New South Wales Road Photo Gallery: National Route 1 (Pacific Highway)

The Pacific Highway, one of Australia’s busiest and most important road links, passes through the heart of residential, farming and retail areas of many towns along the New South Wales coast between Hexham, northwest of the industrial city of Newcastle, to the NSW-QLD Border at Tweed Heads, about 90 minutes south of Brisbane, the capital of Queensland.

The route's southern terminus is located at the junction of the Pacific Highway (SR111) and the New England Highway (NH1) at Hexham, 16 km northwest of Newcastle, which is north of Sydney. The northern terminus is at the New South Wales / Queensland border, just west of the town centre of Tweed Heads. The route itself is a mix of freeway, arterial and rural highway standards. The highway has been progressively upgraded over the years, however since the late 1980s, an accelerated upgrade program has been undertaken. Despite the acceleration program, only approximately 40% of the highway is of dual carriageway.

Major towns along or near the route include Raymond Terrace, Bulahdelah, Taree, Port Macquarie, Kempsey, Coffs Harbour, Grafton, Ballina and Tweed Heads.

Click here to skip the history section and use an interactive map of the highway which links to photos and more Pacific Highway information.

The road has a chequered history, which is covered throughout this section of the site. The general location of the original route of the Pacific Highway travels from the junction with the Bradfield Highway (Sydney Harbour Bridge) in Milsons Point in metropolitain Sydney through to the NSW-QLD Border. The route in the 21st century is in some cases unnumbered, but other sections include Metroad 1, Metroad 10, State Route 83, and State Route 111. The Pacific Highway (SR83) from Somersby to Doyalson has been renamed Central Coast Highway, back in August 2006.

The highway traces its origins back to an early settler, George Peat, who owned the land between the Hawkesbury River and Mooney Mooney Creek. To provide access to his property, Peat began a ferry service across the Hawkesbury River in 1844 and surveyed, then constructed a road between Hornsby and Kariong in 1854. After his death in 1870, the ferry service was abandoned and the road fell into disrepair, finally closing to all traffic in 1899, following the completion of the Sydney-Newcastle railway.

Demand for a route between Sydney and Newcastle dates back to the early 20th century. When the only access was via the sea or via a long route through the town of Wiseman's Ferry. In the 1920s, the then Main Roads Board undertook a series of surveys to form an easier and more reliable route north from Sydney. In 1928 construction began on upgrading the old road and converting it to a modern standard, plus creating a new route north, utilising some of the abandoned Peat's Ferry Rd, while improving the horizontal and vertical alignments. In May 1930 the ferry service across the Hawkesbury River was re-established to service the new road until such times that a bridge became necessary. June 1930 marked the completion of the concrete surfacing.

During the time of the Hornsby to Gosford contruction, improvements were made to roads between Gosford to Newcastle as part of the link. On May 17 in 1929, the route was named as the Great Northern Highway. The work from Hornsby to Gosford cost almost £1 million, however it was money well spent, reducing the trip from Sydney to Newcastle from 9 hours to 4 ½ hours.

Prior to 1925, highway construction for motor vehicles on the north coast of NSW was almost non existant. The route of the original Pacific Highway (which is still more or less the case now), generally parallels the NSW coast, touching the coast when difficult terrain meant the road had nowhere else to go.

1931: In May, after pressure from the Queensland Government, the coastal highway linking Sydney and Brisbane was named Pacific Hwy.
1931: the MRB built a bridge over the Nambucca River at Macksville, which replaced a vehicular ferry.
1934-36: building of bridge over north arm of Bellinger River constructed at Raleigh, bridge over Terranorra Inlet of the Tweed River at Tweed Heads, bridge over the Clarence River at Mororo and the Tweed River at Barney's Point.
1935: first ever Australian construction of bow-string arch bridge over Shark Creek at Maclean.
1936: Burringbar Range deviation and O'Sullivan's Gap upgrade Bulahdelah.
1936: Timber suspension bridge opened to traffic over the Hastings River near Port Macquarie.
1938: the highway between Murwillumbah and Mullumbimby was realigned and lifted above flood level.
1938: construction of Peats Ferry Bridge at Brooklyn commenced with completion in May 1945 due to the war. A plaque on the southern end of the bridge serves as a monument to the energy and skill of the workmen.
1940s: construction of lift span of bridge over Hunter River at Hexham (completed 1952), bridge of Karuah River Booral, bridge over Coffs Creek near Coffs Harbour, bridge over Burringbar Creek at Burringbar, subway under the North Coast Railway Line at Crabbes Creek.
1948: proposal for the opening span bridge at Swansea, south of Newcastle.
1950s: bridges constructed at these locations: Karuah River in Karuah, Wollomba River at Nabiac, and Macleay River in Kempsey.
1960: in May, NSW's first ever gazetting of a motorway took place, a section of the highway just under a mile in length at Mount White.
1961: Port Macquarie bypassed
1966: August 20 saw the opening of the bridge over the Clarence River at Harwood. Also opening of a 4.6 mile deviation in the same area.
1989: Two major coach accidents on the Pacific Highway near Grafton (in which 20 people died) and at Clybucca near Kempsey (in which 35 people died) prompting an accelerated upgrade program to the highway.

In January 1996, the NSW State Government and the Federal Government agreed to jointly fund the $2.2 billion Pacific Highway Upgrading Program over a period of 10 years. The NSW State Government was to provide $1.6 billion and the Federal Government $600 million.

Dual carriageway & bypass history since the late 1996 in order of town / locality appearance along the highway from Hexham to NSW-QLD Border: