Members Stories

Road Works in Mokoia Road

When we moved to 119 Mokoia Road (or in those days 77 Mokoia Road) the road consisted of a sealed strip down the centre with grassed portions on each side. As the traffic grew the seal broke up and the grassed portions were metalled so eventually the whole road width was loose metal. You could hear a car coming from inside the house and the dust in summer was awful. The front of the house was thickly coated with it and Dad used to write messages in it on the front of the house.

There was always talk of the road being sealed but it was most always talk. Other roads seemed to get done up but never ours. This seemed incongruous for immediately across the road was the Borough Council Works Depot. Stacks of road metal, racks of pipes, blokes doing jobs, and trucks, a grader, front end loader, road marking machine were right there. But still our road was loose metal. Occasionally the tar boiler was fired up and hot tar was sprayed on the road; but without a proper overall plan its effect didn’t last long. We often saw the water truck being driven along to lay the dust at the worst times.

Some kids have difficulty deciding what their future vocation will be – it would appear that some adults never really work this out. Not I. From an early age the activities viewed at the Depot from our front gate had firmly fixed the resolve in my mind. Yes I would eagerly tell anyone who asked “I want to drive tractors and graders and bulldozers”.

And so this dust situation continued. Until the election of the Crocombe Council. This Council seemed to have a very innovative vision – they wanted to grow Birkenhead – there was a Parade of Homes out in Levesque St and they started a programme of road rebuilding. The work inched toward our place. Side roads seemed to get done first and people predicted that money would run out before our road was done.

And then the work was begun starting at the corner of Hutton Road. Here they built the road up and on the south side opposite the Bowling Club created a difference in height between the kerb and the footpath. It would never be allowed today for safety reasons. They even narrowed the road – why would they do that?

The work advanced to our portion. The section that now houses Mokoia Road Garage was commandeered for the sheds, bulldozers, trucks all hidden behind the Fennel and Wattle trees. Bitumix was the contractor.

Birkenhead Borough Road Works Depot

And then it was the school holidays – what superb timing – they must have used the Small Boys, Big Toys Project Manager. I was “on the job” every day to supervise. First they trenched in a new fibrolite watermain – the old cast iron pipes being unceremoniously wrenched out and carted away.

Then the kerbing and channelling people moved in – particularly important on the South (now Chatswood) side where none had existed before. They were followed by the “big iron” machines, ripping up the old road surface, peeling back the damp yellow clay and spreading new metal.

Each day there was an eager small boy on the sidelines. If one arrived early enough you could see the machines start up in the morning dew, note how the driver always kept their seats dry, and would then watch all day and even help to put out the red kerosene lanterns at the end.

I noted how the men all worked with shirts off so off came mine too and how I was to suffer, and suffer from sunburn.

The pneumatic drill team moved in to break up the old footpath with incredible din and how the pneumatic tools made their arms quiver.

Mum decided that “enough was enough” and took Barbara and I to town for a visit to the Farmers. But the escalators, roof playground, and free bus didn’t have their usual appeal and on arriving home I could hardly wait to see where the project had got to.

And then our section was complete – a new tar sealed road, a new concrete path on the Chatswood side, the only disappointment being a low grade asphalt path on our side.

The Roading team move on to another section but I didn’t care. School Holidays were finishing and it was time to return to the desk.

But I never forgot that holiday.

Brian Potter


Birkenhead Roadmaking 1926