It's surprising what you discover if you take a step sideways. I've lived nearby for thirty years. But it wasn't until I would walk to work past this spot at the foot of Loomes Hill that I noticed this spare bit of road. After over a decade I found out why it's here. A simple story that highlights how we change (and don't) with the passage of time.
Burragorang Road (or Main Road 259 as it was officially known until 1953) was slowly forged by colonists in search of resources and good farm land, leading to the town of Burragorang in 1827 and Yerranderie by the 1870s. To this day the road follows more or less the path of the first European explorers. For almost a century the Burragorang Valley provided the best quality coal in Australia. Transport of coal and other local goods required a quality road. Authorities would over the years improve the surface, grade and route of the road from Camden to Burragorang.
Road maintenance has always been a big issue in Australia. In April 1923, The Camden News reported on a visit to the area by the NSW Minister for Local Government to inspect Burragorang Road: "The condition of the road was brought forcibly under the notice of the Minister a few miles out from Yerranderie. The road was found to be very rough, and the departmental car suffered damage as the result of coming in contact with one of the many holes in the road."
In May 1937 The Camden News covered the Wollondilly Shire engineer's proposed upgrades to the road from The Oaks to Nattai. Today reportage on such road proposals discusses access, noise impacts and reduced time to the nearest highway. This article summarised the materials to be used, the diameter of new culverts, and the geometry of the road surface and path.
In March 1950, the new State Member for Wollondilly's maiden speech implored the parliament to fund upgrading the entire road, saying it was "... utterly unsuitable for the type of traffic that it now carries. ... will breakdown at any moment, and when it does the supply of 2,000 tons of high quality coal a day to the principal electricity undertakings in the metropolitan area will cease."
Weeks later, The Camden News report on heavy rains in the area highlighted that "A serious wash-away on the road from The Oaks to Camden at the foot of Loomes Hill ... blocked all traffic. This wash-away was at the spot recently repaired by the replacement of a culvert by large cement pipe, it is apparent the earth filling around the pipes had not had time to consolidate."
Government acts, albeit slowly. In June The Picton Post reported that the Member for Wollondilly had received a letter from the Minister for Transport, saying " '... it is appreciated that unusual conditions prevail at present, and in this connection a conference was called recently by the Joint Coal Board to discuss the road, and negotiations are at present in progress, the matter being regarded as one of urgency.' " The Post also reported on questions in parliament by the Federal Member for Macarthur to the Federal Transport Minister, regarding the importance of Burragorang Road to the coal-driven industries of NSW, and the need to upgrade the road. The minister agreed on all points and echoed his NSW counterpart's words above.
In September, truck drivers took action. Sydney's Daily Telegraph reported: "Seventy men who drive coal trucks from Burragorang to Sydney will hold a stopwork meeting at Camden today. They will discuss the bad road surface between Burragorang and Camden. The clerk of the Wollondilly Shire Council ... said last night that 'My council has spent all its road allocation money this year. The Joint Coal Board, the Main Roads Department, and Council are now conferring on methods of maintaining the Burragorang-Camden road. A road census shows that about 95 per cent. of vehicles using the Burragorang-Camden road are coal trucks. There is some talk of imposing a 2/- levy on each truck of coal which passes over the road...' "
In October The Camden News reported that "Repairs had been held up owing to failure to secure agreement between the many different organisations involved.", and that the Federal Member had recently driven the road, seemingly confident that the road had potential - "It appeared to him that where there was adequate drainage the bitumen pavements had done all that had been asked of them."
Agreement was reached, and in March 1951 the Wollondilly Council advertised for a "Storeman-Costs Clerk on the Burragorang Road recontsruction job for a minimum period of two years". The Gosford Times reported that a Gosford engineer was contracted to carry out the work, noting that "Migrant labour will be largely utilised for the work. Mr Wilson's friends say that 'he should be a good linguist by the time the job is finished.' " The Camden News published extracts of a letter from the State Minister for Transport to the Member for Wollondilly stating that Council was employing 36 men, the Federal government would supply additional men, and the State government was aiding sourcing and testing of materials and supplying additional machinery.
In July 1953 works reached this point, with The Picton Post noting that sealing of the section between here and Flaggy Creek had commenced. It is likely that at least some layers where you stand date from this work.
This spot once again made the papers in March 1954. The Camden News reported that a traffic count had been taken here and found that in 24 hours 1,010 vehicles passed by: "Cars, 154; taxi cabs, 1; buses, 17; motor cycles, 4; utility vans, 44; trucks and' heavy vans, 699; semi-trailers, 90; power vehicles, 1."
And there I'm afraid the stories run out, as Trove's archive of newspapers ends in 1954. However, thanks to research by The Oaks Historical Society I can say that a deviation had been made at this point by the 1970s, one of several between Camden and Nattai. The winding but relatively flat path first created for horse-drawn vehicles gave way to a straighter path for heavy trucks and modern cars. Now a trip by here is faster, safer and, thanks to the new culvert installed in the process, unlikely ever to be interrupted by flooding. And as this section wasn't of use or in the way, it has been left to slowly disappear. That said, at the time of writing after frequent flooding rains over the past few years many stretches of Burragorang Road are riddled with holes too numerous to fix. Some things don't change!
History isn't just about the big moments, and sometimes it only takes a step sideways to show you the significance of the little moments.
The geocache, you say? It's right in front of you, I've tried to do something a little different but not too challenging. Please replace it as you found it, and don't spoil the surprise for others.
