Mount Victoria railway station
Mount Victoria has always been an important railway centre since its opening in 1868. It was the first platform structure made of material other than timber built after Penrith station. The original station building still remains and was to a design consistent with the time of John Whitton, Engineer-in-Chief of the NSW Railways. Further additions were carried out in 1899 to the ladies' toilet and other areas. The parcels office was added in 1911 to the Sydney end of the building.
Vancouver Island
The first British settlement on the island was a Hudson's Bay Company post, Fort Camosack, founded in 1843, and later renamed Fort Victoria. Fort Victoria became an important base during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush in 1858, and the burgeoning town was incorporated as Victoria in 1862. Victoria became the capital of the colony of Vancouver Island, retaining this status when the island was amalgamated with the mainland in 1866. A British naval base, including a large shipyard and a naval hospital, was established at Esquimalt in 1865 and eventually taken over by the Canadian military.