1966 Southern Cross International Rally

The first Southern Cross Rally essentially ran from Sydney to Melbourne and back with stopovers in Wagga Wagga and Canberra. This established the four day format that continued for 15 years. In this first event a day was called a “Stage”. Each stage was broken into two “Divisions”, which presumably had separate late time limits. Within each division there were typically about 7 to 10 “Sections”. Interestingly, the instructions rarely told the crews whether a section was competitive or not, except in the case of “Special Stages” which were clearly identified because they were timed to the sixth minute (10 seconds) or maybe quarter minute. In the details below we have made a judgement about which sections were competitive. Most competitive stages, including special stages, were between 50 and 100 km long, with the run up the Barry Way through Suggan Buggan being 164 km.

The instructions were almost entirely in the form of locations and features on the maps of the day. However most sections had route charts, which the organisers were adamant were “advisory” and suggested that they may not be entirely reliable. Most route charts did not go all the way to the end of a section and route instructions did not specify the distance for each section. Therefore the details below include distances that have been measured off the map after the route was plotted. Although the event used miles, the distances below are in kilometres for comparison with later events. For the most part the route used shire roads with relatively few true forestry roads (an obvious exception was the section east of Melbourne through the Beenak Forest). Even special stages often used quite main roads, in fact one used a short section of the Hume Highway!

Itinerary and route plot

Day One

The event began at dusk from Roselands Shopping Centre from where crews headed to the start proper at Bell. A series of stages took crews through Hartley Vale, Lowther and almost back to Lithgow. They then appeared to traverse a road since obliterated by the Lyell Dam before heading south through Hampton, down the treacherous road to Jenolan Caves, then south-west through rugged terrain to a refuel at Crookwell. The route then headed north-west to tackle the first special stage over Wyangala Dam before heading southwards to Boorowa. A further special stage took crews south to the Hume Highway at Jugiong. Three more sections including a special stage took crews west to the first stopover at Wagga Wagga.

Route Instructions

Day Two

The second night quickly headed south-east, crossing the Hume Highway to tackle two special stages across to Tumbarumba. The first skirted, but did not use the Carabost Forest. The second was a loop that re-used part of the first special stage. Several sections then took crews through Tooma then along the Murray and into Victoria at Jingellic. Four special stages around the small township of Bethanga became known as the “Bethanga Stampede” with every road into and out of the village being used. From there crews headed into Albury for a refuel and mealbreak. An easy run down to Myrtleford was followed by a fairly straightforward section to Whitfield, then another to Mansfield with a diversion towards Tatong. Then came a trio of long mountain stages through Jamieson, under Lake Eildon and southwards through Merie Junction and McMahons Creek to a refuel at Warburton. A final section went over Mount Donna Buang (often used in Rally of Melbourne) to Launching Place. Crews then transported to the impound at Melbourne’s old Olympic Park.

Route Instructions

Day Three

The third night began with a jaunt through the Beenak Forest to the east of Melbourne, starting on the Princes Highway in the middle of Pakenham, which was obviously a quiet village in comparison to today being a suburb of Melbourne! Two more competitive sections were tackled in the Strzelecki Ranges, utilising the superb roads around Mirboo North. From Gormandale crews transported to Sale for a refuel and mealbreak and then transported further east through Bairnsdale and Bruthen to the sleepy village of Buchan. Then came the arduous 164 km run up the Barry Way through Suggan Buggan, finishing near Jindabyne (this was later used in the 1968 London-Sydney Marathon). After a refuel in Cooma, crews tackled the only special stage of the third night, starting on Jones Plains Road, then Bobyan Road, a run across some paddocks then a loop through Yaouk to Shannons Flat. The final competitive took crews into the ACT and up to Tharwa before an easy run into Canberra.

Route Instructions

Day Four

The final night began with a long special stage up through Uriarra, including a loop towards Wee Jasper before finishing at Cavan. Three sections then took crews generally eastwards from Yass through Murrumbateman, through what is now the outskirts of Canberra, and Gundaroo to Collector for a refuel. Two sections, including a long special stage, then headed eastwards to Charleyong north of Braidwood. After a brief refuel were two more special stages around Reidsdale and Majors Creek, then up the western side of the Budawangs. Another long section took crews to a refuel at Nowra. The event’s final special stage used part of the Kangaroo Valley Road. Two more sections remained, the first running past Fitzroy Falls and up to Robertson from the south, involving a tricky ford. The last competitive used what are now main roads past Jamberoo to Albion Park. Crews then transported to Pat Cullens Garage in Liverpool before a convoy to the ceremonial finish at Roselands Shopping Centre.

Route Instructions