Shires Agree On Brindabella Road

4 April 1964 The Canberra Times 

The Tumut and Yarrowlumla Shire Councils decided at a joint meeting yesterday to support the Brindabctla Valley route for the proposed Canberra-Tumut road.

Five Yarrowlumla shire councillors Cr. J. N. Gorman, Cr. C. R. E. Southwell, Cr. P. H. Hardy, Cr. L. Reardon and Cr. N. E. McTernon - together with the shire engineer, Mr. J. M. Firth, and the shire clerk, Mr. E. Buchtman, travelled over the two proposed routes yesterday.

They met the Tumut shire councillors at Tumut to formulate a joint policy on the road.

Both groups agreed that the road through Brindabella was the "only possible route."

Most Yarralumla councillors who undertook the trip over the two routes dismissed the other route, through Wee Jasper, as a "windy, hilly roundabout."

Speedometer readings taken over the two routes showed that the Wee Jasper route was about 10 miles longer than the Brindabella road.

The councillors took three hours to reach Tumut by the Brindabella road. It took about half an hour longer for the two shire cars to negotiate the Wee Jasper road.

The two councils decided at Tumut that the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies, and the N.S.W. Premier, Mr. Heffron, should be approached to find out what has occurred since a joint Commonwealth - State committee was appointed several months ago to report on the two routes.

They also decided to ask Mr. I. Pettit (Lib., Hume) to arrange for a delegation from the two shires to meet the Minister for National Development, Senator Sir William Spooner, the Minister for the Interior, Mr. Anthony, and the Minister for Defence, Mr. Hasluck, to discuss the proposed road.

The two shire engineers will prepare an up-to-date study of the Brindabella route to help the two shires in their claims.

The Yarrowlumla councillors said the road via Brindabella would open an area of great agricultural potential.