SOME 300 people - many of them from our community, and especially from Valla - shouldered arms this morning at Urunga in a defiant and at times emotional protest for action on the deadly Pacific Highway.
To the thrump of AC/DC's Highway to Hell, residents, a campaigning doctor, local mayors and State MP Andrew Fraser spoke passionately about the need to fix the highway in the wake of so many deaths on the stretch from Coffs to Kempsey - the latest coming just a few weeks back with a double fatality at Urunga.
As large trucks thundered past and a handful of police kept an eye on proceedings, many of the residents who spoke were from the Valla area.
They spoke with conviction, from 'the heart', and with passion. There were tears.
* Guardian journalist Britt Ramsey and Managing Editor Christian Knight attended the rally to report on it and - as local residents themselves - to empathise with the protesters.
Their detailed report of the day the community stood as one to say 'make it safe' - together with a gallery of photos - will appear in a special issue of the Guardian News on Thursday.
Email a friend