Department of Main Roads (New South Wales)

The Department of Main Roads (DMR) was an agency of the New South Wales Government, responsible for planning, constructing and maintaining major road infrastructure. The DMR directly managed highways and major roads and provided funding to local councils for regional and local roads. The agency was merged with other agencies to form the Roads and Traffic Authority in 1989.

Department of Main Roads

DMR date plaque on the Inglewood Bridge over the Lachlan River near Gunning
Agency overview
Formed	December 1932
Preceding Agency	New South Wales Main Roads
Dissolved	13 January 1989
Superseding agency	Roads and Traffic Authority
Type	Government Department
Jurisdiction	New South Wales
Minister responsible	Minister for Roads
Agency executive	Commissioner of Main Roads
Key document	Transport (Division of Functions) Act of 1932

History

See also: Transport for NSW

The Ministry of Transport was established in December 1932 by way of the Transport (Division of Functions) Act of 1932, following the dismissal of the Lang Government and the subsequent state election.[1][2] The ministry consisted of three departments, including the Department of Main Roads and the Department of Road Transport and Tramways.[3][4] The departments were established as the incoming Stevens Government and its Minister for Transport Lt. Col. Michael Bruxner sought to reorganize the management of the road network in NSW. The new Department essentially resumed the functions that had been held by the NSW Main Roads Board from 1925 until March 1932, when they were transferred to the Department of Transport by the Lang Government.[5][6]

The Transport (Division of Functions) Act of 1932 provided for the appointment of a Commissioner of Main Roads who held the powers necessary to manage the major highways of the State. Hugh Hamilton Newell was appointed as the first Commissioner.[7] The new Department also took over the management of the newly constructed Sydney Harbour Bridge from the Public Works Department.[8]

In 1976 the responsibilities for managing traffic, including the operation of the traffic signal system, were transferred to the DMR from the Department of Motor Transport, which was a successor of Department of Road Transport and Tramways.  Many specialist traffic management staff and traffic signal maintenance crews also became part of the DMR at this time.[9][5]

The DMR was merged with the Traffic Authority of New South Wales and the Department of Motor Transport to form the Roads and Traffic Authority on 13 January 1989.

New South Wales Road Classification

When formed, the DMR was responsible for managing 26,321 km of the major roads in NSW.[8][9] These were formally classified as:

• State Highways
• Trunk Roads
• Main Roads
• Secondary Roads
• Developmental Roads

By 1972 this network had grown to 43,292 km and by then also included some additional classifications:[8]

• Freeways
• Tourist Roads
• Unclassified roads in the remote western parts of the State

Local roads continued to managed by local councils.

Organisation

The Department of Main Roads was headed by a Commissioner who was a statutory appointment by the Minister for Roads.  The Department employed salaried staff who carried out planing, management an administrative tasks and day labour staff who undertook road and bridge works.

For much of its existence the DMR undertook a significant proportion of its road and bridge construction and all its maintenance activities using its own labour force.  It also operated major mechanical workshops, asphalt plants, spray sealing crews, road linemarking teams and materials testing laboratories.

In 1932 the Department had a total employment of 2,425. By 1970, as tasks expanded, this number had grown to 11,497.  In the later 1970s and through the 1980s successive waves of internal re-organisation led to more work being let out to contract with the total employment number dropping to 8,700 by the time the Department ceased to exist in 1989.[8]

List of Commissioners of Main Roads

No.	Commissioner	Took Office	Left Office
1	Hugh Hamilton Newell[10][11][12] CBE, MICE, MIEAust	29 Dec 1932	15 Mar 1941 (Died while holding office)
2	David Craig[13][14][15] MICE, MIEAust, MInstT., FAPI, FIPA	17 Mar 1941	1 Aug 1946 (Died while holding office)
3	Alfred Edward. Toyer[16][17] BE, MIEAust, MInstT, FAPI, FIPA	2 Aug 1946	18 Aug 1953 (Died while holding office)
4	Howard Macoun Sherrard[18][19][20] CBE, MCE, MICE., MIEAust, MInstT, MAPI, MRIPA, MASCE	19 Aug 1953	19 Apr 1962
5	John Alexander Lachlan Shaw CBE, DSO, BE, MIEAust, MInstHE, MInstT, FAPI	20 Apr 1962	25 Aug 1967
6	Russell John Starr Thomas ASTC, FIEAust, FCIT	26 Aug 1967	25 Aug 1974
7	Andrew Frederick. Schmidt[21] BE, FIEAust, FCIT, FRIPA	26 Aug 1974	12 Jan 1976
8	Brian Joseph Sexton BE, FIEAust, FCIT	13 Jan 1976	17 Nov 1981 (Died while holding office)
9	Bruce Norman Loder BE, DipTCP, MIEAust	18 Nov 1981	2 Nov 1986
10	Bernard.Godfrey. Fisk ARSM, BSc(Eng)(Met), CE, MIMM	3 Nov 1986	12 Jan 1989

National Affiliations

The Department of Main Roads became a member of Conference of State Road Authorities (COSRA) when that organisation was formed in 1934 and then, from 1959, the National Association of Australian State Road Authorities (NAASRA).  When NAASRA was transformed into Austroads in 1989 the DMR’s successor the Roads and Traffic Authority became a foundation member.

See also

• Austroads

References

• Aitkin, Don (1969). The Colonel: A political biography of Sir Michael Bruxner. Australian National University Press. ISBN 9780708100288.
• Terry, Michael (1945). Bulldozer: the War Role of the Department of Main Roads, New South Wales. Frank Johnson, Sydney.

Notes

1. "Transport (Division of Functions) Act, Act No. 31, 1932" (PDF). NSW Legislation. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
2. "AGY-3819 Ministry of Transport [I] (1932-1975) Ministry of Transport and Highways (1975-1978) Ministry of Transport [II] (1978-1990)". NSW State Archives & Records. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
3. "AGY-2 Department of Main Roads". NSW State Archives & Records. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
4. "AGY-537 Department of Road Transport and Tramways". NSW State Archives & Records. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
5. Broomham, Rosemary (2001). Vital Connections: a history of NSW roads from 1788. Alexandria NSW: Hale and Iremonger and Roads and Traffic Authority NSW. p. 121. ISBN 0868067032.
6. Gibbons, Robert Peter (1978). Transport administration and planning in Sydney : co-ordinative influences in a multi-organisational policy field. University of Sydney. pp. 89–90.
7. Aitkin, Don (1969). The colonel : a political biography of Sir Michael Bruxner (PDF). ANU Press. ISBN 9780708100288.
8. New South Wales Department of Main Roads (1976). The Roadmakers. Sydney: Department of Main Roads. ISBN 0724004394.
9. Kass, Terry (2006). Roads Thematic History Second Edition (PDF). Roads and Maritime Services. p. 77.
10. Mayall, R. M., "Newell, Hugh Hamilton (1878–1941)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 29 April 2020
11. Department of Main Roads (1941). Annual Report 1941. Department of Main Roads. pp. 5–6.
12. Department of Main Roads (1942). Annual Report 1942. Department of Main Roads. p. 3.
13. Department of Main Roads (1938). Annual Report 1938. Department of Main Roads. p. 1.
14. Department of Main Roads (1946). Annual Report 1946. Department of Main Roads. pp. 4–5.
15. Department of Main Roads (1946). Main Roads December 1946. Department of Main Roads. p. 2.
16. Department of Main Roads (1953). Annual Report 1953. Department of Main Roads. pp. 5–6.
17. Department of Main Roads (1953). Main Roads September 1953. Department of Main Roads. p. 1.
18. Freestone, Robert, "Sherrard, Howard Macoun (1897–1984)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 29 April 2020
19. Department of Main Roads (1953). Main Roads December 1953. Department of Main Roads. p. 46.
20. Department of Main Roads (1962). Main Roads June 1962. Department of Main Roads. p. 108.
21. Department of Main Roads (1978). Annual Report 1978. Department of Main Roads. p. 14.

External Links

• History of Department of Main Roads - NSW State Archives & Records

 Australian Roads portal