Tennis Great Finally Gets His Way

Ian Small, Hazel Christie-Small, Acting Mayor Cr Gavin Jones, Cr Jane Erkens, Jenny Gilliland, Dinah Jones, Cr Kirstie Schumacher, Cr Danita Potter, John Atkins and Nick Freeleagus at the official opening of Roy Emerson Way

August 23, 2023

An eight-year battle to get a section of road in Blackbutt renamed “Roy Emerson Way” to honour one of Australia’s sporting greats has finally come to a successful conclusion.

On August 9, South Burnett Regional Council officially unveiled signposts designating the portion of Muir Street between the D’Aguilar Highway (Coulson Street) and the Roy Emerson Museum “Roy Emerson Way”.

While the change will have no effect on the postal addresses of Muir Street residents, the signs acknowledge Emerson’s life-long association with Blackbutt and point the way to the nearby Roy Emerson Museum.

The Museum began its life in 2011 when the Blackbutt & District Heritage Association (BDTHA) inherited the former Nukku schoolhouse from the South Burnett Regional Council.

Nukku Primary School was established in 1928 a few kilometres outside of Blackbutt and served the families of Nukku and Gilla.

It opened with 20 students and continued until its closure in 1967, when the building was sold to the former Nanango Shire Council and moved to Nanango to serve as the home of the local Girl Guides troop.

But when that troop closed, the Blackbutt Tourism and Heritage Committee made an offer to take the building.

In November 2011, the school building was shifted to a site adjacent to the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail in Blackbutt with funding help from Stanwell and the Bloomin’ Beautiful Blackbutt committee.

As the schoolhouse was where Roy Emerson went to school, the BDTHA focussed on creating a museum dedicated to the world-famous tennis player.

The Roy Emerson Museum was officially opened in January 2015 when Roy Emerson and his sisters Daphne Anderson and Hazel Stewart visited the town.

Later that same year BDTHA also acquired the former Nukku rail siding building where the Emerson family used to drop off their dairy’s milk and this was added to the museum complex as well (again, thanks to Stanwell).

And a few months after that, BDTHA lodged a petition with the State Government requesting they rename a section of the D’Aguilar Highway between Kevin Allery Bridge in Blackbutt and the northern side of Nukku Bridge as “Roy Emerson Way”.

But when that petition was rejected, the Museum focussed its efforts on a campaign to raise $65,000 to build a life-size bronze statue of Roy Emerson in its gardens.

The statue was completed after 12 months of fundraising led by Hazel Christie-Small, and was officially unveiled by Roy Emerson and his wife Joy in January 2017.

In 2019, the SBRC decided to revisit the idea of creating a “Roy Emerson Way” on the highway, but this was also turned down.

But this year the Council decided that if it couldn’t have the highway renamed, it could rename – or at least re-signpost – one of its own streets.

And on August 9, the unveiling of the new Roy Emerson Way signs was witnessed by Councillors and a small band of BDTHA supporters.

Acting Mayor Gavin Jones said he was delighted to see the new signs go up along the road, and congratulated the BDTHA on the development of the museum complex over the past 12 years.

He said it was an important tourist attraction for Blackbutt, and also a very attractive trailhead for the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail.