SIMPSON’S PUNT ON THE GOULBURN RIVER, YAMBUNA

A short and abbreviated history of the life of the Simpsons’s Punt Compiled by Phillip Guascoine

Forward

This is by no means a comprehensive history of the punt, but a review of mostly newspaper reports of Council meetings and letters to the Editor from concerned Ratepayers as well as mishaps. All references used have been noted at the end of the article.

The punt seemed to have more than its share of issues during its life. Everyone seemed to want it but there was always a struggle between the Councils as to who was responsible for it and who was going to pay. When the punt is finally replaced with a bridge in 1954 the article implies that it took five years from the start of negotiations with the CRB (Country Roads Board) however the idea of the bridge was raised as early as 1909 and even when a grant was approved around 1947, the offer lapsed and the Council’s had to re-apply for a grant. The punt, in one form or another survived for around 68 years.