A photograph frozen in time shows cattle being herded by riders on horseback on their way to the Freezing Works in Stoke.
In the background is the Otterson Gum and Craig House, both now gone. Taken in 1976 it is a scene that would be laughable today.
Looking into this intersection there are some interesting stories. Unfortunately, the sadder ones are of deaths that have occurred through vehicle accidents. There are, however, some lighter moments by today’s standards.
In April of 1918 a young man was caught driving dangerously. The charges were, “driving a motor vehicle at a speed of more than 12 miles per hour, exceeding the speed limit of six miles per hour while crossing the intersection and failing to give warning of his approach”.
The defendant pleaded guilty but said that he could not regulate to speed of the vehicle as water had got into the benzine. He was fined five shillings, and seven shilling court costs.
Around a year later, Council were still concerned about the excessive speed of some motorists. Police took matters into their hands to deter people from this and a number of court cases ensued.
A similar case to the above saw two men charged with riding unlighted motorcycles at 10 minutes to 10pm around the corner of Queen St and Gladstone Rd. They also pleaded guilty and were fined 10 shillings with seven shillings court costs. They also admitted to exceeding the speed limit of 6 miles per hour at the same time and place and were each fined another 10s and 7s court costs.
The year 1926 saw a major clean of the ditch along the intersection where the main refuse were parts of leg bones of sheep.
Flooding was a problem that occurred from time to time and the intersection saw its share. In 1929, after yet another flood, many residents put forward their views of why it flooded and their remedies to stop it happening.
Some considered it to be positively dangerous as they were compelled to walk in the midst of “fast moving traffic.”
In 1944 the Main Highway Board met with the then Council to bring a proposal of their intention to deviate the State Highway from a point near the Freezing Works to join up with the southern end of Gladstone Rd.
The meeting was attended by Mayor Mr A R Tuffnell and councillors. The reasons given were that the corners of the intersection were dangerous as well as the intersection of Salisbury Rd and Queen St.
The Highway engineer stated that it would separate local traffic and a number of street intersections and save nearly half a mile in distance.
Council weighed up the pros and cons and a resolution was carried to protest against the proposal as they considered the advantages gained far outweighed by the disadvantages.
The present highway through the borough was seen to be sufficient to carry all traffic and that there were alternate routes via Oxford St and Wensley Hill.
It was thought that the danger at the corner of the intersection of Queen St and Gladstone Rd would be increased if the through traffic passed this point without having to slow down, and the perceived danger at the intersection of Queen St and Salisbury Rd would be largely eliminated when the contemplated improvements to the corner were carried out.
The proposed deviation was vetoed at that time but, as we know, it did happen in the early 1970’s with the first deviation following the old proposal.
By Robyn Parkes
