Bolam Drive & Whitton Close, Kelso
Council has received a request from the developer of the Gateway Enterprise Park, Kelso, to name two new roads in the next stage of the Estate as it nears completion.
The developer has nominated the names Bolam Drive and Whitton Close for the two new roads.
Bolam Drive
Bolam Drive has been nominated in honour of former Mayor of Bathurst Bruce Bolam O.A.M. Bruce Bolam was Mayor of Bathurst City Council between 1984 and 1987. The nomination has been supported by the following information provided by the proponents.
Bruce Bolam O.A.M. was a towering figure in Bathurst and central western NSW. He was a well-known businessman, former mayor of Bathurst, philanthropist and family man.
Bruce and his family came to Bathurst in 1974 for a holiday and never left.
Bruce went on to become one of the region's most successful business people.
He was a true entrepreneur and through his many business ventures he built wealth, prosperity and opportunity, not to mention employment for many, many country people. Over the course of his career Bruce ran several successful businesses, including a security business that expanded from one branch to 30 and became the largest privately owned security business in the country. He also owned and operated the motel and caravan park on the highway at the entrance to Bathurst. In fact, the iconic gold-panner that still greets visitors as they enter the city today was his idea.
Over the course of his successful career he helped, through many acts of kindness, a huge number of people who were in difficulty. The public never knew about them. His love of Bathurst saw him actively and successfully engage in public service through his role as mayor, an office he held for four years.
He later moved into property development and instigated what is today the Gateway Estate. In 2014 Bruce was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for services to the Bathurst community.
In 2016, Bruce Bolam passed away unexpectedly at the age of 77.
It is fitting that his contribution to Australia and the city of Bathurst appears in our nation's Hansard.
The Bolam Family has been consulted and is supportive of the nomination.
Whitton Close
The name Whitton has been nominated in honour of John Whitton. John Whitton has a strong connection with the construction of the railway to Bathurst and many stations along its route. Given the frontage of the land to the Great Western Railway line it is a fitting tribute to this connection. The nomination has been supported by the following information provided by the proponents.
John Whitton was the Engineer-in-charge of the New South Wales Government Railways between 1856 and 1890. Born in Yorkshire, England in 1820, he arrived in Sydney in 1856.
Whitton was responsible for the construction of Main Western railway line through the Blue Mountains to Bathurst in 1876. This included construction of the Bathurst Railway Bridge over the Macquarie River. Bathurst was destined to have a special design, because Bathurst was regarded as one of the early destination towns of the NSW Railways.
Whitton's works in both New South Wales and Victoria are extensive and include railway stations, railway bridges, viaducts, railway yards, and other infrastructure where he has designed projects and/or they have completed under supervision. 25 items of his work are listed on the NSW Heritage Register as significant under the Heritage Act, 1977 (NSW). An additional 37 other works are listed as significant in various local government areas.
It is estimated that, under his supervision, 3494 kms of railway around New South Wales and Victoria were completed. Whitton is recognised as one of approximately twenty of the greatest railway civil engineers in the first century of world railway construction.
Almost 1 kilometre of railway track borders the Gateway Estate to the south.
A location map and plan of subdivision are available in the Document Library.
The above names comply with Bathurst Regional Council's Guidelines for the Naming of Roads.