New South Wales Road Photo Gallery: National Highway 15 (New England Highway (Scone to Wallabadah)

New South Wales

Photo Gallery

New South Wales Road Photo Gallery:
National Highway 15 (New England Highway (Scone to Wallabadah)

Proclaimed a State Highway on 8th August 1928, the New England Highway starts in NSW at Hexham, 15km West of Newcastle and heads north-west entering the Hunter Valley region, eventually climbing into the Great Dividing Range to the coal mining areas of Muswellbrook. From there the highway heads North into Tamworth and climbs again into the New England Region, bypassing Armidale, across the ridge tops to Glen Innes, Tenterfield and eventually the QLD border at Wallangarra, it then heads into the fruit and agricultural districts of Stanthorpe and North again to Warwick.

After heading North from the Cunningham Hwy turnoff, the New England Hwy changes shields to NR42 passing through the beef and wool farming areas to Toowoomba. Heading North from Toowoomba, the highway passes through lush green dairying pastures and thick vegetation up into Crows Nest, stopping at the D'Aguilar Highway at Yarraman.

This section concentrates on the area between Scone and Murrurundi, which varies from divided highway standard to rural highway.

This section covers the Murrurundi Range and also an old alignment in the Willow Tree area.

Length (This Section):	37 km
Route Numbers:

Deer Sign at Murrurundi
Northbound outside Emirates Park Horse Stud at Murrurundi, is this sign that is not all that common (although can be seen on the Princes Highway at Sutherland NSW).

Image © Paul Rands

Typical Highway Scene at Murrurundi
New England Highway Northbound outside Emirates Park Horse Stud, November 2004.

Image © Paul Rands

Murrurundi Town Centre Outskirts
New England Highway (Northbound) approaching Murrurundi.

Image © Paul Rands

Murrurundi Town Centre
Taken November 2004 Northbound, this is Mayne Street Murrurundi, with the ever present Roadhouse on the left hand side.

Image © Paul Rands

Mayne Street Murrurundi
This photo doesn't do the town of Murrurundi justice. This is Northbound along the highway, November 2004

Image © Paul Rands

Unusual Pedestrian Crossing Installation
This setup would have been done to make the crossing more visible, using overhead signs, etc. Photo taken at Murrurundi, November 2004.

Image © Paul Rands

New England Highway Southbound at Murrurundi
Taken December 2004, this is Mayne Street in Murrurundi, which NH15 travels along.

Image © Paul Rands

Welcome Sign
At both ends of Murrurundi there are these cool welcome signs installed by the local council. This is the Northern end of town, taken December 2004.

Image © Paul Rands

Northern Murrurundi Approach
Highway leading into Murrurundi from Tamworth. Note the odd blue bicycle sign, these are usually white, but there's quite a few of these dotted along the highway.

Image © Paul Rands

Northbound on the Murrurundi Range
Dual carriageway section of highway heading to Tamworth. December 2004.

Image © Paul Rands

Murrurundi Range Southbound
National Highway 15 leading towards Murrurundi. Runaway truck lane is on the left of scene. December 2004.

Image © Paul Rands

Murrurundi Range Southbound
In the 70s or 80s the highway over the Murrurundi Range was re-routed and turned into a dual carriageway affair. This is another view as you head down from Tamworth, December 2004.

Image © Paul Rands

Murrurundi Range
Another scene of a fairly steep run down to Murrurundi on the New England Highway. Note the interesting state of the road, which is obvious in other photos. The bitumen right through here is rough to say the least, with mine subsidence causing issues, however it seems little money has been spent to fix the road surface.

Image © Paul Rands

Murrurundi Range Southbound
Another view of the road showing the grade of which it travels, I don't think the jersey barrier was a component of the original construction, it seems newer.

Image © Paul Rands

View from the Murrurundi Range
The view from this section of road is spectacular, especially in winter when fog fills the valley below. However it's hard to get a good vantage point when heading south.

Image © Paul Rands

Great Dividing Range
Sign on the Murrurundi Range heading North denoting that this is the crossover point of the Great Diving Range which runs from Queensland to Victoria.

Image © Paul Rands

Custom High Wind Area Sign on Murrurundi Range
This sign could've gone into the custom sign photo section of the site, but I decided that seeing it's on the New England Highway heading South over the Murrurundi Range it should be here.

I would say that this southbound custom sign was used due to the small amount of space left by the truck parking on the left of the photo.

Image © Paul Rands

Hunter Region Welcome Sign
Similar to the Welcome to Sydney sign in the M4 Motorway section of this site, this signs welcomes travellers to the region and lists distances to major towns along the route.

Image © Paul Rands

Murrurundi Range
This is a Southbound photo of the New England Highway over the Murrurundi Range, this section has a few 85 km/h corners but is relatively flat.

Image © Paul Rands

Murrurundi Range
Southerly view of the Murrurundi Range on the New England Highway. December 2004.

Image © Paul Rands

Start of divided road over the Murrurundi Range
This is the start of only a handful of dual carriageway sections of the New England Highway outside of the greater Newcastle area. Southbound, December 2004.

Image © Paul Rands

Beginning of the Murrurundi Range heading South
New England Highway leading to the Murrurundi Range crossing.

Image © Paul Rands

New England Highway near Kankool Heavy Vehicle Inspection Station
Southbound view between Murrurundi & Willow Tree

Image © Paul Rands

Kankool Heavy Vehicle Inspection Station
Used to check trucks and so on to ensure correct weights and roadworthiness, located between Murrurundi & Willow Tree, on the New England Highway.

Image © Paul Rands

LED Variable Message Signage for Kankool Heavy Vehicle Inspection Station
Northbound view of signage before the checking statio

Image © Paul Rands

Weight Advice Sign near Kankool Heavy Vehicle Checking Station
Advice sign for heavy vehicles regarding upcoming checking station, Southbound, December 2004.

Image © Paul Rands

Southbound Approach to Kankool Heavy Vehicle Inspection Station
Signage and roadway near the checking station between Murrurundi and Willow Tree.

Image © Paul Rands

Distance Sign South of Willow Tree
This sign is just on the outskirts of Willow Tree as you head towards Sydney along the New England Highway.

Image © Paul Rands

Advance Directional Sign with unusual amendment
This sign is seen when heading North through Willow Tree on the New England Highway. It's been altered after installation, as the focal point of Quirindi is in capitals, which is quite unusual as directional signage has used mixed case since the 1960s and this sign would be from the this or the last decade.

Image © Paul Rands

Corner of Ogden & Learmonth Streets Willow Tree
Sign facing the road to Merriwa at Willow Tree. November 2005.

Image © Paul Rands

Advance Directional Sign
Southbound at Willow Tree, this sign is just showing intersection options with the road to Merriwa.

New England Highway through Willow Tree
Southbound view of the main street of Willow Tree. December 2004.

Badly placed signage on Willow Tree Southbound Approach
These signs are too close together as you head into town. December 2004.

Tourist Alternate Route Sign
Sign northbound at Willow Tree showing an alternate route to Tamworth, November 2005.

Northbound approach to the Kamilaroi Highway
At North Willow Tree, the Kamilaroi Highway (NR37) joins the New England Highway (NH15), this is the advance directional signage for this major intersection.

Distance Sign
This is the Southbound Distance sign as the Kamilaroi Highway intersection ends on the New England Highway at Willow Tree.

Southbound view of New England Highway from Kamilaroi Highway
At the Kamilaroi Highway intersection, this photo shows the New England Highway as it sweeps into Willow Tree. December 2004.

Very old directional signage at Kamilaroi Highway Intersection
Very old black signage on the corner of the Kamilaroi and New England Highways at Willow Tree. All the other signs within several kilometres of here were updated to green reflective ones years ago, however this relic was forgotten. It probably dates to when the intersection was upgraded, probably in the 1970s.

Updated Directional Signage at Kamilaroi Highway
September 2005 sees a new sign in place of the old black one.

Kamilaroi Highway Connection at Willow Tree
Intersection of the New England Highway and Kamilaroi Highway at Willow Tree looking Southbound. December 2004.

Distance Sign Northbound at Willow Tree
Distance sign just outside the Willow Tree Roadhouse on the New England Highway.

NH15 / NR37 Intersection
Southbound approach to the intersection of the New England Highway and Kamilaroi Highway at Willow Tree. December 2004.

New England Highway Southbound
This photo shows the typical road conditions along the New England Highway in the Willow Tree area. December 2004.