An eight and a half mile stretch of sealed road, extending from North Haven to Lake Cathie – through Bonny Hills – was officially opened on Saturday last. The Commissioner for Main Roads, Mr J. Shaw, CBE, DSO, BE, performed the opening ceremony, cutting a ribbon at the North Haven end. After the ceremony, the Commissioner and some 50 guests drove along the new road to the Bonny Hills surf pavilion where lunch was served.

Mr Shaw said the $127,000, ($102,000 in the shire, $25,000 in the municipality) which his department had provided had been well spent. He complimented the shire council, engineer (Mr W. Russell), and workmen on the excellence of the job. In a further complimentary reference to the shire, Mr Shaw said Hastings Shire now had 63 per cent of its roads sealed, and this was well above the state average of 53 per cent.

In his welcome to Mr Shaw, shire president Cr Joe Andrews thanked Mr Shaw for what he had done over the years for the shire. The road, he said was the biggest job the council had ever taken on. At the luncheon, Cr Andrews presented Mr Shaw with a beautifully carved table, made in Wauchope from timber grown on the Hastings. The section of the road from North Haven to Lake Cathie was named Ocean Drive, and a roadside plaque was unveiled by Mr Shaw.

Protest from Sub-branch

Port Macquarie RSL Sub-branch protested strongly against the proposal to place name tiles along the front wall of the baths building, and suggested a dwarf wall within the grounds. The Sub-branch felt it would detract from the layout of the baths, which were a properly dedicated war memorial. A final meeting of the baths management committee will be called soon when the full cost of the baths will be discussed, and a smaller committee elected, consisting of two aldermen, the baths manager and a member of the Swimming Club. The RSL had asked council if the committee was to be retained.

TV set presented

The NSW manager of Pye Industries, Mr G. Cooper, accompanied by local Pye representatives Mr R. Swalwell and Mr P Alexander, visited the High School recently. At the school assembly, Mr Cooper officially presented a 25-inch Pye TV set to the school principal, Mr S. Condon. Mr Condon thanked the Pye representatives for their generous and most useful donation. He was supported by school prefects Petina Alexander and Jill Leabeater. 

Nature strip and trees

Council will acquire a nature strip in Bridge Street east, subject to the concurrence of Consolidated Motels Ltd, owners of the Macquarie Motel. The proposed nature strip will be 40 feet wide, extending from the road back on the southern side of the street. It will be a continuation of the Olympic Pool frontage west to Munster Street intersection. At Thursday night's works committee meeting, engineer, Mr E. F. Grogan, advised that property owners of light industrial sites near the Munster Street intersection had agreed to make their frontages available for the strip, but he had not received word from the Education Department, or Consolidated Motels Ltd, whose land would be affected.