The Wool Road

Not to be confused with The Wool Track.

Wandean Gap - The bottom of the first of three steep sidelings on Wandean Road that take it from the Pigeon House Range to the ridge line sloping toward the coast.

The Wool Road (also later known as 'The Old Wool Road') was a historic road in New South Wales, Australia, that ran from Nerriga to what is now called Vincentia on Jervis Bay. It was constructed privately in 1841, using convict labour. Its purpose was to provide a shorter route to a seaport for wool grown at Braidwood and beyond. The historical significance of The Wool Road is that it was the first road, capable of being used by wheeled vehicles, linking the inland area around Braidwood to the South Coast. The road led to the foundation of the privately-owned port town of South Huskisson (called Vincentia since 1952) and the adjacent 'government townshIp' of Huskisson.

The Wool Road's route made its use difficult and the port on Jervis Bay was not a success. In 1856, the original road was realigned and extended to Terara (near Nowra) instead of Jervis Bay, becoming the Braidwood Road. The old route through the coastal escarpment to Jervis Bay fell into disuse for many years.

Much of the original route of The Wool Road—approximately 68 km in length[1]—remains in use today, but some parts are accessible only to four-wheel drive traffic. Only a part of the original route that is currently in use is known as The Wool Road or The Old Wool Road today—the section from the Princes Highway to Vincentia. The remainder of the original route still in use today is made up of a significant part of the Braidwood Road (MR92), Wandean Road, and a short section of the Princes Highway.

  1. ^ "Nerriga to Vincentia (on foot)". Google Maps.