Christmas drivers taking the coast road out of Canberra in 1974 had to face the rapidly deteriorating ‘horror highway’.
Every year for the Christmas holidays, thousands of Australians head to our beautiful beaches for some well-earned rest and relaxation. For Canberrans, not having a beach can mean a two-hour drive down the Clyde Mountain to the South Coast of New South Wales.
It’s a ritual that’s been performed every year for decades, including in the time before compulsory seatbelts, air conditioning, ABS brakes, or DVD players in the back seat to keep the children entertained.
Imagine packing the car with over-excited kids, surfboards, buckets and spades, fishing gear, tents, sleeping bags, sandwiches, thermos and red cordial (for the picnic at Braidwood), and then settling into the long drive, only to face roads like this…
