Outback Road Builders by Gordon Wooton

OUTBACK ROAD BUILDERS BY GORDON WOOTON

143 Pages

Colour photography

Gordon joined the E&WS Dept. at the age of 16 years at Burra in their Road Gang in 1958. It was in that year that the Premier of our State told Delhi Santos if they drilled in S.A. looking for Oil & Gas.

There would be roads made to get the plant in & move around in the Cooper Basin. The Burra Gang was chosen to make this road up the Strzelecki to Innamincka & then all over the Cooper Basin. Gordon worked from 1958 through to 1966 building roads into the middle of nowhere. This opened up the Strzelecki and the Cooper Basin. They worked from Blanchwater to Mt Hopeless then the Cobbler Sand Hills then following the Strzelecki Creek to Innamincka ending up in the Cooper Basin.

They worked, slept and ate in all the remote conditions. Working out there inn all the elements the desert could give. There was a great camaraderie with all that worked out there together. Putting the roads in was a great achievement for Gordon and all that worked on them. The Book is the story of Gordon’s time building the roads to get to the Oil Fields. Illustrated with colour photographs from that time.