{"id":253274,"date":"2020-02-19T20:03:56","date_gmt":"2020-02-19T10:03:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=253274"},"modified":"2020-07-12T17:50:39","modified_gmt":"2020-07-12T07:50:39","slug":"emerson-way-rejected-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/02\/19\/emerson-way-rejected-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Emerson Way Rejected Again"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington and Roy Emerson at the unveiling of a bronze statue of the tennis great in Blackbutt in 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

February 19, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

A proposal to name a section of the D’Aguilar Highway after tennis legend Roy Emerson may not have succeeded on its second attempt, but the game is still afoot.<\/p>\n

At Wednesday’s meeting of the South Burnett Regional Council, councillors were told Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey had rejected Council’s request to rename a stretch of the highway near Blackbutt “Roy Emerson Way”.<\/p>\n

The campaign to rename a portion of the highway stretching from Kevin Allery Bridge to the north side of the Nukku Bridge after the Blackbutt-born tennis great was begun several years ago by the Blackbutt and District Tourism and Heritage Association (BDTHA).<\/p>\n

When the Minister rejected BDTHA’s request, Council elected to reapproach him on the matter last July.<\/p>\n

Councillors were told this effort had been no more successful than BDTHA’s attempt, and Council should now write to the Roy Emerson Museum to advise them of the outcome.<\/p>\n

Division 2 Cr Gavin Jones said he was upset by the decision because other Queensland sporting greats were already recognised in a similar way.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But CEO Mark Pitt said what Councillors were voting on was to formally “close the loop” on the last submission, not abandon the campaign.<\/p>\n

Mr Pitt said he believed the Minister had been incorrectly advised about Council’s intention, and may have thought Council was proposing a permanent name alteration which would involve residents needing to change their addresses, and emergency services to update their maps.<\/p>\n

Instead, Council was proposing to simply use the name as an overlay – the same as Darren Lockyer Way, which is an 85km stretch of the Warrego Highway named after the Queensland rugby league legend, or Steve Irwin Way which is a local name for Glass House Mountains Road.<\/p>\n

“Nothing would change for residents living along that part of the highway,” Mr Pitt said.<\/p>\n

Councillors agreed to “close the loop”, but will reapproach the Minister on the issue at a future time.<\/p>\n