They are centuries and continents apart in terms of construction, but when I saw this incongruous section of cobbled road on the Wool Wagon Pathway (near Gasgoyne Junction) it reminded me of seeing a stretch of a roman road way out in the middle of nowhere. What the? How did this get here? The building of the cobbled road was a 1930s ‘work for the dole’ scheme that upgraded the Carnarvon-Bangemail mail road. All work was undertaken by pick and shovel – afterall when labour is cheap why bother to supply mechanical tools that make the job easier. When you read that the mail contractors – including one later-to-be-famous Charles Kingsford Smith – were sometimes bogged for up to two weeks, then you can appreciate the imperative for improving the route. Disappointingly, the sign that accompanies the stretch of cobbled road gives no indication of the length of the road or the length of time for which it was used. Let’s hope it had sufficient usage to warrant the extraordinary effort that went into its construction. Let’s also hope that those planning or managing contemporary work for the dole schemes don’t cast their eyes back to these projects for ideas and inspiration.