Poll: Vote to name the Goomeri pothole

After residents celebrated the first birthday of the gaping ‘pothole’ that has blighted the heart of Goomeri for the past year, the community has come together to propose 34 possible names for the eyesore. Vote for your favourite here, and let’s name the Goomeri pothole:

Goomeri residents recently celebrated the first birthday of a massive pothole that was created during the flooding of early 2022, and which was a factor in the cancellation of the 2023 Goomeri Pumpkin Festival.

A section on Maudsley Street in Goomeri has half the road missing, exposing pipes below and collapsing the adjacent pedestrian walkway. It’s an eyesore and makes the road impassable.

Goomeri residents strung up balloons and wrote a cardboard birthday card to congratulate the pit on its first birthday recently.

Maudsley Street is the key to closing the Burnett Highway and the other roads for the Goomeri Pumpkin Festival to allow an alternative access through the township.

Flooding of the Mary River, in Maudsley St Goomeri - Photo Facebook Diane Frola

A picture of the birthday celebration was posted on Facebook to mock the South Burnett and Gympie regional councils after marking one year since the pothole caused the closure of part of Maudsley St.

The gaping hole on Maudsley Street, Goomeri is closed off to vehicles and was decorated with decorated with birthday balloons and a large birthday card.

Potholes are a frequent topic of discussion among residents of the South Burnett and Gympie regions, with the Nanango region being declared the most fatal roads in Queensland, it is cause for serious concern.

Now the time has come to name the pothole.

A social media callout resulted in 32 nominations from the public. Those nominated names have now been put into a poll which readers are being asked to vote on, and determine a winner.

Some of our favourites include Harry Pothole and Potzilla.

Now, it’s time to decide what we should name the pothole. Get your family and friends to vote:

Suggested by South Burnett readers:

“Potential... gold strike or oil strike” by Zaidee Lens van Rijn

“Goomeri Gorge” by Wayne Shaw

“Holy Taledo” by Tammy Murphy

“Council-should-be-ashamed” by Cathryn Tregea

“The Forgotten Land” by Pauline Woodall

“Gunna. Gunna fix it one day” by Sarah Jean

“Roadworthy: For your Roadworthy Car” by Nicole Ward

“Otto” by Teena Stapp

“Willnever(will never be fixed)” by Pam Berlin

“Gotto get around to it” by Rosemary Pratt

“Round to it” by Beryl Leyden

“Fark Me” by Dalles Hayes

“Slip ‘n’ Slide” by Shirley Dow

“Mr Pothole” by Grant La Galland

Suggestions by Gympie readers:

“A Sign of the Times” by Darren Smith-Crossley

“Titanic” by Mel Clift

“Steve the Pothole” by Aaron Bennett

“The Incredible Holk” or the “Council Crater” by Tina Gurr

“Hilary Smerdon” by Michele Aberdein

“I Have Been Forgotten” by Kerrieann Winkley

“The Glen Hartwig Memorial Pothole” by Anna Lanyon

“Hard Labour” by Wayne Ackerly

“Gympie Crater” by Robert Barkle

“Glen‘s Gorge or Hartwig’s Hole” by Dave Freeman

“Not My Job” by Luke Beaumont

“Four Bedrooms, Three Bathrooms with Pool on Five Acres in Town” by Jenny Straughair

“State Government” by Ian Bedford

“Community Killer or Hartwig’s Downfall” by Richard Cronium

“A Disgrace” by Stephen Lyn Bradley

“Potrick” by Michael Zemrowsky

“Grand Canyon” by Pete Clackson

“Potus the Pothole” by Keith Fraser