A road run over Sylvia’s Gap raised funds for the proposed Gundagai truck museum and rekindled memories of old Highway 31.
Plans to build a truck museum at Gundagai, New South Wales, were boosted by a dinner and road run which raised over $15,000 for the Australian Road Transport Heritage Centre (ARTHC) on June 6 and 7.
Most of the funds were raised by raffles, auctions and donations at the ARTHC’s annual Hume Highway Reunion dinner at the Gundagai RSL Club.
The highlight of the fund-raising weekend was the Sylvia’s Gap Road Run along a section of the old Hume Highway which was bypassed in 1983. The road is now on private property and inaccessible to the general public, but landowners opened their gates for the road run.
Two hundred people enjoyed breakfast at Tumblong before 46 trucks and 50 cars travelled 10.5km of the old Highway. A mix of modern-day working trucks and restored classic trucks took part.
Truck lovers travelled from as far as Melbourne and Sydney for the event. Many attending remembered Sylvia’s Gap from their highway days and discovered little has changed since the road was bypassed. Wrecked vehicles are still rusting away in gullies beside the narrow road.
ARTHC Secretary Daryl Weston was impressed with the attitude of those attending. He says they all appreciated being allowed to drive through the private property and showed respect for the old road throughout the journey.
Seventeen people became members of the ARTHC over the weekend, bringing the total membership to about 70.
See the July issue of Owner//Driver for a full report of the ARTHC event and the Gundagai truck museum proposal. We also speak to Australian Long Distance Owners and Drivers Association (ALDODA) National President Bunny Brown about plans to build a museum at Tarcutta.
Photography: Ben Weston