New South Wales Road Photo Gallery:
National Route 38 (Gwydir Highway)

The Gwydir Highway starts at Grafton and joins the Castlereagh Highway 14 km outside of Walgett in Western NSW.

It was named after the Gwydir River, which in turn was named for a locale in Wales.

The Gwydir Highway traverses the New England and North West region from the inland plains to the coastal region. At Moree it duplexes with the Newell Highway and at Glen Innes it duplexes the New England Highway. At South Grafton, it joins the Pacific Highway, the Summerland Way and the Orara Way.

The highway passes through several major towns including Glen Innes, Inverell, Warialda, Moree and Collarenebri. Between Glen Innes and Grafton, the Gwydir Highway runs between the Gibraltar Range and Washpool National Parks.

History:

The Gwydir Highway is an east-west link from Collarenebri to Grafton via Moree, Warialda, Inverell and Glen Innes in northern New South Wales. It runs parallel with the Gwydir River, named after Lord Gwydir by Alan Cunningham who crossed the river at Gravesend in 1827, between Warialda and Collarenebri.

The road between the Glen Innes & Inverell, now part of the Gwydir highway probably developed early in the history of the area as a simple track for communication and the vital transport of produce and supplies. (Regional Histories, 1996, pp. 74-5) By 1858 the section between Moree and Warialda was marked on a Post Office Department Map. By 1895 most of the route, between Moree and Grafton was marked on a map of Railway and Coaching Routes, and by 1906 the road to Mogil Mogil was in official records. (DMR, 1976, pp. 37, 46, figure opp. pp. 64).

In July 1928 the route was proclaimed the Gwydir Highway. Through the 1930s a comprehensive improvement program was undertaken by the Department of Main Roads (DMR) with resources directed towards the newly classified State Highways. (DMR, 1976, pp. 138-55) Improvements to the Gwydir Highway included improvement of the westernmost section between Warialda and Biniguy, and a bridge over the Gwydir River (1928-30) and a re-routing of the road across the mountainous country between Glen Innes and Grafton.

Length:	567 km
Route Numbers:	Duplexed with
Historical information provided by NSW Roads & Traffic Authority

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