Escort Way is a
country road in
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
running from
Mitchell Highway
Mitchell Highway is an outback state highway located in the central and south western regions of Queensland and the northern and central western regions of New South Wales in Australia. The southern part of Mitchell Highway forms part of t ...
in
Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
** Orange juice
*Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...
to
Lachlan Valley Way
Lachlan Valley Way is a New South Wales country road running from Booligal to north of Yass. It was named after the Lachlan River, and follows its southern bank for the majority of its length.
Route
Lachlan Valley Way commences at the interse ...
in
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
. The name derives from the notorious hold up of the
Lachlan Gold Escort by
bushrangers
Bushrangers were armed robbers and outlaws who resided in the Australian bush between the 1780s and the early 20th century. The original use of the term dates back to the early years of the British colonisation of Australia, and applied to ...
in 1862 which occurred along the route, and subsequent lobbying by the Canowindra Historical Society to recognise this.
Escort Rock
Escort Rock is a heritage-listed geological formation along the Escort Way at Eugowra, New South Wales, Eugowra in the Central West (New South Wales), Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is one of a group of historic sites lab ...
, a heritage-listed geological formation is located adjacent to the road near Eugowra.
Route
Escort Way commences at the intersection with
Mitchell Highway
Mitchell Highway is an outback state highway located in the central and south western regions of Queensland and the northern and central western regions of New South Wales in Australia. The southern part of Mitchell Highway forms part of t ...
at Orange in the east and heads in a westerly direction, intersecting with
Henry Parkes Way in Boree, and passing through the towns of
Cudal and
Eugowra
Eugowra is a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The town is split between Forbes Shire and Cabonne Shire local government area, west of the state capital, Sydney. At the , Eugowra had a population of 779.
Geograp ...
, before it ends at an intersection with
Lachlan Valley Way
Lachlan Valley Way is a New South Wales country road running from Booligal to north of Yass. It was named after the Lachlan River, and follows its southern bank for the majority of its length.
Route
Lachlan Valley Way commences at the interse ...
at Forbes.
History
The passing of the ''Main Roads Act of 1924'' through the
Parliament of New South Wales
The Parliament of New South Wales, formally the Legislature of New South Wales, (definition of "The Legislature") is the bicameral legislative body of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). It consists of the Monarch, the New South Wa ...
provided for the declaration of Main Roads, roads partially funded by the State government through the Main Roads Board (later the
Department of Main Roads, and eventually
Transport for NSW
Transport for NSW (TfNSW) is a Government of New South Wales, New South Wales Government transport services and roads List of New South Wales government agencies, agency established on 1 November 2011. The agency is a different entity to the NSW ...
). Main Road No. 61 was declared along this road on 8 August 1928, from Forbes via Eugowra and Cudal to the intersection with North-Western Highway (today
Mitchell Highway
Mitchell Highway is an outback state highway located in the central and south western regions of Queensland and the northern and central western regions of New South Wales in Australia. The southern part of Mitchell Highway forms part of t ...
) at
Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
** Orange juice
*Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...
) (and continuing west to Condobolin).
With the passing of the ''Main Roads (Amendment) Act of 1929'' to provide for additional declarations of State Highways and Trunk Roads, this was amended to Trunk Road 61 on 8 April 1929.
Trunk Road 61 was re-aligned to run between Orange and Condobolin via Parkes on 6 April 1938; its former alignment between Condobolin via Eugowra and Cudal to Boree was replaced by Main Road 377.
Heavy lobbying from the Canowindra Historical Society commenced in 1979 for a name change and appropriate signage,
which eventually proved successful: the route - from Orange to Forbes, along Trunk Road 61 and Main Road 377 - was officially gazetted as (The) Escort Way on 24 October 1986;
the definite article appears to have been dropped not long afterwards.
The passing of the ''Roads Act of 1993'' updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, Escort Way today retains its declaration as parts of Main Roads 61 and 377, from Orange to Forbes.
Escort Way was signed State Route 90 between Orange and Boree in 1974, with a concurrency with State Route 81 between Boree and Cudal. With the conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in 2013, State Route 90 was removed and not replaced, and the concurrency with State Route 81 was replaced with route B81.
Major intersections
See also
*
Highways in Australia
Highways in Australia are generally high capacity roads managed by states and territories of Australia, state and territory government agencies, though Australia's federal government contributes funding for important links between capital cit ...
*
List of highways in New South Wales
The present highway network in New South Wales, Australia was established in August 1928 when the Main Roads Board (the predecessor of the Department of Main Roads, Roads & Traffic Authority and Roads & Maritime Services) superseded the 1924 ...
References
{{Road infrastructure in New South Wales
Highways in New South Wales