Helensburgh Glow Worm Tunnel

The Helensburgh Glow Worm tunnel is a disused train tunnel in Helensburgh, New South Wales that has become a popular tourist attraction due to its heritage status, haunted history and most notably, its glow worm population. It is owned by Crown Lands and taken care of by a community group called Helensburgh Landcare, who in early 2019 restricted access to the tunnel for the conservation of the glow worm colony. At the time of writing, the tunnel remains open for public viewing on weekends only, in attempt to manage the number of visitors to the protected site.

History
The Helensburgh Glow Worm tunnel was opened on January 1, 1889 and formed part of the town's first railway station. The original station was made up of two single line tunnels; a short ‘Helensburgh tunnel’ that ran 80 metres in length; and the ‘Metropolitan tunnel’ which was 624 metres long. The latter is what is now locally known as the ‘Helensburgh Glow Worm tunnel’. The Metropolitan tunnel connected the local colliery to Helensburgh station as a way to transport mining produce uphill where it could be transported to suburbs to the north of Helensburgh.

The tunnels and station were closed in 1915 when the train line was duplicated and moved to combine and simplify the Sutherland to Wollongong journey; a necessity due to the increased coal mining operations from Helensburgh and down the South Coast. With the two tunnels no longer in use, the colliery turned the Metropolitan tunnel into a reservoir for mining purposes. In May 1928 a concrete plug was installed at the southern end of the tunnel which allowed the mine to control the water that would flood the tunnel from the northern end.

In April 1995, Metropolitan Colliery chose to clear years of debris and overgrowth at the northern entrance of the tunnel. After removing 2 metres of soil, several bricks from the original station platform were found. Helensburgh Landcare sought to excavate the site and was granted permission by the colliery to dig down to the original train track level.

In 2001, Helensburgh Landcare was awarded a Centenary of Federation grant allowing them to transform the site into a historical attraction. To recreate a realistic tunnel, the ground was lay with ballast and then parts of the original train track taken from the colliery side of the tunnel were put down in place of the original line. Landcare also restored what was left of the original ‘Helensburgh Station’ sign, found in a gully close to the area.

Over the years, the site became frequented with locals, historians, tourists and photographers as well as colonies of glow worms. In 2012, the station sign was vandalised and removed, restored and reinstalled in 2015. Within 18 months the sign was vandalised again.

In June 2018, a fence and gate were installed at the site in response to complaints made to the NSW department of Industry, to discourage vandalism and destruction of the site and glow worm colony.

On December 21, 2018 a new reserve was issued by the NSW government that marked the Metropolitan tunnel and Helensburgh tunnel had been set aside for “passive recreation, heritage purposes, environmental protection”. Whilst Crown Lands retained ownership of the tunnels, this reserve appointed Helensburgh and District Landcare Group Inc as crown land manager, giving the group responsibility of the tunnels. Their first act as land management was to officially name the reserve, ‘Helensburgh Station Reserve’.

In early 2019, the group decided to closed the Metropolitan tunnel off from would-be visitors from January 7 to February 3, by locking the fence and blocking access to the tunnel for conservation purposes.

Local superstitions
The Metropolitan and Helensburgh tunnel have become a popular attraction for those who believe in the paranormal. Some visitors report eerie feelings and supernatural encounters upon returning from either tunnel. This is purported by a death that occurred in one of the tunnels on June 13, 1895.

A miner named Robert Hails died in a train tunnel after he was run over and split in two by a train whilst trying to pass through the tunnel on foot. Which tunnel this accident occurred in is unknown, as multiple news sources were inconsistent when reporting the location of his demise.

A local paper, the Illawarra Mercury wrote of the trial surrounding the death in its June 15, 1895 article;

“The jury returned the following verdict – ‘That deceased came to his death by injuries accidentally received on the 13th of May through being run over by a passing train – No.67 – in No. 2 tunnel on the Illawarra line.”

At the time, the extended Helensburgh rail area had 8 tunnels in total. The No. 2 tunnel was also known as the Cawley tunnel and is located to the north of the old Helensburgh station.

“He had stayed rather late in the township and on going home had to pass through the tunnel where the accident occurred.”

The Cawley township was in the opposite direction of Hailes’ home in the suburb of Clifton. At the time, Cawley railway station was being used to receive goods for work on the railway, and to deliver supplies to the colliery. The township of Cawley had begun to disappear in 1888 when the Cawley post office had closed down. The reason for its closure was a lack of business; 7 years had passed since work had finished on that section of the line and workers had moved further down to work on the Otford and Clifton sections of the line. Although it is possible he was visiting a friend who remained in the township, there is speculation that Robert having died in the Cawley tunnel is incorrect.

There is reason to suggest that he may have travelled through either of the two Lilyvale tunnels, or the Metropolitan or Helensburgh tunnel. West Helensburgh had started to become a developed town and could have been a reason for him to go through the Metropolitan and Helensburgh tunnels. It is also argued that like many residents at the time, he may have used either of the two lilyvale tunnels which lead to the neighbouring suburb of Bulgo. An article from the Australian Star, published on June 14, 1895 gives an alternate view of events to its Illawarra Mercury counterpart.

“A wire from Wollongong says: — News is just to hand of a train fatality which occurred in the first tunnel this side of Helensburgh this morning…”

As this news came from Wollongong, then “this side of Helensburgh” would refer only to tunnels south of Helensburgh; which would discount the Cawley tunnel. Interpretations of this may mean any of the 4 tunnels aforementioned.

Another article by the South Australian Chronicle, published on June 15, 1895 stated

“He had apparently gone to sleep on the line in a short tunnel as he was returning home late last night from work.”

Local historians believe ‘short tunnel’ would imply that he either met his death in the Lilyvale tunnel or the Helensburgh tunnel, which are both 80 metres in length. However, ‘short’ is relative and it remains a mystery as to the true location of Hailes deathplace.

And yet out of these conflicting reports, a local legend that one can hear the footsteps of Robert Hailes trying to outrun the trains was conceived. The main Metropolitan tunnel and its companion the Helensburgh tunnel have since become a great source for ghost-tour operators in the south coast.

Glow worms
After the Metropolitan tunnel was restored, a colony of glow worms began to inhabit the inner part of the 24 metres stretch of excavated tunnel. These glow worms, also known as Fungus Gnats are famous for their bioluminescence. It is the blue-green light that the worms emit, that attracts many visitors to the tunnel. It is also this light that lures the glow worm's prey – small invertebrate, for example mosquitoes.

In June 2018 a fence was constructed at the base of the entrance to the old station after

“The [NSW department of Industry] received reports of damage to heritage items on the platform, and there are concerns about the impact of light, noise and pollution on the glow worms in the tunnel,”.

The glow worm populations have been reduced in recent years by spectators to the tunnel interrupting the worms feeding processes by visitors’ beaming flash lights onto the roof of the tunnel, sending up flares and firecrackers for photography purposes, and graffitiing the inner tunnel wall.

Today, access to the tunnels is at the discretion of the Helensburgh Landcare group. The group blocked entrance to the tunnel for 4 weeks in January 2019 during breeding season in an effort to allow the glow worm population to recover from years of poor treatment.

When the gate is locked, visitors are prohibited by law from entering the tunnel. The tunnel now comes under the NSW Inclosed Lands Protection Act 1901, which makes trespassers liable to prosecution.

As of publishing, the tunnel remains open for public viewing on weekends only, in attempt to manage the number of visitors and protect the glow worm population.