Lions ambitious road project: Build it and they will come...
THE Kyogle Lions vision and determination saw a new road built connecting the Northern Rivers to Brisbane.
Lismore
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KYOGLE Lions members were initially "flabbergasted" at Jack Hurley's bold suggestion in the late 1960s they should carve a new road from Kyogle to the Queensland border.
They quickly came on board, though, and went on to prove where there was a will, there was a way.
Since early last century, an inland road from the Northern Rivers to Brisbane had been talked about as a good idea.
The rough terrain on the New South Wales side of the border through virgin forest meant the costs had always proved prohibitive.
The Kyogle Lions Club, however, decided that with no government funding on offer the only way to prove this was the best route for a new commercial tourist link with Queensland was to go ahead and build it.
In 1971,The Northern Star reported the club as saying: "If we can show it can be done, who knows what help we might get?"
The project began two years earlier with the Lions president at the time, Harold Brown, calling for ideas for a community project.
Businessman Jack Hurley shocked other club members when he came up with an ambitious plan to build a shorter route from Kyogle to Brisbane. The route would follow the rail line to the Beaudesert Shire in Queensland.
With his experience in heavy machinery, he convinced the group it could be done.
Lions members showed their determination to succeed, walking the proposed route through thick scrub and lantana more than 14 times, with one trip more than 10 miles.
With loaned machinery, a jeep trail was cut to the border. The Forestry Department, seeing the potential benefit to its industry, came on board with the project.
Bulldozers were soon brought in to widen the trail. Despite bulldozers commanding a fee of $25 an hour at the time, most were provided for free.
Murphy Standfield and Bob Alcorn, involved in the heavy machinery business, were mentioned for their contribution.
A scenic lookout near the border was built overlooking the border rail loop.
Donated funds from the community, along with funds donated by the Kyogle Lions Club, helped make the dream of a new road link a reality.
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