Aust-Ray-Chapter-7

The life and times of Australia's "Nullarbor Kid". True stories from his past.

Highway 31, The Hume Highway Disappears. ~ ~ ~ It happened over 50 years ago, 1956.

There had been exceptionally heavy rains over a period of time. The area between the towns of Tarcutta and Holbrook on the Hume highway, a distance of 70 km. became waterlogged. Rushing waters from the high country filled the low areas and suddenly the highway started to disappear under a sea of boiling water, which rose over the paddock fences flowing from east to west, mile after mile of water.

North bound traffic was halted at the town of Holbrook and southbound was barred at the creek bridge on the south side of Tarcutta .The worst effected part was 27 kilometers of highway that had disappeared under 2 meters of brown muddy water with the occasional sheep or cow seen, carried by the fast current.

Not just a creek or river crossing but a stretch of 27 km had just vanished.

Nothing like this had ever happened before. It made headlines in all the newspapers all over Australia.

I was bound for Melbourne with an urgent load of washing machines but my truck a 190 International Pantech was sitting forlornly about fifth or sixth in line waiting on the slope with about twenty others parked higgly piggly down the main street in the town of Tarcutta.

Walking to the edge of the water, the top of the creek bridge rails just visible the currant of water flowing fast, forming whirlpools with the tops of the bridge uprights. Looking beyond to where the highway should be, I could see only a vast Billabong of swirling water as far as the eye could see with debris washing past and tops of trees here and there looking like a large bushes, the high trunks lost in the deep and fast running water.

Eventually after a couple of days, the waters receded but to our amazement the creek bridge at the end of town ended the Hume Highway.

No fences, no road, nothing but virgin bush as if this was the end of the line. A horse and cart would have trouble trying to negotiate through this torn up landscape. It was incredible. What the hell do we do now, was the burning question.

In their wisdom the authorities had place 5 ton limits on the only road that was open south through the town of Wagga to bypass this section of road. Now this Wagga road was a secondary highway, used all the time by trucks coming from further up the western plains. There was no valid reason to put a 5 ton limit on it. It was said that it was done out of malice to hinder the trucking industry, as we were in a no holds barred fight with the governments and their railways at this time.

So there we were stranded and all the while more and more traffic started to build up at each end of this 27 km wash out. Some drivers were getting agitated as they had produce for the markets.

Our Sydney office on hearing of the problem decided to load a 5 ton truck with some extra washing machines for the customer in Melbourne who were out of stock and send it down to me with a relief driver enabling me to take over and go through the 5 ton Wagga. Road.

The Main Road engineers had quickly responded to the crisis and started to lay a dirt fill and rocks along the original road base that had disappeared, trying quickly to connect Tarcutta with the hill at Kyeamba.27 km distant. There was one low spot very dicey just before Kyeamba that needed a huge amount of fill around Little Billabong. This area was a very swampy and low lying.

The little 5 ton Bedford arrived in Tarcutta the same day as the engineers were about to open the highway for cars and trucks up to 5 ton. It was the only one as all others had been going through Wagga Wagga.

I spoke to the engineer in charge and he agreed that I could take the Bedford through to the low spot just before Kyeamba but to wait for a semi that they had sent off with a heavy load of steel to test if that section would hold its weight. If it held then they would let a limited amount of traffic through while they continued to strengthen the whole 27 km that had disappeared.

I trundled off sometime after the steel truck with the little Bedford. It was slow going as the road if you could call this muddy track a road was just that a track, slippery and bumpy a low gear job but I managed to catch up with the steel truck as he had made much heavier weather of it and we arrived at the crisis spot together. Both trucks were covered in yellow dripping mud. It looked like you know what.

The Bedford looked as if someone had sprayed it with a high velocity gun with this thick yellow goo. At the top of the tarpaulin covered load the splashes had dried hard but from about cab roof level down it was just a wet running mess. The road being this slushy, the front wheels would drop into an unseen hole and whoosh up over the bonnet and all over the windscreen. This then needed the wipers to push it aside somehow and leave me a little bit of glass to try and see through.

The engineer walked back and asked what I was doing there and when told the engineer at Tarcutta sent me through as the first 5 tonner but to wait for the steel truck to negotiate the tricky part. He was then ok with me being there.

The section we faced was about 6 semi trailers long and only just above the surrounding watery bog that had formed in this hollow. The water wasn't running just laying there.

The engineer asked the driver of the steel truck what he thought adding that he had a Caterpillar grader on the other side that could pull him out if he became bogged.

It was agreed that I would wait till he was through ok then take off after him.

The steel truck managed to slip and slide through sinking down here and there where the surrounding water quickly rushed in but managing to keep going. It was obvious that more fill was needed before opening the road. The engineer told me I would be in the way where I was so I had better go through and get out of their hair. I agreed whole heartedly.

The Bedford slipped and slid through and I overtook the steel truck on the climb out of there as he was in low gear, and I arrived at the top to be met with a reception committee from the south, a large group of Newspaper reporters, police and locals.

I was the first vehicle through the bog to reach the Southern part of the undamaged Hume Highway from the North.

Questions and more questions were fired at me as if I was some sort of celebrity.

In the middle of all these questions and me trying to answer them one at a time there was suddenly a pushing movement through the crowd of reporters a Police Sergeant followed by a Constable was suddenly standing between the reporters and me still in the driving seat of the Bedford.

The ring of reporters backed off a little watching what was going on perhaps sensing a Story.

The Sergeant then stepped back a little and cast his eye all over my mud encrusted truck, paying particular attention to the mud dripping down from the top of the headlights onto the road.

All this time the young Constable and he was young, was just standing there watching his chief.

The Sergeant turned to the Constable and said in a sotto voice for all to hear,

While all this is going on I am just looking at them both with my mouth open, not following what is going on.

While all this is going on the reporters are standing around in a half circle a little bit back from the truck, listening and watching closely.

I stepped out onto the road protesting loudly, yelling at the top of my voice.

"What’s going on? The Main Road Dept. Engineer at Tarcutta let me through with the trial semi with the heavy load of steel and if it's ok they will open the road to 5 ton trucks. As far as I know he is in charge of the road and what he says goes.

"Have you been down to the swamp back there? Its 27 km, of yellow mud look at the bloody truck for crying out a loud and you're talking about a dirty bloody number plate."

I walked to the back of the truck while protesting at this stupidity and it was a sight to behold.

Halfway down the side of the load from the top the mud had splashed up that thick that the ropes tying the load was lost in drying mud as if it was just that, a wall of mud. The back was also a dripping mess the number plate, the rear lights everything was lost to sight covered in yellow dripping goo. What a mess. I'm sure the Burma Road into China during the war couldn't have made such a mess of a truck as my little Bedford was at this time.

I walked back to the cabin in time to hear the Sergeant say to the Constable,

I must have been the first "pinch" for this new Constable as he fiddled with his book and looked back and forth between my license and what he was writing and scribbling and scratching away, looking around momentarily and then back to his writing. One could sense he was uncomfortable, either with his Sergeant or the fact of filling out my particulars. He turned the license over and looked on the back for I don't know what and then back again and then handed it back to me as if it was a death adder.

The Sergeant promptly turned his back and marched off towards the police car with the constable in step behind and I was tempted to call cadence "left right left right" but decided I had better shut up and maybe nothing will eventuate after they realize that I was entitled to be where I was.

The reporters were writing all this down and asking me my name etc... And they all chorused that it would be appearing in the Melbourne newspapers the next day. The injustice of the whole episode was nearly laughable.

It was the biggest disaster to hit the main highway in Australia ever, and a driver being booked for an obscured number plate. This is totally UNBELIEVABLE!

Just then the steel trailer chugged up the hill and they all converged on it as it pulled to a halt behind me, shouting questions at the driver.

A little later I took off to Melbourne and delivered the urgent load to the shop with my mud encrusted Bedford and then returned to Tarcutta a few days later swapped trucks and proceeded with my 190 to Melbourne.

The road by then had been opened with parts still covered in water but not deep. Some parts still needed a tow through sections covered with water with no road base underneath.

For days after the water subsided and the road bed was still mud for miles & miles.

The main roads department had this Cat on standby for the "STICKY" sections for weeks.

These photos are courtesy of Frank Lambert (Truckie extraordinaire)

Sometime later I duly received a summons to appear in court to answer the charge of operating a motor vehicle on the Hume Highway while having an obscured number plate on the front of my vehicle on a certain date.

Needless to say by the time it came to court I was some where out in the Nullarbor plain or up in the New England high country or somewhere and couldn't answer the charge and in my absence I was fined a nominal amount of money.

With these sort of pinpricks is it any wonder back then we treated all authority with disdain and contempt.

They won that one but over the years I had many victories as we played the "Great Game." It was a bitter and drawn out fight. Which, by the way we won in the end, after many court cases and appeals.