Hurstville was on a high in October, 1978.
In conjunction with the opening of Westfield Shoppingtown, escalators were installed between the train station and Forest Road, catering for anticipated crowds of shoppers.
State MP for Hurstville and former rugby league star Kevin Ryan officially opened the two-way escalators, which had been craned into position a few weeks earlier.
Costing $300,000, they were the first escalators, between street level and concourse, to be installed at a train station in Sydney, the Leader reported with front page photos.
"They can transport 8000 people an hour," the report said.
"Otis Engineering pre-assembled the units at the company's Bankstown plant and installed them in the narrow entrance to Hurstville station on Sunday without a hitch.
"About one-third of the concrete stairs remain for use by those who do not wish to travel on the escalators."
Temporary timber stairs into Memorial Park were put in place during the installation of the escalators.
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LEADER FLASHBACK
Every Friday we delve into the Leader archives to embark on some time travel.
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