JENNY AITCHISON
MINISTER FOR REGIONAL TRANSPORT AND ROADS
MEDIA RELEASE - RETRO REST STOPS: A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE
Vision and grabs available to download here
Regional roads, the cars we travel in, and places we pull in for a break on a road trip have evolved over the last 70 years, but the need for drivers to stop, revive, survive remains unchanged.
These summer holidays, to celebrate our rest stops, the staple stop-in of family road trips, Transport for NSW has taken a trip down memory lane by releasing an album of 60 historical rest stop images, including some never seen before.
The black and white film photographs, some dating back to the 1950s, showcase the cars and fashion of a bygone era. Like today, these roadside pull-ins were a place for people to park, stretch their legs, use the amenities, and set up a picnic.
The nostalgia-triggering album is a record of rest stops across regional NSW; from Goulburn to Gundagai, Cooma to Coonamble, Bourke to Booligal, Mittagong to Minnamurra, Yanderra to Yass, plus Parkes and Warren and dozens more.
The photos are also a reminder that roads, as well as cars, have come a long way. The images are from stop-ins along the highways including the Hume, Princes, Monaro, Pacific, Castlereagh, Sturt, Newell, New England, Gwydir, Cobb, and Mitchell which have all seen upgrades since the last album shot was taken in the 1980s.
Today, Transport for NSW owns and maintains more than 550 of the state’s 751 public rest stops on state roads, some of which boast BBQ facilities and playgrounds for families to park and play. In the last decade Transport has added 19 new rest areas across the network.
The images are being released to the Transport Historic Assets Library as part of a major project to digitise an archive of 300,000 analogue photographs, created by the former Department of Main Roads, using state-of-the-art cultural heritage capture technology to preserve every detail for generations to come.
Image collections will be released in stages as the team continue to work their way through the significant State Archive.
The rest stop album can be found on the Transport Historic Assets Library.
See a map of all NSW rest stops and their amenities here to plan your journey.
Quotes attributable to NSW Regional Roads and Transport Minister Jenny Aitchison:
“These images are a fun and timely reminder to everyone travelling these holidays to take a break when road tripping. Remember getting there is part of the adventure, and we want you to arrive safely.
“Tragically, we saw 351 people die on our roads last year [2023] and we know fatigue and speed are leading causes of road trauma in regional NSW. It’s important to take a break when you are on long car trips.
“These photos are a real blast from the past, and I’m sure they’ll trigger memories of summer drives in the days before podcasts and air-conditioning.
“The album shows the long-standing legacy of the state government in shaping and improving our regional road network. Compared to the 50s, summer getaways are faster and safer thanks to bypasses and better roads.
“Despite being many years since these photos were taken, the message for drivers to have a rest every two hours hasn’t changed.”
Quotes attributable to Transport for NSW Senior Project Manager Holly Schulte:
“It’s been a joy to explore the nostalgia of these retro rest stop photographs by sharing their history and contribution to placemaking in New South Wales through Transport’s own archive.
“We have thousands of photographs showcasing the building and updates to many of Transport’s most iconic assets, including bridges, roads, railways, wharves and the people at the forefront of these monumental projects. It’s incredibly exciting that we’re now starting to preserve and release digital assets to the public.
“We are a small team of highly skilled collection specialists with a big passion for preserving and sharing history.”
MEDIA: Ryan Young | Minister Aitchison | 0408 0477 608 886
