HISTORY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING IN NEW SOUTH WALES. 593 



one of tlie heaviest and most romantic mountain passes executed 

 by the Roads Department, and requires some further works for 

 its completion. Its utility extends for some miles up and down 

 the valley of the Wollondilly, and possibly, at some future date, 

 communication may be established higher up the Cox to eflfect a 

 junction with the Westei'n line. 



ROADS FROM THE NORTHERN COAST TO NEW ENGLAND. 



The earliest lines of communication in this portion of the 

 colony consisted of the road from Port Macquarie to Walcha, 

 and the A. A. Company's road from Gloucester up Hungry Hill, 

 the former of which ascends an extraordinarily long spur in the 

 ascent to the tableland, keeping it for thirty-five miles, the track 

 being waterless from the foot to near the summit. This road has 

 been, until recent times, in use by New England settlers sending 

 down wool to port, and also by the coast settlers returning the 

 produce of their warmer climate. The road was difficult and 

 dangerous, and the port was always very hazardous, consequently 

 little or nothing has been done to improve it. The railway being 

 now open, all ti-alfic from New England takes advantage of it, and 

 the road is now hardly ever travelled. The latter road referred 

 to was opened roughly as a di'ay track to communicate between 

 Hungry Hill, the A. A. Company's township and estate at Port 

 Stephens, and their properties on the Liverpool Plains. It is now- 

 much used, as a pass having been made through Gawnie, partly 

 supplanted it in general traffic years ago, and the opening of the 

 Great Northern-road by a new pass over the Liverpool range and 

 up Doughboy Hollow, executed by the present Roads Department 

 in 1861, rendered both the former passes almost obsolete. 



With a view to establishing a line of communication between the 

 large rivers north of Port Macquaxne and the tableland, the forma- 

 tion of the road from Grafton to Glen Innes, was commenced about 

 1863. This road, commonly known as the Ne^vton Boyd, is one of 

 the largest works undertaken by the Roads Department, and was 

 under the immediate supervision of Mr. Howison as resident 

 engineer. It consists generally of a series of heavy, long, 

 mountain cuttings, and one of the bluffs was so severe that the 

 usual expedient of tunnelling on a common road had to be resorted 

 to. This road was followed subsequently by similar roads from 

 Grafton to Armidale, and from Kempsy to the Macleay River to 

 Armidale, the work on the latter being particularly heavy, and 

 gradients very even and easy throughout. From the head of the 

 Manning a vehicular pass also exists via Cooplacurrapa, joining 

 tlie old A. A. Company's road at Nowendoc, the summit of the 

 Hungry Hill. The three principal main roads of the colony, viz., 

 the Southern (from Sydney to Aibury), the Western (from Sydney 

 to Warren), and the Northern (from Morpeth to Maryland), are 



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