An Audit of the journey so far has revealed some gaps and breaks in "the chain".
Here come the corrections.
Ipswich, joining Tarragindi and Harden, had been previously used.
This instance of Ipswich is to be replaced with:
Ingebirah, NSW. This is a rural locality is on the Barry Way about 30k south of Jindabyne. Byo pies and wine. Jindabyne Bush Pigs is the local Rugby team.
Sydney, joining Nangus and Young, had been previously used.
This instance of
Sydney is to be replaced with:
Somersby - NSW. Home of the Australian Reptile Park. Sitting astride the Pacific Highway North of Sydney, most people fly past this place on the freeway heading to other places.
Could also have used the somewhat topical suburb of Lithgow -
State Mine Gully as a substitute.
There was a rather serious break in the chain between
Sarina and
Yorkeys Knob.
Armidale following Sarina had been previously used, and then "e" became Y and
Yorkeys Knob was the next entry.
To correctly join
Sarina and
Yorkeys Knob to keep the chain going:
Ashbury, NSW. In typical Sydney economical fashion, this Inner West suburb gets its name by taking bits of its neighbours: Ashfield, adn Canterbury. No food or drinking shops of any note, just houses.
Nowra, joining Newtown and Allawah, had been previously used.
This instance of
Nowra is to be replaced with:
Narooma - NSW. This town on the Far South Coast has a very nice golf course, and is home to the Narooma Whales Rugby Club who play in the South Coast Union. They run mens, womens and junior teams.
Harrisburg, joining Harden/Murrumburrah and Garah is referenced by a Midnight Oil Song from their 1984 Album Red Sails in the Sunset.
Harrisburg is a reference to Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant in the USA, and is therefore disqualified.
This instance of
Harrisburg is to be replaced with:
Humpybong, QLD. On Moreton Bay near Redcliffe, you can get a good feed from the BBQ at the Humpybong Yacht Club.
Young, joining Anna Bay and Gundagai, had been previously used several times.
This instance of Young is to be replaced with:
Yerriyong - NSW. Just over the Nowra Hill on the Braidwood Road outside Nowra. If the pace of life in Nowra is too hectic, then retire on acreage at Yerriyong.
Airlie Beach, joining Alpha to Harrow, had been previously used several times.
This instance of
Airlie Beach is to be replaced with:
Allworth - NSW. What's it Allworth? Not much it would seem, as their Post Office closed in the early 70's. Off the scenic Bucketts Way, halfway to Stroud.
Airlie Beach, joining Yandina to Hawks Nest, had been previously used several times.
This instance of
Airlie Beach is to be replaced with:
Avalon Beach - NSW. They shot one episode of Baywatch here. They liked it so much that they wanted to make it permanent but the locals rallied this, and eventually Baywatch moved to Hawaii instead. Deep in the heart of Rats territory, the local Rugby Club is Newport. Local rugby watering point is Newport Arms.
Nanango, joining Oberon and Ophir, had been previously used.
This instance of
Nanango is to be replaced with:
North Casino - NSW. You guessed it this suburb is to the North of Casino. One time home of the Purple Wiggle, Jeff "Wake Up Jeff" Fatt.
Ettamogah, joining Elmore and Harvey had been previously used.
This instance of
Ettamogah is to be replaced with:
Eveleigh - NSW. Old Railway workshops site being gradually converted. Great food markets on the North side of the tracks. They filmed large parts of one of the Matrix movies in one of the dissued sheds. On the South side of the tracks, there is heritage Railway works and the Australian Technology Park side by side.
Harden, joining Ourimbah to Nimmitabel had been previously used.
This instance of
Harden is to be replaced with:
Huskisson - NSW. On Jervis Bay, this is a very handy place to be based for a scuba diving exploration of Jervis Bay.
Nambour and
Rooty Hill, joining Aberdeen to Lightning Ridge, had both been previously used.
These instances of
Nambour and
Rooty Hill to be replaced with the following:
Neath - NSW Namesake of Neath in old South Wales. Best seen in the rear view mirror passing thorough this town whilst exploring the viticultural delights of the Hunter Valley.
HEXHAM - NSW
The gateway to the Golden North. Every surf trip, end of season tour up the Coast goes through here. Traffic jams are the de rigueur. Great place to drive though because it either means you are going some where nicer than you are at, or coming back from a shitty camping holiday near Grafton. Has Darbys Pie shop too. Maccas as well
Mylestom - NSW. Near the mouth of the Bellinger River, this seaside holiday town took its name from a well liked frequent vacationer Dr Tom Miles, who always signed his name "Myles Tom".
Mount Isa - QLD
Mount Isa - Oasis in the desert.
Mount Isa lays claim do being the worlds largest city by area
Austral- NSW. Rural West Sydney suburb on the "other" side of the M7. Named after the Austral Banking and Land Proprietary who donated the land for a School in 1891. This was called the Austral Public School, which eventually became the Suburb name.
There is currently no link between
Hervey Bay and
Nabiac.
The chain will be complete with:
Yarra Glenn - Vic. John Furphy of Furphy Water Carts was born here, as was his brother Joseph who was an early Australian novelist. Joseph Furphy's works have inspired high profile sportsmen like Ben Cousins to such an extent that they feel compelled to tattoo themselves with the title of his most famous work,"Such is Life".
These corrections make the chain unbroken from Wagga Wagga to Gravesend.
With these amendments, the count so far (508 total):
A = 69, N = 65, E = 61, Y = 43, H = 30, S = 29, K = 26, G & L = 23, D = 22, I = 21, O = 19, T = 19, R = 14, M & P = 8, C & F & W = 6, U = 5, B = 3, Q & X = 1
Yet to trouble the scorers: J, V, Z
Need to work on getting more towns and suburbs ending in M, P, C, F, W, U, B, Q, X, J, V, & Z.
Next town is a
D from Gravesen
d.