Escort Way is a
country road in
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
running from
Mitchell Highway
Mitchell Highway is an outback state highway located in the Central West Queensland, central and South West Queensland, south western regions of Queensland and the North West Slopes, northern and Central West, New South Wales, central western ...
in
Orange to
Lachlan Valley Way
Lachlan Valley Way is a New South Wales country road running from Booligal to north of Yass.
Route
Lachlan Valley Way commences at the intersection with Cobb Highway in Booligal and heads in a north-easterly direction for about to Hillston. ...
in
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
. The name derives from the notorious hold up of the
Lachlan Gold Escort by
bushrangers
Bushrangers were originally escaped convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who used the bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. By the 1820s, the term had evolved to refer to those who took up "robbery under ...
in 1862 which occurred along the route, and subsequent lobbying by the Canowindra Historical Society to recognise this.
Escort Rock
Escort Rock is a heritage-listed geological formation at Escort Way, Eugowra, Cabonne Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of a group of historic sites labelled the Ben Hall Sites for their association with bushranger Ben Hall, along ...
, a heritage-listed geological formation is located adjacent to the road near Eugowra.
Route
Escort Way commences at the intersection with
Mitchell Highway
Mitchell Highway is an outback state highway located in the Central West Queensland, central and South West Queensland, south western regions of Queensland and the North West Slopes, northern and Central West, New South Wales, central western ...
at Orange in the east and heads in a westerly direction, intersecting with
Henry Parkes Way in Boree, and passing through the towns of
Cudal
Cudal ( ) is a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. Cudal is in the Cabonne Shire Council local government area, west of the state capital, Sydney. The town was first surveyed in 1867. Running through the town is "Bo ...
and
Eugowra
Eugowra is a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The town is split between Forbes Shire and Cabonne Shire local government area, west of the state capital, Sydney. At the , Eugowra had a population of 779.
Geogr ...
, before it ends at an intersection with
Lachlan Valley Way
Lachlan Valley Way is a New South Wales country road running from Booligal to north of Yass.
Route
Lachlan Valley Way commences at the intersection with Cobb Highway in Booligal and heads in a north-easterly direction for about to Hillston. ...
at Forbes.
History
The passing of the ''Main Roads Act of 1924'' through the
Parliament of New South Wales
The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Eac ...
provided for the declaration of Main Roads, roads partially funded by the State government through the Main Roads Board (later the
Department of Main Roads, and eventually
Transport for NSW
Transport for NSW, sometimes abbreviated to TfNSW, and pronounced as Transport for New South Wales, is an agency of the New South Wales Government established on 1 November 2011, and is the leading transport and roads agency in New South Wales, ...
). Main Road No. 61 was declared along this road on 8 August 1928, from Forbes via Eugowra and Cudal to the intersection with North-Western Highway (today
Mitchell Highway
Mitchell Highway is an outback state highway located in the Central West Queensland, central and South West Queensland, south western regions of Queensland and the North West Slopes, northern and Central West, New South Wales, central western ...
) at
Orange) (and continuing west to Condobolin).
With the passing of the ''Main Roads (Amendment) Act of 1929'' to provide for additional declarations of State Highways and Trunk Roads, this was amended to Trunk Road 61 on 8 April 1929.
Trunk Road 61 was re-aligned to run between Orange and Condobolin via Parkes on 6 April 1938; its former alignment between Condobolin via Eugowra and Cudal to Boree was replaced by Main Road 377.
Heavy lobbying from the Canowindra Historical Society commenced in 1979 for a name change and appropriate signage,
which eventually proved successful: the route - from Orange to Forbes, along Trunk Road 61 and Main Road 377 - was officially gazetted as (The) Escort Way on 24 October 1986;
the definite article appears to have been dropped not long afterwards.
The passing of the ''Roads Act of 1993'' updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, Escort Way today retains its declaration as parts of Main Roads 61 and 377, from Orange to Forbes.
Escort Way was signed State Route 90 between Orange and Boree in 1974, with a concurrency with State Route 81 between Boree and Cudal. With the conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in 2013, State Route 90 was removed and not replaced, and the concurrency with State Route 81 was replaced with route B81.
Major intersections
See also
*
Highways in Australia
*
List of highways in New South Wales
References
{{Road infrastructure in New South Wales
Highways in New South Wales