By Margaret Rose Mclelland
Rupertswood is an abandoned railway station on the Melbourne - Bendigo railway in the suburb of Sunbury in Victoria, Australia.During the ownership of Sir William Clarke, Rupertswood became one of the principal social centres in Victoria, with hundreds of guests arriving at the estate's private railway platform to attend hunt meets, balls and house parties. Clarke was one of the most prominent people in the colony. He was a member of the Legislative Council and received the colony’s first baronetcy. He was so prominent that he was able to have the Mt Alexander rail line diverted past his property. Hence, the Rupertswood Railway station.
It was the last station in the state that operated only to service school traffic, with services only stopping to pick up and drop off traffic for the adjacent Salesian College.
The platforms were opened sometime between 1909 and 1913 to serve the Rupertswood mansion. Until the Second World War the main use of the platforms was for the annual picnic held at Rupertswood. From 1962 the platform had been used daily by students attending the college until 2004, when the Victorian government embarked on the Regional Fast Rail project. Due to the school traffic only status it was officially closed in December 2004.
