a cement floor. It is approximately in length, passing beneath the ridge which carried the Zig Zag line and now the Great Western Highway. The western end, which is the main entry point, is located near to the edge boundary of Knapsack Reserve. The eastern end is located near Railway Reserve/Darkes Common. To the south of the main entry is the Great Western Highway. Knapsack Reserve is north of the main entry. The tunnel is laid out in reverse curves with transitions. The western entry is accessed from an unformed road through a series of large, older tin shed and outbuildings used by the existing tenant for business purposes. The road gives way to a gravel track large enough for use by vehicles. Vegetation is encroaching on the track. This appears to be covering stone walls which would have formed the western railway approaches dug out when creating the tunnel and the deviation. An open shed is located close to the tunnel entry sheltering a variety of equipment. The eastern end was not accessible in 2010. The entry is characterised by a large three ring brick parabolic arch with a sandstone outer curve and a horizontally articulated entablature constructed of axe-faced and margined stone ashlars. The top of the entablature course to the former rail level is approximately . The face brickwork of the surround is plumb and laid in English bond. The arch is flanked by brick buttresses/battered piers on either side of the entrance. Beyond these are short sandstone retaining walls laid in squared rubble. An undated light fitting on bracket is located centrally over the arch. The arch opening has been filled in with sheets of iron, exhaust fan and a roller door to secure and ventilate the tunnel for the current occupier. The eastern entry is similar to the western entry, although the flanking piers are a little wider due to the slightly wider railway cutting. This is in part due to the approach to hillside at the western cutting being generally steeper. Inside, both painted and unpainted brick and cement rendered wall and roof surfaces are visible throughout the tunnel. The brick work is laid in English bond for 40 courses above the present floor, above which the height changes to stretcher bond. The shape of the tunnel is a continuation of the entrance arch. Weep holes are located in the walls about two courses above ground level that are one course high and about apart. A variety of services suspended from the roof and fixtures primarily associated with the current use are visible, including piping and racking. A strip of fluorescent lighting is located down the centre of the tunnel. What appear to be drainage ditches are located along both walls the full length of the tunnel. All railway tracks have been removed and the concrete floor has replaced what was probably a ballast surface, as has evidence of the mustard gas storage facility. The floor has an even grade of 1 in 33 upwards from east to west. Regularly placed recessed refuges designed as safe spaces for railway workers caught in the tunnel as a train approached are located down both sides of the tunnel about apart. They are deep, wide and high and are characterised by a three ring segmental arch. Condition As at 15 December 2010, the tunnel structure appears to be in very good condition visually. Mushroom racks and associated infrastructure and infil at the end of the tunnel appear to be non structural and easily reversed if desired. The tunnel structure does not appear to have been significantly altered. The most obvious alterations are the apparent replacement of the railway tracks and ballast with a concrete floor, and removal of any purpose built facilities associated with the mustard gas storage. Modifications and dates • 1913 - Railway lines removed • - mushroom growing beds installed • -42 - mushroom growing beds removed for establishment of mustard gas storage • Post 1945 - converted for mushroom growing == Heritage listing ==

As at 22 February 2011, the former Glenbrook Railway Tunnel and Mustard Gas Storage Depot has outstanding significance as one of a series of only four tunnels, in NSW that physically embody Australian policy towards bulk chemical gas storage during World War II for defensive purposes on home soil. The presence of the gas for use only when the opposition attacked with chemical weapons, represents Australia's ongoing commitment to honouring the articles of the 1925 Geneva Protocol to which Australia submitted an instrument of ratification in 1930. It also demonstrates Australia's increasing awareness and fear of the threat posed by Axis forces, particularly Japan and the preparedness of Australia and the Allied Forces to employ antihumanitarian weapons widely condemned in World War One, in the event that the Axis powers used such weapons in an attack. Glenbrook Railway and World War II Mustard Gas Storage Tunnel was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 5 August 2011 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales. The tunnel has state historical significance as one of only four tunnels located in NSW, secretly identified and established for storage of chemical weapons for defence purposes in the event of an attack on Australian shores during World War II. The tunnel is a reminder of this secret NSW and Australian military history not publicly known about until the first years of the twenty first century. The facility was part of a much larger process of acquisition, storage, testing and disposal of poisonous gas. Many men suffered from contact with the gas and were unable to discuss their experiences of war on the home front for many years. Its establishment was a direct response to the Australian government's fear of invasion by the Japanese, particularly after the fall of Singapore to Japan in 1942, and the potential for the Japanese to use poisonous gas against Australia. The facility also reflects the changing course of World War II and the willing use by Australia of clauses in the Geneva Protocol which prevented signatories from utilising poisonous gas for attack purposes, but did allow them to use it for retaliatory purposes in the event that they were attacked with poisonous gas. The tunnel has local significance as a railway tunnel constructed to bypass the Lapstone Zig Zag as rail traffic, and subsequently delays, increased on the zig zag line. In the twenty years that it operated the tunnel gained a fearsome reputation among locomotive crews and travellers for the unpleasantness of the journey due to the choking smoke and fumes. '''The place has a strong or special association with a person, or group of persons, of importance of cultural or natural history of New South Wales's history.''' The site has historical associations at a state and national level with the British and United States Military forces who were involved in the establishment of chemical weapons in Australia during World War II. It also has associations with the Defence Force Armourers responsible for maintaining the facilities in Australia, in particular the Royal Australian Air Force's No 1 Central Reserve. The tunnel has high state and national significance for its direct association with events which directly resulted from the Australian and other government's ratification of the 1925 Geneva Protocol banning the use of chemical warfare for offensive purposes. As the subject of the 1891 painting, Fire's On by Arthur Streeton, it is the inspiration for a picture that has been described as one of the great icons of Australian landscape painting. The tunnel and its eastern approaches in particular also featured in a number of other works by Streeton, thereby making the site as subject of these paintings significant to the state. The place has strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. The Glenbrook Tunnel has state significant as being important to Defence Force Armourers and their families across NSW as evidence of the long hidden and previously disbelieved story of their work during World War II. It is also important to the defence forces generally as evidence of a previously suppressed aspect of their history. The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. The Glenbrook Tunnel is state significant, being rare as one of only four tunnels in New South Wales identified for chemical gas storage purposes during World War II, three of which are located within the Blue Mountain region. Unlike the remaining three tunnels, the Glenbrook tunnel is the only tunnel to retain its original post railway use, mushroom growing. The tunnel has local significance as the only major item of surviving fabric from one of the three railway ascents of the eastern escarpment. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places/environments in New South Wales. Glenbrook tunnel has local significance as being representative of tunnels constructed on the Main Western Line from the 1890s and into the early twentieth century to cater for increasing traffic on the railway line. The tunnel is a fine example of engineering in brickwork, displaying a substantial vaulted form of elliptical cross section, double curved in plan. == See also ==