In Len Beadell's final year of road making, the reconnaissance and construction of the Gary Highway commenced on 27 April 1963. More can be read in 'End of an Era', but meanwhile listen to Gary Beadell introducing the story...
Construction of the Gary Highway started from Everard Junction on the Gunbarrel Highway, east of Carnegie Station, in the Gibson Desert. The road went north towards Gary Junction. As this was towards the end of the road making, only the grader was used, and not the bulldozer.
Len left Warburton on 26 April 1963 and met the boys from the Gunbarrel Road Construction Party to travel past Mt Beadell and camp at Mt Everard that night. The road was rough going. On the 27 April they mended 5 flat grader tyres before commencing the new road and got 6 miles before they camped that night.
The environment wasn't very good for the grader tyres, there were lots of flies and they also had problems with inclement weather being windy, dusty and hot but with some days of rain and cold. Even with these few setbacks, the making of the Gary Highway took just under a month, reaching Gary Junction on 18 May 1963. The Gary Highway was named after Len's son who was born a couple of months earlier on 27 February 1963.
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