The Mountains’ biggest bridge, the pedestrian overpass at Bullaburra, is to be named the Ray Thomas bridge.
Mr Thomas moved to Bullaburra in 1942 to be near Queen Victoria Hospital for treatment for tuberculosis. His attempt to enlist in the army had failed because of his illness.
He and his wife Nerida raised five children in the Mountains, with Mr Thomas increasingly active in his community.
He served on many committees, including the Scouts, P&C and Bullaburra Progress Association (all as treasurer), Emmanuel Church Lawson as a warden, and as a member of the fire brigade.
One of his sons, Peter, recalled his father had his own truck which he contracted to the then Department of Main Roads with the maintenance gang. His work took him from Emu Plains to Bowenfels, and also also Bells Line of Road.
“Dad would pick up young people who attended the dances at Katoomba Town Hall as there wasn’t any transport home. He then dropped them to their homes, down as far as Woodford,” he said.
“When he heard of people in the community that needed wood and couldn’t afford to pay for it, Dad would go out after work to collect wood and deliver it to their homes.”
Ray Thomas erected the first shed for Hazelbrook Scouts, re-constructing an old hut he bought from the then Villawood migrant centre.
“Even when we’d all left school, Dad continued to collect bottles and load up to take to Penrith, with the proceeds going to the Hazelbrook Scouts building project,” Peter Thomas said.
He was loading up bottles in August 1965 when he suffered a cerebral haemorrhage and died at the very young age of 54.
His children were thrilled that the bridge would be named after Ray.
“I know my family, Dick, the late Joe, George and Georgina would be very proud … to have the bridge called the Ray Thomas bridge as a tribute to the great man Dad was in serving the community,” Peter said.
The overpass at Woodford is also to get a name, after the family who bequeathed the Woodford Academy to the National Trust.
The McManamey Bridge will honour a family who lived in Woodford for 79 years.
John McManamey founded the Woodford Academy for boys in 1907. He was also president of the Woodford Tennis Club, a member of the Woodford Bushfire Brigade, a patron of the Lawson sub-branch of the returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia and a shire councillor.
He was killed crossing the highway in 1946. His daughters, Jessie and Gertrude, continued to live in the academy buildings and gave the Academy to the National Trust in 1979.