ROBYN PARKES
In late 1894, a request was made to the local district manager of railways by Messrs Philip, Best, Challies and Ford for the railway crossing at Appleby to be made wider, for a goods shed to be built and a flag station established.
Waimea West was an extensive barley producing district at this time, having an estimated 10,000 sacks of barley being sent by rail during the grain season. It made perfect sense for Appleby to be made a station.
With a positive response from the local manager, a meeting of farmers took place in Appleby in early 1895 to consider what more could be done. A petition was drafted and sent to the Minister of Railways laying out the dangerous siding at Appleby and the inadequate space for farmers to load their produce onto the train and no room to turn a horse and dray. The farmers requested that a quarter acre of land, being a corner of a paddock belonging to George Talbot, was acquired to build a goods shed and upgrade the siding to a flag station (an unmanned wooden shelter where passengers could signal approaching trains by waving a flag).
The response was quick, as in February 1895 Messrs Seddon and Graham accompanied the railway traffic manager to Appleby to get a better understanding of the request.
Having sited the positioning for the station, the Premier was in agreeance that not only would it be convenient for the settlement but also that it would increase the earnings of the line, but warned that the public would need to guarantee its continued patronage. The flag station was opened on the 23rd of April 1895.
A terrible accident occurred in early 1908 when a young lady was killed through a collision between a coach and a train. It was the Anniversary holiday and a Newmans Coach, driven by Charles Brickland, was approaching the Appleby railway line. The train was running a little early and it approached the Appleby crossing near the flag station just as the Motueka to Nelson coach drove up. The coach reached the railway line before realising the train was approaching and, finding it impossible to back, he drove forward, but the engine crashed into the side of the coach just as the horses cleared the rails.
Brickland was thrown out of the coach and was unconscious. Of the passengers the nine-year-old daughter of Alfred Fittall was severely injured. Lydia Tilbury was killed, and her sister was injured.
Brickland was charged with manslaughter but at the court case Brickland’s lawyer stated that Brickland had been driving his coach over the Appleby crossing for some time and had never before met a train. Therefore, he was in the habit of not anticipating any danger in crossing the line. On the day of the accident a special train was running which Brickland was not aware of.
Brickland was found guilty of breaking the law for crossing the line while a train was within half a mile. The jury returned with a verdict of negligent driving causing the accident, and a second case with a grand jury considered the evidence and the charge of manslaughter was thrown out.
In 1939, to improve safety issues, the overhead bridge was built over the railway line. In 1949 the state of the goods shed was not good and it was demolished. The station was closed for three days in June 1954 until the Nelson Section was granted a reprieve, but closed permanently in September 1955.
