Metal Bridge Study Part 1

Metal Road Bridges in Victoria

Part 1 - HISTORY OF METAL ROAD BRIDGES IN VICTORIA

National Trust of Australia (Victoria) With assistance from:

VicRoads Heritage Victoria

Gary Vines (Biosis Research Pty Ltd)

Ken McInnes

2003 revised August 2010

B I O S I S R E S E A R C H ii

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge and thank the Metal Bridges Study Steering Committee for their invaluable contribution and guidance in this project. They are as follows:

Bruce Sandie (Chairman of Committee)

Brian Harper

David Beauchamp

David Moloney National Trust of Australia (Victoria)

Geoff Taplin Engineering Department Monash University, Principal Bridge Engineer, Maunsell Australia.

George Deutsch George Deutsch Consulting Pty Ltd

Matthew Churchward Museum Victoria

Maurice Lowe VicRoads

Max Lay RACV

Norm Butler

Paul Grundy Engineering Department Monash University

Peter Mills Heritage Victoria

Geoff Sutherland Heritage Victoria

I would also like to acknowledge the assistance of Lyn Maxwell and Mike Ferry of the VicRoads Bridge Design Division, for their assistance in finding historical drawings relating to metal bridges, and Tony Sowinski of SKM for assistance in obtaining Victorian Railways bridge drawings and condition reports.

Figure 1: cover: Old Barwon Bridge Geelong

Metal Bridges in Victoria Gary Vines

B I O S I S R E S E A R C H iii

Contents

Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................... ii

Introduction....................................................................................................................................1

Scope and definition............................................................................................................1

Thematic History .................................................................................................................2

Historic Bridge Survey.........................................................................................................3

PART I: HISTORY OF METAL ROAD BRIDGES IN VICTORIA ..................................................4

Explorations and pioneers .............................................................................................................4

Beginnings of route development........................................................................................4

Routes established..............................................................................................................5

Choice of crossings.............................................................................................................7

Pre Gold Rush Bridges .......................................................................................................8

Surveys and release of land ........................................................................................................11

Planning settlement...........................................................................................................11

Darling regulations ............................................................................................................11

Transport and Communication....................................................................................................12

First routes ........................................................................................................................12

Mail and coach routes .......................................................................................................29

Environmental Challenges ................................................................................................30

Economic Development ..............................................................................................................34

Pastoral settlement ...........................................................................................................34

1840s recession ................................................................................................................34

Gold rushes.......................................................................................................................34

Post Gold (industrial boom)...............................................................................................35

Export and trade................................................................................................................35

Immigration .......................................................................................................................35

Roads and railways ...........................................................................................................36

Roads and river routes......................................................................................................41

Political and administrative structures .........................................................................................42

Colonial Government control.............................................................................................42

County and Parish Trusts..................................................................................................43

Melbourne Corporation 1842 ............................................................................................44

Geelong Corporation 1849................................................................................................45

Central and District Roads Boards....................................................................................45


B I O S I S R E S E A R C H iv

Municipal Act and local council control .............................................................................47

Public Works Department .................................................................................................49

Federation and Commonwealth road funding...................................................................50

Establishment of the Country Roads Board 1913 .............................................................51

Country Roads Board........................................................................................................51

Urban Planning and the MMBW........................................................................................60

Road Construction Authority .............................................................................................65

VicRoads...........................................................................................................................65

Technological developments.......................................................................................................66

Advances in Iron and Steel ...............................................................................................66

Imported versus local ........................................................................................................68

Local Fabrication...............................................................................................................69

Advances in Design Theory ..............................................................................................71

Construction Techniques ..................................................................................................73

Welding .............................................................................................................................75

Design aesthetics ........................................................................................................................76

Conclusion...................................................................................................................................79

Appendices..................................................................................................................................81

Engineers & designers ......................................................................................................81

Glossary ............................................................................................................................92

International and Victorian Chronology of Bridge Building and Technology: ..................107

Bibliography...............................................................................................................................113

Index – engineers and bridges mentioned in the text................................................................124


B I O S I S R E S E A R C H v

List of Figures

Figure 1: cover: Old Barwon Bridge Geelong............................................................................................... ii Figure 2: Map of explorers routes ................................................................................................................5 Figure 3: Main roads and railways in Victoria 1880 and 1930....................................................................10 Figure 4: Lennox’s Princes Bridge in 1855. ...............................................................................................13 Figure 5: Monash’s drawings for widening the Flemington Bridge.............................................................16 Figure 6: Old Napier Street Bridge, known as the Swing Bridge................................................................18 Figure 7: Original Barwon River Bridge, illustrating the large box girders..................................................20 Figure 8: Shelford Bridge over the Leigh River. .........................................................................................21 Figure 9: McMillans Bridge in about 1974. .................................................................................................22 Figure 10: Pitfield Bridge............................................................................................................................23 Figure 11: Cressy Bridge ...........................................................................................................................23 Figure 12: Old Iron Bridge over the Maribyrnong at Keilor.........................................................................25 Figure 13: Mia Mia Bridge near Redesdale................................................................................................26 Figure 14: Hotspur Bridge in the 1870s. ....................................................................................................27 Figure 15: Hawthorn Bridge, Bridge Road before widening in the 1890s ..................................................29 Figure 16: Glenmona or Bung Bong Bridge ...............................................................................................31 Figure 17. Cross Sections of Gisborn-Kilmore Road bridge over the Bendigo Railway, c1860.................37 Figure 18: Plan of Victoria’s Railway Network at its greatest extent, c 1940. ............................................38 Table 1: Years of opening of main rail lines ...............................................................................................39 Table 2: Government funding to road and rail............................................................................................40 Figure 19: Swing Bridge over the Latrobe River near Sale ........................................................................42 Table 3: Roads Boards ..............................................................................................................................48 Table 4: Urban municipalities.....................................................................................................................48 Figure 20: The new Princes Bridge Melbourne from the winning design entry ..........................................50 Figure 21: William Calder, first chairman of the Country Roads Board .....................................................52 Figure 22: Replacement of the Barwon Bridge in the 1920s illustrating the use of the original box girders

as a temporary staging (Museum Victoria image collection) ............................................................53 Figure 23: The first McKillops Bridge. ........................................................................................................54 Figure 24: Cheynes Bridge Licola Road, Heyfield .....................................................................................56 Figure 25: Ambyne Settlement Bridge, one of the few road suspension bridges in Victoria......................57 Figure 26: Blue Bridge near Yendon, showing a more elaborate version of the rail deck bridge...............59 Figure 27: View under Bell Street Bridge showing the reused lattice trusses and riveted plate girders. ...60 Figure 28: Spencer Street Bridge during Construction c1929....................................................................61 Figure 29: West Gate Bridge – during construction including erection of one of the five central steel spans

the largest bridge of any kind in Victoria...........................................................................................64 Figure 30. Banksia Street wrought iron arch bridge in c 1960. ..................................................................78 Figure 31: William Charles Kernot. ............................................................................................................81


B I O S I S R E S E A R C H vi

List of Tables

Table 1: Years of opening of main rail lines ...............................................................................................39

Table 2: Government funding to road and rail............................................................................................40

Table 3: Roads Boards ..............................................................................................................................48

Table 4: Urban municipalities.....................................................................................................................48


B I O S I S R E S E A R C H 1

Introduction

This study has been undertaken by Gary Vines of Biosis Research Pty Ltd and Ken McInnes, on behalf of the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) with funding from VicRoads and Heritage Victoria. The Historic Metal Road Bridges Study was envisaged as a two-stage project. Stage One establishes the parameters and criteria for a thorough assessment of historic metal road bridges in Victoria and includes the following tasks:

• Prepare a thematic study of the history of construction of metal road bridges in Victoria taking into account existing data provided by VicRoads;

• Develop appropriate criteria for the assessment of the heritage significance of metal road bridges for consideration and agreement with the Steering Committee;

• Identify all metal road bridges of potential cultural significance across the study area; and

• Prepare sample detailed assessments of nine bridges for each category or level of significance. (State, regional and local significance).

Stage Two is intended to involve the actual assessment of significance and documentation of the remaining bridges that were identified to be of potential cultural significance in the Stage One survey.

Stages One and Two of the study will consider metal road (including municipal) bridges only and shall include timber decked metal bridges previously reviewed in the National Trust Timber Bridge Study (Chambers 1997). It is anticipated that this study will be followed up by further study of rail bridges and pedestrian bridges, subject to funding availability.

This report is divided into two sections. Part 1 includes the introduction, thematic history, glossary and bibliography. Part 2 includes the methodology for assessing bridges, results of the field survey and data analysis, assessment criteria for determining the cultural significance of metal road bridges, and sample detailed assessments of nine bridges.

The report was initially completed in 2003 and revised followign completion of individual draft bridge reports in 2005. Following approval of individual bridge classification reports by National Trust expert committees, the report was further revised in late 2010.

Scope and definition

For the purpose of this study metal road bridges are defined as bridges where the principal bearing structures are of metal. These may be the beams, piers, deck, trusses or a combination of these. Bridges with minor metal components, such as tension rods



in timber truss bridges, hand rails and relieving beams in all-timber bridges, reinforcing bar in concrete bridges and the like, have not been considered as metal bridges.

In some cases, bridges which have previously been assessed by the National Trust’s Timber Bridges Study, also appear in this assessment, either because they are composite with significant components of both timber of metal, or they incorporate different sections, such as timber approach spans and metal truss central span.

All metal road bridges in Victoria were included within the scope of the study, whether or not they were originally built as road bridges, or have been subsequently converted to other uses such as foot or stock bridges, or have been abandoned and unused. Both declared road bridges, built and maintained by the State roads authority (CRB, VicRoads, etc) and local or shire roads were included. Road over rail bridges were included in the study, whether they were built by the railways or road authorities.

Although legally in New South Wales territory, the Murray River Bridges were included in the assessment and database, as at least the southern abutments are in Victoria, some were built by Victorian authorities and many are managed jointly by New South Wales and Victorian road authorities.

Thematic History

The history of the development of Metal Road Bridges in Victoria has been prepared in order to help assess surviving historic metal road bridges. The history provides a thematic framework based on a chronological history, technological development, economic and political structures and the role of key individuals including designers, engineers and metal manufacturers.

The history of particular metal road bridges has been used to highlight particular themes and phases in the development of technologies, bridge design, historical events and the administration of roads and bridge construction. In many cases, the historical significance of a particular bridge needs to be understood in the context of the route of which it forms a part. Therefore the history has included a summary of the development of patterns of settlement in Victoria and the road routes connecting them.

Historical themes ranging from exploration and survey, through the gold rushes, immigration and boom periods, to wars and depression, have been used as a basis for discussing bridge and road history, while the political and administrative framework of road and bridge building has also been outlined.

Some discussion is given to the most influential bridge engineers, and the influence of the introduction of new materials, fabrication technologies, designs and engineering theories has been analysed.

A glossary of bridge engineering and design terms is included, along with a brief bibliography.



Appendices cover the process used in identifying and assessing historic metal road bridges, including the criteria for assessing significance in accordance with both the Heritage Victoria assessment process, and a quantitative evaluation system developed specifically for this project.

Historic Bridge Survey

A major part of the study has been the development and testing of a methodology for the survey and assessment of surviving metal road bridges in Victoria to determine those bridges for which there is a prima facie case for heritage significance at either the local, Regional or State Level. This assessment has been conducted through analysis of data from VicRoads’ bridge inspection system, the National Trust Bridges Database, Registers of the AHC, National Trust, DNRE Historic Places Section, and Heritage Victoria, and a wide range of other sources including municipal and thematic heritage studies, primary and secondary documentary sources. The considerable expertise of the study’s steering committee members has been of particular value in this process.

The results of the bridge survey have been prepared in a Microsoft Access database file, which builds on the National Trust’s previous Timber Bridges Database. Results of the assessment process have been incorporated into the database, and summary listings of the bridges of potential cultural heritage significance have been included in the report.

It is intended that this work will be the basis of further assessment as part of a future Stage Two project, leading to the nomination of bridges of State heritage significance to the Victorian Heritage Register.



PART I: HISTORY OF METAL ROAD BRIDGES IN VICTORIA

Explorations and pioneers

Beginnings of route development

The origin of many of the main trunk road routes in Victoria can be traced back to the period of exploration and pioneer settlement. The first non-Aboriginal people came to Victoria by sea. Possibly hundreds of sealers and whalers had made landfall along the coast in the early nineteenth century, but did not venture far inland.

In 1802-3 exploration voyages led by Flinders and Murray mapped the coastline and located the major rivers. Surveyor General Charles Grimes mapped the lower reaches of the Yarra and Maribyrnong, noting the location of natural rock bars or fords on the Yarra near the foot of the present Queen Street, known as “The Falls”, and the ‘Rocks Across’ near Avondale Heights on the Maribyrnong (Jones n. d.). Thus the navigable reach of the Yarra River with the pool for tying up ships below the bar, and fresh water above the bar, determined the site for settlement, and where the first bridge over the Yarra would be placed.

Short-lived convict settlements at Sorrento in 1803 and Corinella in 1824 produced no roads or bridges beyond the tracks from the camp to creek and beach.

In 1824 Hamilton Hume and William Hovell were commissioned by Governor Brisbane to explore a route from the limit of settlement near Yass to Spencer Gulf. They in fact only reached Corio Bay in December 1824, believing it to be Westernport. They generally followed the foothills on the north west slopes of the Great Dividing Range, east of the Hume Highway. Along the way they followed the pads of kangaroos and Aborigines which led them to the easiest crossing places on the streams.

In 1836 Major Thomas Mitchell carried out explorations of the Murray and Darling Rivers and pushed into what became Victoria’s Western District, describing the vast grasslands and woodlands of the area ‘Australia Felix’. The tracks of his bullock carts were clearly discernible by later settlers who followed ‘Major’s Line’ into the new country to establish pastoral estates. Mitchell used Aboriginal guides on much of his journey, who also followed the established Aboriginal pathways.

While the Hume Highway took its name from Hamilton Hume, its route probably owes more to the overlanders who brought sheep and cattle from southern New South Wales into the Port Phillip District. The first were John Hepburn, John Gardiner and brothers Joseph and John Hawdon, who made several trips in 1836 and 37. The route they took was probably closer to the present Hume Highway, crossing the Murray between Howlong and Albury and hugging the bottom of the Dividing Range foothills. They



crossed the Divide north of Melbourne and probably followed the water along Deep Creek to Melbourne or the Plenty River to Dandenong. The numbers of cattle and sheep, and the heavy bullock wagons created their own road, which ever after would be a clear path for others to follow.

Figure 2: Map of explorers routes

(From Priestly, S, 1984, Making Their Mark P 11)

Routes established

Once Melbourne had been settled, communication routes were fixed with other settlements. Initially contact was via the coast, smaller ships docking at the Pool and larger ships in the bay at Sandridge. Therefore these tracks to the primitive jetties were the first roads in the colony. The very first track in Melbourne was formed by foot traffic between the initial settlement near Batman’s Hill, and the wharf at the pool or turning basin, following the escarpment near Flinders Lane (Russell Map). It is likely that it also continued upstream to the fresh water above the falls (Max Lay pers. com. 7/12/02). The first bridge in the Port Phillip District was along this route over the Elizabeth Street creek in 1838.

A route from the deep berth area at Sandridge on Hobson’s Bay became one of the first cleared tracks through the scrub, following the sound ground about the line of City Road and terminated on the south bank of the river, opposite the settlement.



The genesis of the Hume Highway was with the tracks pioneered by Hume and Hovell and the first overlanders. The route became a more regular track once the mail service had been instigated and facilities were provided in the form of Inns for refreshing the riders and their horses and punts for crossing rivers. The initial route was west of the present Sydney Road south of Kilmore, following the ridge near Deep Creek and avoiding the boggy clay soils near the Merri Creek. The present route was only established once land was surveyed and the subdivision line between blocks fronting Merri and Moonee Ponds Creeks created a new road, initially as access to these blocks. However, once wells and tanks were established along the route, and faster travel reduced the need for frequent water stops, the direct route between the creeks had the advantage of not requiring any creek crossings before the Divide (Max Lay pers. com.). It was also shorter than the alternatives.

The contemporary settlements of Port Fairy and Portland also determined communication to the Western District, which proved to have some of the most valuable grazing land in Australia, labelled Australia Felix by Mitchell and rapidly occupied by squatters and their herds. The Port Fairy to Portland route was blazed by Edward Henty in 1839, following the coast and crossing the rivers at their mouths. This subsequently became the ‘Old Coach Road’ later to be superseded by an inland route once bridges were erected.

The prosperity (or at least the legal administration) of the Western District was intrinsically tied to Melbourne so that the Geelong - Melbourne route was also well established by the 1830s.

By 1837 there were several established tracks in the Port Phillip District. The Sydney track has been discussed, others included:

• Melbourne to Bulla, Sunbury and Macedon;

• Melbourne to the Maribyrnong at the Solomon’s Ford and then to Geelong;

• Geelong to Bacchus Marsh and Sunbury

By 1845 these had been augmented by new tracks to outlying areas including:

• Melbourne around the bay to Sorrento

• Macedon to Kyneton

• Geelong to Portland via the Princes Highway route

• Geelong to Portland via the Midland, Glenelg and Henty Highways

• Albury south to Omeo and Alberton

By 1855 the Gold Rushes had caused these routes to be further extended and a network of cross-country routes connected them. The principal goldfield routes continued to focus on Melbourne and other port towns, as the route of diggers and supplies to the gold fields. The route west from Melbourne to Ballarat was pushed through to the South



Australian border and a track had been finally cut through the forests and morasses to Gippsland (O’Connor 1985:93).

Choice of crossings

Probably the most important determinant of the location of bridges was the prior existence of a river crossing at either a ford or a punt. These locations were found initially by explorers squatters and surveyors, who in their imperfect knowledge of the areas they travelled across, would not always find the best point to ford a stream. However, once the track had been established, the crossing point was often fixed. These crossing points then became the geneses for a large proportion of Victorian settlements.

On coastal routes, two choices were available to the pioneers of overland travel. Either follow the coast on firm land behind the beach dunes and ford the rivers at low tide across the sand bars across their mouths, and wade where the channel was deep; or take a line inland which crossed the rivers above the tidal reach at the first suitable fording point.

The initial route to Geelong took the second option with a divergence inland to Solomon’s Ford on the Maribyrnong River near Avondale Heights and north of the later Werribee settlement. Henty’s Track to Portland took the first option by hugging the dune ridges and fording the rivers at their mouths. A similar ‘Old Coast Road’ also developed in east Gippsland. However, both options came with inconvenience and considerable risk. The losses of life and property were considerable in the pioneering phase of white settlement, and drowning at river crossings took a great toll on people and their livestock alike.

With inland river crossings, the relatively low summer flows of many rivers allowed them to be forded much of the year at locations where sand bars or natural rock shelves allowed. Punts generally operated in the deeper and still sections. Ford and punt sites were therefore mutually exclusive, but both could lead to the development of more permanent settlement and eventually a proper bridge.

Punts operated across the Yarra in the late 1830s, William Watts operated one east of Swanston Street in April 1838. Hodgson’s punt, which used a fixed wire cable to haul it across the river, replaced this in 1839. This later became the site of the first permanent bridge in Melbourne and demonstrates a common link between punt and bridge, the Melbourne Bridge Company having taken over the lease for the punt before erecting its bridge. A similar relationship existed with Lynch's Punt and Bridge at Footscray.

The early specification of river crossings as sites for towns by the Surveyor General demonstrates that they were not simply ad hoc developments, but in at least some cases were expressly planned in recognition of the needs of travellers.

The preponderance of towns with ford in their name is just one indication of their importance in the development of settlement and maintenance of communication, for



example: Broadford, Batesford, Fyansford, Guildford, Exford, Shelford, Myrtleford, etc.

Pre Gold Rush Bridges

David Lennox’s Return of Public Works (Port Phillip Government Gazette pp 984-986) provides us with the best summary of the bridges that were constructed in the colony by the government between the beginning of 1846 and end of 1850, prior to the Gold Rushes.

Not included here are the privately constructed bridges of the period, such as the Melbourne Bridge Company’s Balbirnie’s bridge which spanned the Yarra from 1845 to the opening of Lennox’s bridge in 1851.

Whilst no metal bridges were constructed in this period, the summary does provides us with an indication of the priorities for allocating government expenditure; the important routes; and the more substantial bridges that were constructed.

The routes were:

• Sydney Road – 17 bridges - £2,422

• Mount Macedon Road – 6 bridges - £992

• North Adelaide Road* – 2 bridges - £478

• Geelong Road – 1 bridge (Werribee River) - £613

• Portland Road from Geelong – 4 bridges - £593

• Road from Geelong to Port Fairy and Warrnambool – 4 bridges - £2,060

• Road from Port Fairy to Portland – 1 bridge - £25

• Plenty Road (including the southern end of high Street) – 1 bridge (Merri Creek) - £390

• Gipps Land Road – 1 bridge (Dandenong Creek) - £150

• Dandenong Creek Bridge, Police Station – 1 bridge - £36

• Princes Bridge, Yarra River – 1 bridge - £19,000

The most substantial bridgework by far, was Princes Bridge, with a single stone arch span of 150 feet and a total length of 250 feet. The expenditure on this alone was £19,000 compared with the total Roads and Bridges expenditure of £31,474, or the total Public Works expenditure for the four years of £43,513 - the other £12,039 being spent on Dams, and Port improvements. This was the first major ‘permanent’ bridge built in the Port Phillip District, all other bridges were of Timber.

* The North Adelaide road ran between the Calder and Western Highways through Creswick, Clunes and Moonambel and crossed the Wimmera near Dimboola.



The largest timber bridge constructed in the period was the bridge over the Barwon River at Geelong on the Geelong to Port Fairy and Warrnambool Road. It had a total waterway length of 190 feet, and cost £700 to construct. However, the 140 feet timber Brees’ Bridge, over the Maribyrnong river at Keilor was probably more impressive in its gorge setting and with its steep winding access road.

Other substantial Timber Bridges with a waterway length of more than 90 feet included:

• North Adelaide Road, Wannon River – 175 feet

• Geelong Road, Werribee River – 150 feet

• Sydney Road, Templeton Creek – 140 feet

• Geelong to Port Fairy and Warrnambool Road, Woody Yaloak River (Frenchman’s) – 135 feet

• Mount Macedon Road, Deep Creek, Keilor – 140 feet

• Sydney Road, Broken River – 120 feet

• Geelong to Port Fairy and Warrnambool Road, Barwon River (Beal and Trebeck’s) – 115 feet

• Geelong to Port Fairy and Warrnambool Road, Taylor’s River (Mount Elephant) – 105 feet

• Plenty Road, Merri Creek – 100 feet

• Sydney Road, Sugar Loaf Creek – 100 feet

• Sydney Road, Hughes’ Creek (two bridges) – 200 feet

• Portland Road from Geelong, Mooralbool River, Bates’ Ford – 90 feet

There are also listed details of:

• 14 bridges – spans 50 to 75 feet

• 11 bridges – spans 20 to 30 feet

Bridges mentioned amongst ‘Other Works’ included:

• Barwon Bridge (approaches)

• Portland Bay Dam - Timber Bridge

• South Yarra Swamp – small bridge (subscribed by residents)

• Tara Vale, Alberton – Repair of Bridge

• Pascoevale Road – two bridges (inhabitants plus government)

• Flemington Road – Mains Bridge (includes repairing road)

• Merri Creek Bridge - approaches

• Sydney Road – repairs to Fifteen Mile Creek



Many of these same bridges were later replaced in stone or metal. The summary does not indicate other major river crossings, that were crossed using punts, although it does detail expenditure on establishing many ‘crossing places’ or fords. In later years’ ‘Return of Public Works’ we gradually see the expenditure on bridges rise to replace expenditure on fords and punts.

Figure 3: Main roads and railways in Victoria 1880 and 1930

(From Priestly, S, 1984, Making Their Mark P 274)



Surveys and release of land

Planning settlement

The intention of Colonial government in the Port Phillip District was initially to control and contain the illegal squatting of land. However, the land grab was beyond containment, so the policy rapidly changed to one of trying to create order and recovering revenue in the process. The release of land for sale was the principal method employed by Government. The Darling regulations provided the basis for this in their determination of the division of land into parcels for sale or reservation for various services and functions. A critical requirement was that all allotments had to have access by way of a road reservation. Provision of one chainwide reservations for main roads was also considered necessary to allow for the future development, even though in the pioneering period, most of these ‘roads’ were no more than strips of uncleared land between the private estates.

Darling regulations

The survey of the Port Phillip District was undertaken according to a set of guidelines formulated by successive colonial administrations. Previous experience in planning and releasing land for settlements at Sydney, then Hobart and Perth, resulted in the codification of planning principles in the instructions issued by Sir George Murray, Secretary of State for Colonies. When surveyors Russell and Hoddle were dispatched to Melbourne, they were guided by the earlier Colonial Secretary’s and Governor Darling’s regulations and specific instructions from the Deputy Surveyor General of New South Wales S.A. Perry. These specified the location of roads and townships and the form of survey and subdivision of land. They included the following tenets:

• town reserves to be situated on rivers

• town reserves to be 3 miles by 1 mile with small lots on a regular grid released for houses shops etc, while the rest of the space is reserved for future expansion

• within the town, land to be reserved for public buildings and other purposes.

• town blocks to be laid out on a 10 chain (c.200m.) grid

• the grid to be in a cardinal alignment

• standard road widths of 1 ½ chains

• the blocks divided into half and quarter acre blocks

• the land surveyed into administrative units comprising Counties of about 400 square miles, Hundreds of 100 square miles, and parishes of around 25 square miles

• rivers hills and ravines to be used as natural boundaries

• parishes divided into square mile sections (640 acres) and these subdivided into allotments appropriate to the land use



• village reserves within each rural parish

• all allotments to have a road frontage

• trunk roads and stock routes provided 3 chains wide

(Cannon & McFarlane 1988: xvii, 6-8 - Perry to Russel 10 Sept 1836; Lewis 1995:25-31)

As well as the ad hoc creation of settlement at river crossing places, specific instructions were given by the Colonial Secretary for the establishment and survey of certain townships at river crossing places. In June 1838 Perry and the Colonial Secretary were in agreement that towns should be formed on the road from Yass to Port Phillip at crossing points on the Murray, the Ovens, Violet Creek and the Goulburn (Cannon & McFarlane 1988:235: Col Sec to Perry 29 June 1839).

Transport and Communication

First routes

St. Kilda Road

Probably the first land route in the Port Phillip District was between ships in the bay and the infant settlement on the river. A track through the scrub had been cut in the first year of settlement roughly along the line of the present City Road. Ships unable to push up the river to the pool, moored off Sandridge and lightered their passengers and cargoes to the beach which were then transferred by foot or wagon (Allan 1939:83-6).

The major obstacle was struck when they had nearly reached Melbourne, as the river had to be crossed. The falls at the foot of Queen Street provided one route. Livestock and pedestrians could wade across here when the river and tides were low. A rough stone and puddled clay dam was constructed by convicts at the instigation of Hoddle and Lonsdale in 1838 and rebuilt by La Trobe in 1840 and 1842 following floods. Its purpose was to prevent salt water tainting the fresh water that was the town’s main drinking supply. However, it also became a pedestrian crossing, but was unsuitable for anything more, and occasionally caused drowning of its users (Lewis 1995:31)

A private entity, the Melbourne Bridge Company was formed by Melbourne entrepreneurs including Farquhar McCrea and D.S. Campbell in 1840 with the purpose of building ‘a substantial iron suspension bridge’ across the Yarra in line with Elizabeth Street. Their proposal, including plans by design engineer J.A. Manton was presented to La Trobe in October. However, their request for rights to collect tolls, under what was basically a 21 year monopoly, presented legislative obstacles. In the mean time the company bought the rights to operate the existing punt as a means of raising funds (Cannon 1991).

An alternative plan for an inexpensive timber bridge was put forward by engineer Charles Mollison in 1840. The following year the Hon J.E. Murray supported this



scheme and made an offer to La Trobe to raise the money and build the bridge in exchange for the rights to toll collection for eight years. In the mean time Governor Gipps had instructed La Trobe to erect a toll-free stone bridge. With the formation of the Melbourne Corporation, municipal agitation joined others clamouring for a bridge, with the first council claiming Gipps had promised the government would build the bridge but allow the council to collect tolls. Gipps however, denied this claim (Lewis 1995).

The location of Melbourne’s first bridge was determined by the navigable (and tidal) reach of the river below the Queen Street Falls, with the Melbourne Bridge Company putting a new proposal for ‘a substantial stone, iron or wooden bridge across the Yarra’. This turned out to be a rather less grand bridge than the original proposal suggested. A meeting of shareholders in April 1845 decided to place the structure near the end of Swanston Street, in line with the Port Melbourne and St Kilda road, but away from competition of council ferries in Elizabeth Street.

Figure 4: Lennox’s Princes Bridge in 1855.

(Stale Library Victoria, Picture Collection)

Alexander Sutherland was commissioned to erect the bridge for £400 although this grew to £530. The rickety timber pile and stringer bridge soon became known as Balbirnie’s Bridge after the toll collector, who had relinquished his competing punt when made the offer by the Bridge Company. The bridge appears to have comprised five or more spans, with piles of round timber. The beams were also of round timber, without evidence of braces, corbels or struts. The bridge lasted for about six years before the new stone Government bridge, which was free to everyone, was ready for use (Cannon 1991:110).

Latrobe put considerable thought to the location of the first permanent stone bridge. Regard was taken of the extent of flooding, an investigation of the geological stability



for the selected site (with swampy ground conditions downstream and the presence of a rock dyke near Swanston Street) and planning and economic considerations which might impact the future development of the town. Hoddle had previously surveyed the river in 1841 to determine the best site and drew sections at Swanston, Elizabeth and Queen Streets.

The chosen site, while not central to the town as it had developed to that time, provided the best solution in La Trobe’s estimation. However, the need for a 200 foot long causeway on the south side to join the bridge to high ground would have the effect of directing floodwater upon the new bridge, hence large archways would be required.

A competition for the design of the bridge was won, on the judgement of the Melbourne Council and Bourke District Council, by the first Town Surveyor of Melbourne, William Howe with a single span elliptical stone arch. However, the newly appointed Superintendent of Bridges David Lennox adapted Howe’s design by increasing the length of the archway making it one of the world’s longest single arch stone bridges. The foundation stone was laid on 20 March 1846 and the bridge completed on 19 April 1851 (Cannon 1991:108-119; Lewis 1995:35).

This first Princes Bridge lasted about 30 years before the demands of river widening, increasing road traffic, and in particular the installation of cable tramways in Melbourne’s streets, required a new bridge to be erected. The Government commissioned David Munro to build a large stone and iron bridge on the same site at a cost of £140,000. Designers were John H, Grainger, father of the famous composer and Charles D’Ebro. With the new bridge the opportunity was also taken to straighten and widen the approach roads, making a far grander entrance to the city. The new (current) Princes Bridge as it was christened, was opened to traffic in 1888 (Cannon 1991:117).

Heidelberg Road

The Heidelberg Road benefited from considerable private and public patronage but the crossing of the Merri Creek was still an obstacle in the 1840s even though a four foot high causeway had been built which was soon washed away. Previous attempts by the Heidelberg Road Trust had achieved some road improvements, chiefly in metalling and draining. However, several people and many more livestock had drowned crossing the Merri Creek and following the concerns for the ‘fearful loss of life’ by the Coroner Dr. Wilmot and mayor Augustus Greeves, La Trobe agreed to call for tenders for a bridge proposed by Lennox. To the distress of the Heidelberg residents, however, the Heidelberg Bridge was preceded by another over the Merri Creek on the Plenty Road near the top of St. Georges Road.

A stone and timber bridge was erected by contractor Thomas Stephens in 1853-4, assisted in the design by the Inspector of Works of the new Victorian Roads and Bridges Department Thomas Edwin Rosson. Rosson later identified the success of the



bridge design in withstanding floods in the wide spacing of the piles allowing debris to be swept through instead of jamming (Cannon 1995; Allan 1939:77-81).

Rosson gave evidence to the Victorian Legislative council Select Committee on Roads and Bridges in 1852, outlining his views of flood proofing bridges and constructing more cheaply by using Tasmanian timber or even local blue gum, which would enable a bridge costing about £2,000, as opposed to £10,000 for a single-span stone bridge. He also suggested that iron girder bridges would be more suitable for flat land, but did not recommend suspension bridges because of the danger of livestock and horses being spooked by bridge movement (Cannon 1991:118-9).

The first Merri Creek Bridge was a laminated timber girder on stone abutments, erected in 1853-4 and paid for and constructed by Government. However, such relatively expensive and complicated laminated timber structures using unfamiliar Australian hardwoods did not survive well and this bridge was short lived, being replaced in stone in 1867 (Chambers 1997: intro; Allan 1939:77-86)

Sydney Road

Travellers heading north out of Melbourne had several options in the early years. The most travelled line was along Flemington Road, Mount Alexander Road and Pascoe Vale Road, or through the paddocks of Coburg and then out to Mickleham Road near Broadmeadows (Priestly 1990). The straight line along today’s Sydney Road suffered from the clay quagmire beyond Brunswick, and so was avoided at least during the winter until the route was metalled. Bridge building on the Pascoe Vale route commenced with a privately funded bridge over the Moonee Ponds Creek in 1843 at Pascoe Vale. This was completed by the licensee of the Young Queen Hotel who successfully obtained funding of £10 from the Government for the work. As John Pascoe Fawkner had considerable land interests and his home Oak Park, in this area, it is interesting to speculate on his possible role in developing the road. (Allan 1939:81-3)

A ford on the Moonee Ponds Creek at the end of Flemington Road near the Flemington Inn was initially replaced in 1839 by primitive log crossing constructed by James Patrick Main then reconstructed in 1849 with £200 allocated by Lennox. According to Cannon (1991), it was rebuilt as a laminated timber arch at a cost of £492 although an 1851 Sketch by Jarrett, shows it as a as a conventional log pile and beam bridge, while Max Lay notes that it was not a site suitable for an arch bridge. An 1869 report in the Argus describes it as a tumbledown collection of logs.

The timber bridge was replaced with a more substantial cast and wrought iron bridge in 1868. This was to the design of G. Francis incorporating several rows of cast iron columns, each bolted together from two metre long sections and supporting riveted wrought iron girders. It was subsequently maintained by the government and provided a route to the Mt. Alexander District, and a reasonable alternative Sydney route for when Sydney Road became impassable in winter. Although reconstructed to incorporate a wide concrete deck on concrete piers (to designs of John Monash in 1913), the present



bridge retains six rows of cast iron columns, and some of the riveted wrought iron girders (Cannon 1995).

Figure 5: Monash’s drawings for widening the Flemington Bridge.

(VicRoads Bridge Construction Branch)

Kilmore was the first inland town in Victoria, initially privately created by William Rutledge from his special survey by subdividing and selling town allotments in 1841. Being high on the Dividing Range, few substantial creeks were crossed here, but perhaps due to the early prominence of the town substantial stone bridges were built under the Central Roads Board over Kilmore Creek and other creeks.

The Goulburn River crossing was initially located where Major Mitchell had originally crossed in 1836. Subsequent travellers to Port Phillip followed the ‘Major’s Line” and the settlement of Mitchellstown grew up around John Clark’s Inn at this spot. However, a shorter route found a crossing place upstream at what became known as the ‘New Crossing Place’. A punt had been established in 1839 and an inn and blacksmith shop by 1841 on the Sydney side of the river, A second hotel, the Seymour Hotel, was established on the Melbourne side by 1844. The town of Seymour was surveyed in 1841 with a police post established and allotments sold in Melbourne in 1844. The crossing



of the Goulburn was a considerable hazard to travellers, with several punts operating from different sites in its first 20 years of use. The first bridge was not built until 1863. The site was chosen for its high banks and relatively narrow waterway, with the northern side only a relatively short causeway. A timber trestle bridge design was used, possibly because of the width and depth of the river at this point. This was replaced with the still standing timber bridge in 1891.

Violet Town, also originated as an inn on the creek crossing - Thomas Clarke’s Royal Mail Hotel, in 1846. Benalla and Wangaratta developed more slowly, with land finally auctioned in 1849, although the first shanties, such as William Clark’s, were established by 1839. A toll gate was erected at the Benalla Bridge in 1874.

Both Hume and Hovell and Mitchell crossed the Ovens at a site which could be forded for several months of the year. Punts served at other times. Thomas Ratray had the grog shanty and punt in 1838, selling it to William Clark the following year. The first bridge was opened in 1855 at a site where the river had high banks (rather than the old ford and punt site), replaced in 1886 and 1934, then duplicated in the 1960s (Carroll 1983: 141-3). The 1886 bridge incorporated plate girders with timber deck and timber piles (Country Roads Board Annual Report 1934:27; 1935:21)

Several other substantial bridges were provided along the highway, one of the most impressive being the six-arched, stone Hughes Creek Bridge at Avenel, erected in 1859 by the Board of Land and Works. The contractor was Hugh Dalrymple.

Western and Northern hinterland

Routes west from Melbourne appear to have been considered for improvement only with the Gold Rushes, when competition between Melbourne and Geelong saw both vying for diggers by claiming easier access to Ballarat and Forest Creek.

The major obstacles were the Maribyrnong River, the several other creeks and rivers, and the heavy clay soils of the basalt plains. The Maribyrnong was at first forded at the ‘Rocks Across’ which Grimes had noted in 1803. Here a stone ford allowed the first crossing point heading upstream from Melbourne but caused a considerable diversion for traffic to Geelong. A stock route was established early and came to follow the line of Canning Street to the ford, and then on 3 chain roads such as Furlong Road, Neale Road, Rockbank Middle Road and Greig’s Road to Bacchus Marsh. Water reserves were established along these routes so that herds could rest drink at creeks when being walked to markets in Melbourne. These still survive, but the stock routes are now only recognisable by their wide road reserves, often now only with small rural roads.

The inconvenience of the natural ford, meant that the punts at Footscray came to play a more important role, and became the location for later bridges. Michael Lynch established a punt and inn at Footscray by 1840, and went about erecting a bridge in about 1866 (Max Lay pers. com. 2002), despite being refused a permit to do so. As the river was used by shipping (for the boiling down works at Maribyrnong, and later the



gunpowder magazine and meat works) Lynchs Bridge was constructed with a draw bridge span. It was rebuilt with a horizontal lift span in 1882 to the design of G. Francis, which survived in a modified form into the twentieth century, but was replaced with the new bridge on the Ballarat Road in 1936. This new Lynchs Bridge was one of the earliest composite steel and concrete bridges erected by the Country Roads Board.

A steel truss swing bridge was also constructed down stream at Footscray in the 1920s, which lasted into the 1960s. This was a unique bridge for Melbourne in having a lift span to allow passage of ships, an in particular the gunpowder barges heading for the Saltwater River Magazine.

Figure 6: Old Napier Street Bridge, known as the Swing Bridge


The Sydney Road, Epping Road and Plenty Road provided routes to similar basalt country to the north of Melbourne. As this was some of the first farming land to be sold in Port Phillip district, and the clay soils were at least fertile, it became the early bread-basket for Melbourne and so required decent road communication. The north-south flowing creeks were not such an obstacle but required at least one bridge. In this respect the Heidelberg Road provided one early on. The Plenty River Bridge, erected in about 1861 to the design of G. Francis, is one of the earliest surviving Metal bridges in



Victoria, indicating the importance of this route and the productive farmland it served, to the early colony.

East-west traffic caused the need for several more bridges, so that by the 1860s, substantial bluestone bridges were put over the Moonee Ponds, Merri and Darebin Creeks. Surviving examples tend to be the most elaborate arched bluestone bridges which can be found at Old Broadmeadows on Moonee Ponds Creek, Victoria Bridge Donnybrook, and Bridge Inn Road, Mernda.

The abundance of basalt or bluestone in the region ensured that many of the more substantial bridges were of this material. The Bulla District in particular has a preponderance of them with fine multi arched examples at Bulla, Sunbury, Wildwood (one of the few incorporating metal girders), Westmeadows, Kalkallo, Toolern Vale and Riddell’s Creek.

Geelong & Western District,

The route to Geelong and the Western District also had to cross the Maribyrnong, as well as several other creeks and rivers which drained into the bay. Early crossing places included the Golden Fleece Inn on the Ex (Werribee River) run by Greeves from 1842

The Barwon River formed an obstacle to travel south and west of Geelong. A hotel and ford 3 miles west formed the village of Fyansford, while south of Geelong Town a bridge was put over the Barwon in 1859 to a design of William Fairbairn & Sons of Manchester England. This wrought iron box girder bridge with a 210 foot (64 metre) span which was the longest bridge span in Australia and probably the most substantial engineering works of the time.

Travellers from Geelong to the Western District had the choice of several routes: The present Princes Highway via Winchelsea,; The Hamilton Highway through Inverleigh and the northern route through Shelford and Rokewood (also known as the Upper Western Main Road).

A crossing of the Barwon was required on the southern route where a hotel sprung up in the 1840s. It was surveyed in 1850 for a township, which became Winchelsea and a stone government bridge was erected in 1851.



Figure 7: Original Barwon River Bridge, illustrating the large box girders


The Upper Portland road also came to prominence as the way to the Fiery Creek goldfields and was surveyed by 1852. Shelford has the possible claim to the first bridge in Victoria, erected in 1840 over the Leigh (Yarrowee) River. A more substantial timber bridge was put up in 1851, and this in turn was replaced by the Shire of Leigh in 1873-4 with a design by Shire Engineer, C A C Wilson. It was fabricated in situ from imported Staffordshire wrought iron loaded at Geelong and taken to the site by bullock cart. This was the first bridge built by Mephan Ferguson who went on to fabricate and build many road and rail bridges in Victoria including Johnson Street, Cordite Avenue and Bruntons Bridge. (Ferguson) Some components were cast by Ballarat founder, John Price. This new bridge comprised two continuous hollow wrought iron girders over three spans supported on iron rollers attached to bluestone piers and abutments (Alsop 1971).



Figure 8: Shelford Bridge over the Leigh River.

(Stale Library Victoria, Picture Collection, JT Collins photograph)

Further along this route, the Woady Yalloak Creek on the Rokewood Skipton Road had a timber bridge on stone abutments erected by the Central Roads Board by 1856. By the 1880s the timbers had deteriorated to the point the bridge was unsafe, and the Shires of Leigh and Grenville funded repairs. The Leigh shire engineer CAC Wilson, prepared a design, for which he had to obtain Public Works Department approval. The new McMillan’s Bridge incorporated locally made trusses by Humble and Nicholson’s Vulcan Foundry in Geelong manufactured from imported iron. The existing red sandstone abutments of the 1856 bridge were modified to take the new trusses (Chambers & Churchward 1999).



Figure 9: McMillans Bridge in about 1974.

A little further west at Pitfield is another similar sized lattice truss bridge on bluestone abutments, which may be earlier than McMillans Bridge. This is of particular interest for the varying dimensions of structural members, where the cross-braces of the truss gradually increase in thickness towards the middle of the bridge. As such it may be an important link in the development of bridge truss design in Victoria.



Figure 10: Pitfield Bridge

Another important early wrought iron bridge occurs on the Hamilton Highway route over the Woady Yallock Creek at Cressy. Here, a two span lattice-girder bridge with buckle-plate deck on iron cross-beams and bluestone abutments was constructed in 1880 again using trusses fabricated by Humble and Nicholson. (Vines 1994).

Figure 11: Cressy Bridge



Together these bridges form a unique collection of early lattice and girder bridges which demonstrate the importance of the Western District route in nineteenth century Victoria.

The importance of routes to the coastal ports of the western district at times eclipsed those to Melbourne. This can be seen in a few surviving structures such as the Wollaston cable suspension bridge at Warrnambool. Wollaston Bridge was erected across the Merri River in 1890 to facilitate access to the Wollaston Estate of noted district pastoralist and public figure, Sir Walter Manifold. The design and construction of this bridge, which consists of a timber deck and superstructure suspended from steel cables anchored across square tapered stone towers to approach abutments, is attributed to Warrnambool contractor D. Dobson. Manifold financed the bridge himself, and it is likely that the choice of a suspension bridge also owes something to him, as the family was quite ostentatious in its displays of wealth.

Macedon Road

The Macedon road began as a track serving squatters on the flanks of the Great Dividing Range, and further inland into the Wimmera. To the north west of Melbourne, a stopping place was located on the Deep Creek where Tulip Wright established an inn, at the site of a ford. Inns were located regularly along the route at each river or creek crossing – Sunbury, The Gap, Gisborne, Woodend, Carlsruhe, Kyneton, Malmsbury, Taradale and Chewton. These places were about a day’s travel, whether on foot pushing a hand cart or wheelbarrow, or by Bullock Cart, or with a flock of sheep to heard along. In the last case, the time taken in guiding livestock across a creek would usually entail an over night camp.

One such stopping place on the Campaspe River, developed into the town of Kyneton. The survey of town allotments was conducted here in 1849, and Kyneton bloomed in 1852, as a gold fields stopping place. With the advent of gold discoveries at Forest Creek, it became one of the most heavily trafficked roads in the colony.

An indication of the importance of this north east route is the presence of similar substantial bridges on the present Calder Highway alignment which parallels the Bulla Road only four kilometres to the west.

An early crossing of the Maribyrnong River for traffic to the north west, west and south west was at Keilor. A ford 300 m upstream or the old Calder Highway Bridge was initially used, and one of the names of the site “Werribee Crossing” indicates its early role as a route to Geelong – perhaps when the crossing at Avondale Heights was impassable. The first temporary wooden bridge at Keilor was erected in 1848, being the first bridge on the Maribyrnong, but this was washed away in a flood in 1852. Its replacement included large Howe truss timber spans to the design of the Acting Colonial Engineer Samuel Brees. However this bridge was soon damaged in further floods and replaced in 1854. It was subsequently repaired in 1857, 1860 and 1866, but still remained close to collapse (Lay pers. com. 2002). A new bridge was built to the



design of George Brown, in 1868 possibly using the abutments of the earlier bridge (O’Connor 1985:111). The Iron Bridge at Keilor is one of the oldest existing metal girder road bridges in the state, only the Hawthorn bridge and the bridges over the Melbourne-Bendigo and Geelong-Ballarat Railways predate it.

Figure 12: Old Iron Bridge over the Maribyrnong at Keilor

With the increase of traffic, and despite competition from railways, substantial improvements were made to the Mt. Alexander Road in the decades following the gold rushes. A four-arched bluestone bridge was erected at Bulla in 1869, replacing a timber bridge. Another very similar bridge was put over Jackson’s Creek further along the same route at Sunbury in 1870, again at the site of a ford. Another single arch bluestone bridge of c.1862 crosses a branch of the Kororoit Creek South of Gisborne while the alternative route through Sunbury and Bulla features several more bluestone arch bridges, which indicate the importance of this route.

Cross Country Routes

By 1855 Victoria had over 100 inland towns. The Parish Surveys had been completed in much of the better country and land sales were regular occurrences as the successful diggers, and those who profited from them (generally suppliers of food, goods and services), were clamouring for their own piece of land. A network of road reserves (even if the roads themselves were racks or green lanes) had been provided for, to link the new towns and rural areas. Important routes were established between gold towns and from ports and rail heads.



New stopping places were created by the gold rushes such as Murchison on the Goulburn which began as a shanty and punt on the cross country route between the Bendigo, Warranga and Ovens Goldfields. The Ballarat - Bendigo route became almost as busy as those out of Melbourne with several options for travellers including that through Smeaton where a composite timber and stone bridge was constructed.

Clunes and Creswick also lie between Ballarat and Bendigo, and each gained substantial bridge in the late nineteenth century. Jorgenson’s Bridge near Clunes dates from 1874, utilising continuous wrought-iron lattice-girder deck trusses on stone abutments and one pier. The 1896 Creswick Creek Bridge is later than most of the wrought iron lattice-girder bridges, but like others, it also replaced an earlier laminated timber arch.

The towns of Heathcote and Kyneton were linked by a gold era road, which had a dangerous ford on the Campaspe River near Redesdale. The Shires of Metcalfe and McIvor managed to obtain Public Works Department funding for a new bridge in 1869 now know as the Mia Mia Bridge. This took advantage of the misfortune of the ship carrying ironwork for the Hawthorn bridge which sank in Hobson’s Bay in 1859. The ironwork was salvaged and 200 tons sold to the shires by Langlands & Co for the bargain price of £1,000, T.B. Munz was the engineer supervising construction and the contractor named Doran. The bridge was constructed on a steep and difficult site, with sharply angled approaches and incorporating three wrought-iron lattice-girders in a through-truss configuration on bluestone piers and abutments. Curved wrought iron arches over the two lanes provide lateral stability to the girders (Chambers 1996a).

Figure 13: Mia Mia Bridge near Redesdale

Another important gold field route, was that on an important route between the Ballarat-Maryborough and Avoca Districts. The first Glenmona Bridge (a laminated



timber design) was erected over Bet Bet Creek in 1857. This route also served more distant travellers as an 1853 plan identifies it as the Road from South Australia to Mt. Alexander and so the route was an important link between South Australia and the Mount Alexander Diggings at a time when restrictions on immigration to Victoria, particularly aimed at Chinese miners, caused many gold seekers to take this much longer route. The current Glenmona Bridge, also known as the Old Bung Bong Bridge was built in 1871. The shallow lattice trusses on tall, bluestone piers was a response to the destructive floods which washed the timber bridge away in the previous year (Chambers 1999a).

Roads heading inland from coastal ports generally had an advantage in avoiding river crossings, at least at the lower reaches of rivers. Therefore, substantial bridges could be avoided by route selection. The Crawford River Bridge at Hotspur provided access between Portland and the Western District town of Casterton. Erected in 1870 by local contractor George Jarrett (possibly under direction of Shire Engineer J. G. Griffen) it comprises a riveted wrought-iron half-through plate-girder design. It proved the Government inspecting engineer J. Crawley, correct in his judgement that the site required a more expensive iron bridge when it withstood the massive flood in the year it was built and so helped demonstrate the superiority of the type in flood prone situations.

Figure 14: Hotspur Bridge in the 1870s.

Further afield the town of Donald began in 1863 with the building of a bridge over the Richardson River again at a shanty/ford location. German migrant Johann August Meyer ran the grog shanty, eventually building it into the town’s premier business.

Interestingly, there appears to be a higher rate of survival of early metal bridges on the back roads. These cross country routes may have played an important communication role for a short period in Australia’s history, but then fell into disuse. As a result the demands for improving bridges to accommodate modern traffic were not so great as along the main roads.



Bridge Road

A number of punts were established on the Yarra between Richmond and Hawthorn in the 1840s, the first operating by at least 1843. John Hodgson had one such punt at Studley Park and applied to the Government to build ‘a substantial wooden bridge’ in line with Johnston Street, Collingwood, in exchange for the right to charge tolls. Again the need for a private Act of Parliament to allow such a venture seems to have thwarted these plans. The Johnston Street Bridge was replaced as a wrought iron girder in the 1880s, of which only an abutment and section of lattice fence remains.

Further proposals for a bluestone bridge were made as early as 1848, but it was not until 1851, that a public timber bridge was erected near the end of Bridge Road becoming only the second bridge crossing on the Yarra River. This was located just to the north of the present alignment, possibly with the intention of allowing space for a more permanent structure, which was duly completed ten years later as a more elaborate stone structure joining Bridge Road to Burwood Road. The Hawthorn Bridge opened up the eastern suburbs of Melbourne to settlement, and speculative suburban subdivision during the subsequent boom years (Cannon 1991:117-8). However, the Hawthorn Bridge had a difficult start, with the first wrought iron lattice trusses imported from England, sinking to the bottom of Port Phillip Bay. Replacement trusses were then ordered, delaying the bridge’s construction. It was finally opened in 1861.

In the 1920s when a bitter dispute ensued over funding for repairs or replacement following damage from floods, the Richmond engineer closed the bridge as unsafe. It was reopened 3 days later, and a temporary bridge built downstream the following year. The continuing arguments and shortage of money during the depression led eventually to it being strengthened using in-situ electric arc welding and the timber deck was replaced with concrete. This was under the supervision of Public works Department Chief Engineer G. Kermode (Churchward 2001; Rasmussen 1992).



Figure 15: Hawthorn Bridge, Bridge Road before widening in the 1890s

Mail and coach routes

The establishment of settlement in Victoria preceded the development of almost all forms of infrastructure that it would come to depend on. In particular, the lack of roads, or even clearly defined communication routes, were constantly seen as a hindrance to settlement and caused hardship to those who pioneered the establishment of pastoral and other settlement.

The initial settlement and stocking of the colony was served initially by coastal shipping and infrequent treks into the hinterland to establish squatting stations. However, on-going communication required routes that could be followed without a guide, and would speed the carrying of messages.

Joseph Hawdon, having pioneered the overland route from Howlong, obtained the commission from Governor Bourke in 1838, for a mail service between Melbourne and Sydney. He employed John Bourke, who had previously assisted his party to cross the flooded Murray, as courier and on 1st January 1838 the young Bourke waved goodbye to the crowd gathered at Scott’s Hotel in Collins Street loaded with the first overland mails and provisions. Armed with compass and accompanied by Michael O’Brien, who blazed the route on tree trunks, he spent the first nightfall at Kilmore, then set course the next day for Howlong. At Major’s Crossing on the Goulburn (Old Crossing Place,



down stream of Seymour), he was confronted by a group of Aborigines including the notorious ‘killer’ known as Billy Hamilton. Further on he was surprised at his camp by survivors of the Faithful massacre at Broken River. In six days he reached Howlong and a regular but infrequent mail service was thus established, taking two weeks each way for the trip. In 1839 the Government increased the frequency of the service to once a week (Cronin 1948; Carroll 1983:118).

Mail services were established to regional towns only once the towns had grown to a suitable size. Prior to the gold rushes, regular mail services only existed along the Sydney road, to Geelong, and via coastal shipping to Victorian Ports. These routes to the coast were critical for inland communication because the coastal shipping provided the main means of communication between colonies. They were also essential for the export of the wool clip which was the principal export for many districts in the mid nineteenth century. The Ellerslie and Woolsthorp Bridges are examples of important routes linking inland pastoral districts to coastal shipping ports.

By the 1850s, a number of coaching firms had been established throughout the state running regular services, which were mandated to carry mails. The firm of Cobb & Co. established by Americans Freeman Cobb, John Murray Peck, James Stewart and John B. Lamber, revolutionised coaching service in 1854 when they introduced imported light Concord coaches and an efficient system of depots which allowed for regular changes of horses and continuous speedy operation. As a consequence, Cobb & Co. and its competitors who adopted similar vehicles and operating methods, became the regular carriers of mail services (Anderson 1994).

While these new vehicles could travel fast, they created further demand for road improvements, particularly at river crossings where floodwaters could hold up travellers for days, disrupting timetables and the commerce dependent of the mail service for communication. The increased traffic also increased the risk to life and limb.

Environmental Challenges

Floods

Ignorance of the severity and frequency of cataclysmic floods played a critical role in the history of bridge building in Victoria. The first bridges were erected at the lowest convenient level, simply clearing the regular water flows. They possibly reflect experience of English rivers and streams, which are generally slow flowing and fluctuate little between seasons or years. Many of the early bridges were swept away in the first major flood following construction. A series of floods in the 1840s demonstrated the problem in Melbourne, which was not resolved until the second Princes Bridge and associated river widening works were carried out in the 1880s.

It was not only the floodwater that caused damage, debris washed down with the floods jammed under bridges or against piles, creating additional destructive forces. The



process of settlement and land clearing probably accentuated this effect by causing greater run-off and leaving large quantities of fallen timber in the catchments.

Timber pile and stringer bridges were particularly susceptible to flood damage as the available timber lengths often meant that low deck heights and closely spaced piles were constructed which did not provide sufficient clearance for the flood waters and floating debris. Some very low bridges actually survived better as they were intended to be fully submerged to allow floods to pass over them.

Some of the greatest and most destructive floods occurred across Victoria in the winter and spring of 1870 which destroyed many bridges that had been rapidly constructed to accommodate gold rush period growth. However, by this time, the colony had gained the wealth and engineering expertise of a standard that ensured the next phase of bridge building would be a considerable improvement. This was when metal bridges, and particularly composite bridges employing stone piers and abutments, wrought iron girders and trusses and timber decks, came into their own.

Not only did iron bridges replace flood damaged timber bridges, but in some cases they replaced fords and punts where no bridge had existed before. There were clearly economic reasons for this, but the desire to flood proof communications became a common objective. A prime example of this process is the Glenmona or Bung Bong bridge, where the original laminated timber arch had been washed away in the serious floods in Central Victoria in September 1870. The earlier 1858 timber bridge designed by Clement Wilkes and built by contractor A. Oughton, was of timber, and although expensive for the time lasted only 12 years.

Figure 16: Glenmona or Bung Bong Bridge



The replacement bridge was designed by Shire engineer William Woods and built by Messrs Jenking and Lewis for £3,303 using lattice girders supplied by John Price of Ballarat and decking timber from Mount Cole.

This can be seen as the prototype for a new series of locally constructed wrought-iron lattice girder deck-truss main road bridges with masonry substructures and timber decks, created specifically to handle the sort of freak floods experienced across Victoria in the Winter and Spring of 1870. The bridge incorporated relatively shallow lattice trusses and a deck truss design to maximise the height above river level. This is believed to be the first of this deck-truss type built as a consequence of the 1870s floods and was probably a result of pressure from Public Works Department engineers for better designed bridges that could cope with the occasional, but devastating super-floods (Chambers 1997; 1999).

The Hotspur Bridge, while similar in many respects to Glenmona, was constructed prior to the floods. However, the Warrnambool-based inspecting engineer considered the site required more than another light timber bridge and recommended the iron and stone bridge as a precaution against further floods. When the 1867 Ellerslie timber, iron and stone composite bridge had survived serious floods, it was used as a model for a replacement bridge at Darlington (the ‘all-timber Elephant Bridge’) over the Mt. Emu Creek (Chambers 1997).

The Castlemaine district had many of its timber bridges washed away in the 1870s floods, and then again in 1889. While some post 1870 bridges were adapted to the flood heights by provision of longer strutted timber span designs, after the next floods, government subsidies encouraged shires to build new bridges in composite stone-iron-timber designs. Zeal Bridge near Pennyweight Flat in 1890, is a good example of this phase of bridge building (Chambers 1997).

Deep gorges

While much of Victoria has a relatively flat topography, particularly in the first areas to be settled, there were some considerable valleys which provided obstacles to travellers. The rivers which cut through the basalt plains often formed deep steeply-sided valleys which presented engineering difficulties for both bridges and the approach roads. The Keilor, Mia Mia stone and iron bridges demonstrate solutions to such sites. However, timber and all-stone bridges could also be erected in such situations, for example the Arundle Road timber trestle at Keilor, the tall single arched Djerriwarrh Creek Bridge and the skewed three arch bluestone bridge over Kororoit Creek at Brooklyn.

Wide flood plains

Different solutions had to be found to crossing wide flood plains which, when flooded had large areas of slowly flowing water. For both railways and roads the common bridge form was timber trestle and beam bridges, sometimes incorporating metal



elements. Where multiple spans at relatively low pier height were needed, but span length was not a critical factor, timber had the cost and construction advantages.

On some of the largest rivers, bridges used a combination of timber trestle with timber beam spans over the flood plain, and metal girders or trusses, or composite metal/timber trusses, over the river channel where the longer spans were required. For example the Howlong Bridge employs Dare Truss incorporating a steel lower chord.

Murray River bridges also had the additional complication of requiring lift spans for paddle steamers to pass under. Gippsland also featured some extreme flood plains crossed by long timber trestle bridge, particularly for railway bridges, where a common technique was to construct initially in timber and then back fill to an embankment, burying the timber trestles by the time they had reached their useful lifespan.

Fire

The next destructive impact on bridges was fire. The Black Thursday fires of 1851 destroyed many bridges at a time when decent creek crossings were only just being formed. It is as yet unclear whether the benefit of the fire proof material of metal bridges was a significant factor in influencing the type of bridge construction. A conscious attempt was made in building metal bridges to alleviate flood damage which also impacted fire damage, as the build up of timber debris around the timber piers caused an additional fire hazard that was not a concern with stone piers and iron girders.

Fire was probably just one of several factors influencing bridge construction, but was probably subservient to floods and the cost-benefit of various construction materials and designs. Severe damage was done to bridges in various parts of the state by periodic fires. Due to the greater number of timber bridges in forested areas, they were particularly susceptible. Some of the major destructive fires occurred in 1939 (Black Friday,) 1942, 1954-5, and in recent decades the 1983 Ash Wednesday fires.

Unfamiliar materials

The pioneering nature of bridge building in Victoria (as elsewhere in Australia) presented the problem of coping with unfamiliar material. It was not always the inferiority of materials, which caused problems, but lack of understanding of their capabilities. So that when laminated arch bridges were erected they often lacked the refinements found on softwood bridges in America where the entire bridge was roofed over to protect it from the weather, or at least the exposed beams were afforded protection by sheeting them over to disperse water. The grant system under the Roads Boards also contributed to deterioration of bridges since there was generally limited funding (or inclination) for regular maintenance.

The failure of brittle steel under load and cold conditions on the Kings Bridge, and the catastrophic failure of a span of the West Gate Bridge during construction are classical modern equivalents, where new materials and construction techniques were employed for the first time here.



Economic Development

Pastoral settlement

In the initial years of the occupation and settlement of the pastoral lands of Australia Felix, bridge building was rudimentary involving felling of trees across streams, or laying saplings over logs. Pastoral settlement in the squatting era did not require substantial bridges, or at least the nature of the traffic could not justify the expense of their construction. Nor was there an administrative system established to build public works, as so much of the settlement was illegal in the eyes of the New South Wales Government.

As squatters moved into the district by ship or overland, they each had a once off need to cross rivers with their herds and supplies. Once established, they were mostly self-sufficient and sparsely settled.

1840s recession

Only a very small amount of road or bridgework was carried out in the formative years of the colony, and in most respects was unnecessary, as the vast pastoral estates did not generate much in the way or road traffic. Most public works expenditure under Latrobe was committed to Melbourne town and the roads leading out from it. Nearly half of the 1850 roads budget was spent on Princes Bridge. Much of this funding came directly from the new colonial government and was administered by the Superintendent of Bridges David Lennox. Lennox is credited with the design of over 50 bridges in this period.

Gold rushes

In 1851, the first year of separation, more extensive bridge building was carried out than all preceding years (excepting the Princes Bridge). Included in allocations were £492 for the Moonee Ponds Creek Bridge, £328 for the Sydney Road Campbellfield Bridge, £1,526 for Richmond Bridge and £201 for the Botanic Gardens Bridge. However, this was surpassed by a factor of 100 in 1853 when £520,000 was spent on road and bridge works (Cannon 1991:119).

An unusual chapter in the financing of public works occurred in the 1850s when the City of Melbourne, sought approval from the government to raise £500,000 through a loan arranged by a private financier named Gabrielli specifically to enable urgent road improvements. The loan was to be repaid by an increase in rates and the £500,000 spent by 1854 amidst controversy regarding the financing arrangements how the money was spent and the commission which was paid to Gabrielli. (A hint of the Kemlani Affair?) Gabrielli also assisted in a loan of £200,000 to the Geelong Town Council.

The influence of the gold rushes on road and bridge construction was felt long after the mining had settled into more stable patterns and the initial boom had subsided. More



reliable communication to the mining centres was developed in attempts to maintain some of the economic impetus that the rushes had started. This can be seen in structures such as Brunton’s Bridge over the Thompson River to the Walhalla Goldfields when the principal route was from Port Albert via Toongabbie. The old iron bridge at Keilor and the original Lynchs Bridge on Ballarat Road also fit into this category.

Post Gold (industrial boom)

The years coinciding with the alluvial gold rushes (late 1860s to late 1880s) were the boom years for iron bridge construction in Victoria, although the boom was sporadic and localised. Bridge design rapidly evolved in this period from over-engineered plate and lattice girders to much lighter and refined engineered structures influenced by the scientific evaluation of material and design parameters formulated by Kernot and the Melbourne University (Proc. of Inst. of Civil Engineers 178 1908-9 Obituary).

This was also the period when the foundries and engineering forms, which had established their businesses and refined their skills by serving the needs of gold mines, were able to provide the necessary expertise to fabricate and erect complex iron structures, combining with other materials such as stone or brick piers, and Australian hardwood deck timbers.

Bridge construction (and most other forms of public works) came to a virtual halt following the 1893 ‘bust’. An exception to this was on the Murray River, where, possibly spurred on by imminent Federation, several big bridges were erected around 1900. Chambers (1989:10) notes that work for these bridges went to Victorian contractors, like the Farquahar Brothers (who had established their credentials on such work as Chinamans Bridge and the Goulburn River Bridge at Seymour in 1890-2.

Export and trade

Immigration

Settlement by Anglo-Europeans in the mid-nineteenth century in Victoria gave the impetus for the construction of roads and bridges. Most of the early engineers, designers and contractors were themselves immigrants. They brought with them imported knowledge and methods, and adapted these to the colonial circumstances. However, some locally-grown design solutions may be recognised in Victorian bridges such as the use of select hardwood timbers in the round (ie unmilled tree trunks), and the development of composite masonry/metal/timber bridges.

Specific Government policies were implemented in order to encourage the occupation of country areas by immigrants from other colonies and overseas. Selection Acts combined the encouragement of closer settlement of land and implemented processes for the development of settled areas through survey of roads and creation of infrastructure.



The road users too were predominantly immigrants as were the workers who laboured on the construction or roads and bridges. Particular immigrant influences are difficult to identify in bridges. However, historically they can be related to successive waves of immigration such as the gold rush period, or post war immigration and its consequent expansion. In the 1950s, for example, the Country Roads Board was hard-pressed to find labour and attempted to make up for the deficiencies by obtaining the services of as many New Australians as possible. It established a hostel at Moonee Ponds for British tradesmen, and was pleased that its experience had been ‘most favourable both from the point of view of their ability as workmen and their conduct’ (Anderson 1994:109).

Roads and railways

Development of the early rail routes was aimed at connecting ports with inland towns and their hinterland and so changed the direction of inland road transport. Road construction was then focussed on routes serving the rail lines, either radiating from stations, or extending from the rail-head into the country beyond.

Several writers have identified the meagre road funding in the second half of the nineteenth century, especially in comparison with expenditure on railways. However, considering the relative speed and carrying capacity of rail versus road vehicles in this period, and the proximity of most settled areas of Victoria to railways by the late nineteenth century (most of the population and productive farmland was within 15 miles (24 km) of a railway), the bias may have actually produced the best transport system for the time. In this context it is worth considering where road funding was spent during this period. Roads that provided communication between settled areas and the nearest railway appear to have continued to receive attention, while the most serious obstacles on trunk routes - the impassable swamps and dangerous river crossings - were also addressed.

There was some pragmatism in the construction of some early rail lines, such as the use of timber for bridges and single track operation as a temporary measure, but the main line construction under both the short lived private companies and then the Victorian Railways was of a high standard. The Surveyor General Captain Andrew Clarke R E was authorised to make surveys for 200 route miles of railways as a result of the report of the Railway Committee of 21 May 1855.

Upon the takeover by the government of the private Melbourne, Mt. Alexander and Murray River Railway, Clarke was appointed Trustee along with the Commissioner of Public Works Captain Charles Paisley. He went on to oversee the construction of the Main Line as it was called, and was a strong advocate of substantial construction involving wide, level and straight permanent ways, with grade separation of road crossings. The last point, involving removal of level crossings in favour of safer and less disruptive road over rail or rail over road bridges, lead to substantial road bridge construction.



Figure 17. Cross Sections of Gisborn-Kilmore Road bridge over the Bendigo Railway, c1860

The Great Western Railway Engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel was appointed as Inspecting Engineer for material purchased in Britain and reviewed the drawings for bridge ironwork that were prepared in Melbourne. The predilection of influential railway engineers such as Clark for high standards of engineering held sway for some time, but the enormous cost of such lines could not be maintained so that later lines were constructed to more economic standards (Harrigan 1962:9-19).

As well as the iconic viaducts at Sunbury, Malmsbury and Tarradale, the several wrought iron girder road over rail bridges were some of the earliest metal bridges built in Victoria. W.E. Bryson, a British-trained engineer with railway expertise was probably responsible for most of the metal bridges on the Bendigo line.

Construction of railways began in earnest in the later half of the 1850s and accelerated in the 60s and 70s under railways engineers George Christian Darbyshire and from 1860 Thomas Higginbotham, when Victoria’s railway network was greatly expanded. Lines to Echuca, Albury, and later to other Murray River towns provided additional transport connections. A further boom occurred with the Octopus Acts of the 1880s and 90s, so that by the end of the century, most of the rail system had been established.



The period of railway construction also sees some fairly substantial road and bridge construction, with a number of bluestone bridges erected on the Bendigo Road within a decade of the railway being constructed. There is also a coincidence of the establishment of the Roads Boards with the beginnings of railway planning. Tension is evident between the two transport systems from the outset as the Government first left rail to private enterprise to concentrate on roads, but soon found it had to bail out private companies and take on a public rail system. This built rapidly into a transport juggernaut, which took the lion’s share of funding and led to complaints that roads were being neglected in favour of rail. (It is interesting to note how the complaints are now reversed).

Figure 18: Plan of Victoria’s Railway Network at its greatest extent, c 1940.

There was also often spirited conflict at level crossings of road and rail. Government policy wavered between the safety and political value of grade separation (which resulted in considerable bridge construction, for example on the Geelong-Ballarat, and Melbourne-Bendigo lines) and the cost savings of at-grade crossings. Road users and residents along lines lobbied against road closures that severed communities, and for bridges that sometimes became self-serving. For example the numerous elaborate stone, brick and iron bridges on the Bendigo line, some of which serve a single property.



The following table lists the opening of the main 19th century lines.

Table 1: Years of opening of main rail lines

Line Year constructed

Melbourne - Hobson’s Bay 1854

St. Kilda & South Eastern Suburbs 1857

Geelong - Williamstown 1857

Williamstown - Melbourne 1859

Melbourne – Bendigo 1859

Geelong – Ballarat 1862

Bendigo – Echuca 1864

Melbourne – Longwood 1872

Longwood – Wodonga 1873

Sydney – Albury 1881

Albury – Wodonga 1883

Moama – Deniliquin 1876

Castlemaine – Maryborough – Clunes 1875

Ballarat – Ararat 1875

Ararat – Portland 1877

Melbourne – Sale 1877

Melbourne – Servicetown (SA) 1887

Melbourne – Ballarat 1884-9

Funding for rail and road, when compared in the formative years, is deceptive since rail was commencing from a zero base and overall expenditure by district boards and shires is difficult to determine. However, the following table shows the wide differences in some years. A similar decline is presumed in spending by local authorities (Anderson 1994:19; Alsop 1984-6:85)

The development of the telegraph in the 1850s, almost simultaneously with railways, further assisted commercial communication and probably led indirectly to greater demand for transport infrastructure as inter- and intra-colonial trade was expanded.



Table 2: Government funding to road and rail

Year Railway funding Road funding

1846-50 £43,515†

1851 £31,474‡

1853 £520,000§

1866-68 £4,000,000 £238,000**

1870 £2,000,000 £56,000††

1874-9 £3,000,000‡‡ £310,000 p.a. to shires

1880-89 £13,000,000§§

1890-1 £450,000 p.a. to shires

1894 £100,000 p.a. to shires

With the demise of the Central Roads Board, roads and railways came under the one department and for a brief period from 1862 to 1877 were under the supervision of the one Minister and controlled by the Commissioner for Railways and Roads. There appears to have been a policy for the co-ordination of road and rail development. The Central Roads Board had an expressed role in providing road connections to the railways. This was much later formalised as a Government policy as a result of an inquiry into ‘the better and more economic co-ordination and the better regulation of control of railway and motor transport’ (Anderson 1994:93).

However, by the 1920s and 30s, the rise of motor vehicles was seen as a threat to the viability of rail, which went into a decline that has continued for the next 70 years. The 1934 Transport Regulation Act was designed, according to Anderson (1994:94) to protect railways from increasingly effective road competition, restricting motor licences, and commercial freight and bus routes which ran parallel to railways. However, it should also be noted that the Transport Regulation Board was set up (under Act No 4198) to secure “the improvement and co-ordination of, and facilitation for, locomotion and transport.”

The Act was, in fact, addressing the problems caused to existing roads by increasingly heavy transport. Many roads were simply not built to withstand the level of traffic. The Act was in part intended to protect roads from such damage. Later collapses of major roads when subjected to heavy transport bear out the fragility of the road system. For

† Cannon 1991:119 ‡ Return of Public Works Government Gazette 1851 pp.984-6 § Cannon 1991 ** Anderson 1994:19 †† ibid ‡‡ Linge 1979:224 §§ op cit p. 225



example, the 1952 rail strike saw a change of briquette cartage between Yallourn and Melbourne from rail to road, which resulted in the collapse of the Princes Highway East. Also, when regulation of interstate trade were lifted in 1956 due to the overriding requirements of section 92 of the constitution regarding interstate trade, the Hume Highway collapsed under the greatly increased freight traffic (Lay pers. com. 2002).

By the 1930s roads were clearly in the ascendancy and government transport policy was based on a dual system where freight regulation favoured rail, but road improvements continued. Emphasis was placed on providing good road links to rail heads and towns along rail routes. The CRB’s first Annual Report identifies a network of Main Roads as well as local roads focussed on railway lines. Some good examples of these are:

• Falls Rd north from Fish Creek station

• Stony Creek Dollar Rd from Stony Creek station

• Toora Gunyah Rd from Toora station

• Welshpool Morwell Rd from Welshpool station

• Deans Marsh Lorne Rd from Deans Marsh station

This was also the period of the developmental roads, which like the developmental stage of the railways was intended to open up new districts to agriculture and settlement. Victoria had moved from the age of steam to the motorcar era.

Roads and river routes

The development of navigable waterways occurred from the 1850s in only few places in Victoria - on the Murray, the Gippsland Lakes, and a single instance on the Maribyrnong. The opening up of the Riverina and Murray Darling system was the result of a combination of railway and river boat. The first long distance rural rail line reached Echuca on the Murray in the 1860s, to draw the river boat traffic back up stream and capture this trade for Melbourne. As a consequence, Murray River bridges (and a few on the lower navigable reaches of the Goulburn and Ovens) had to accommodate river traffic with various forms of movable spans. These necessitated some of the most complex engineering solutions on Victorian bridges (technically in New South Wales as the border is on the Victorian bank) and were almost universally carried out in iron or steel. The benefits of the strength to weight ratio and the engineering requirements of the gearing and lifting mechanisms favoured iron and later steel.



The opening up of Gippsland to settlement and agriculture initially occurred via costal shipping and the Lakes. Sir John Coode prepared designs for the New Entrance, as well as a canal to link the rail head at Sale to the navigable Lake Wellington via the Thompson and Latrobe Rivers. The road from Sale to Port Albert was the major route through the district at the time, and so a bridge over the Thompson River at Longford had to incorporate an opening span to accommodate the two transport needs. This was designed by John Grainger and constructed in 1881 by local contractor Peter Platt. It involved the erection of a central pier of cylindrical cast iron caissons, on which the opening span rotated. The riveted wrought iron half-through truss is flanked by lattice girder spans on each side.

Figure 19: Swing Bridge over the Latrobe River near Sale

(State Library of Victoria Picture Collection)

Political and administrative structures

Colonial Government control

Provision was made in the instructions to Governors of British Colonies for the administration of public facilities, including the construction of roads. In the case of Arthur Phillip, he was authorised by the British government to establish a system of courts. In order to establish legal jurisdiction the county in which the courts operated had to be determined. The first such counties, generally extending for about 40 miles square, were created around Sydney (County of Cumberland) and Newcastle (County of Northumberland). Also to facilitate the distribution and control of land, and again following the British system, counties were further divided into hundreds of about ten miles square, each of which might contain about four parishes. Within each rural parish, a site was reserved for a village or township, usually convenient for overland



communication and near fresh water such as beside a lake or straddling a creek or river (Barrett 1979:33-4).

The Police Magistrate, William Lonsdale, came to take on many roles in early Melbourne, in the absence of other administrative authority. He could issue fines for breaches of public health and safety and was often called on to deal with public nuisance such as directing the convict road gangs to repair rutted streets or in one case in 1839, fill a waterhole in Collins Street, in which a child had drowned. The initial clearing of Melbourne’s Streets of trees and stumps, cutting and levelling , filling gullies and digging drains was carried out by convict road gangs sent from Sydney at Lonsdale’s request (Barrett 1979:17-19).

In 1839 the growing colony demanded more direct administration so Charles Joseph Latrobe was dispatched as superintendent. During a visit by Governor Gipps from Sydney in 1841 the needs of the colony were described by the Port Phillip Herald. They included among a long list, the construction of roads and a bridge across the Yarra.

County and Parish Trusts

The 1833 Parish Roads Act passed in New South Wales, empowered the Governor to determine which roads should be maintained at the public expense, while subsequent Acts in 1835 and 1840 allowed for parish residents to combine to create local authorities known as Parish Roads Trusts, and raise rates and tolls for the maintenance of roads.

When Port Phillip was surveyed, two counties were proclaimed in the first instance - Bourke centred on Melbourne and Grant centred on Geelong with each also divided into parishes.

There was little enthusiasm in Port Phillip for parish road trusts and only one was ever gazetted. This was for a track leading from the outskirts of Melbourne to the village of Warringal or Heidelberg where some of the first land had been sold in 1838 and Melbourne’s elite had established farms and villas. In July 1840 local agitation succeeded in stirring the Government to survey and gazette the Heidelberg Road as a parish road. With little further government work forthcoming, the locals held the statutory public meeting and elected trustees for the road including magistrate William Werner and banker George Porter in 16 November 1841. By the winter of 1842, a passable road had been cleared and drained, funded via subscriptions to the trust rather than rate revenue or tolls, but the economic depression from 1842 ended subscriptions, and the trust became defunct. With no further activity, a public meeting of ‘all interested parties’ was held in March 1845 to re-establish a roads trust on a more organised basis. It levied a small rate on landowners and erected a toll bar at the Merri Creek Crossing (Barrett 1979:35-6).

The Heidelberg Road soon became one of the best roads in the colony. A substantial bridge was later erected over the Merri Creek.



A rather half-hearted attempt was made to establish a second road trust for the Sydney Road in 1842, convened by Farquhar McCrea. However, the trust never got off the ground, probably also a victim of the depression. Considerable opposition to the trusts and other forms of municipal institutions often came from the land owners who would themselves benefit from their work as they would have to pay any rates levied. One such was John Pascoe Fawkner, who disrupted the Sydney Road Trust meeting and was ejected (only a day after he had been expelled from the Market Commission for similar disruptive behaviour) (Barrett 1979:37).

In 1842 the British government passed legislation concerning the system of government in New South Wales which empowered the Governor to establish ‘district councils’. An attempt to establish such a council covering the District of Bourke was made in 1843, but it only seems to have sat occasionally and when refused requests for government funds to commence active operations, it went into decline.

The Grant District Council fared little better. It was set up in 1843 with six reputable persons chosen by La Trobe. However disputes between the town and country representatives and between farmers and squatters hampered its activities, so that like Bourke district, it failed to repair one road or erect a single bridge.

Apart from these few abortive attempts, no further roads trusts were established until the Gold Rushes provided the incentives of greater demand and capital.

Melbourne Corporation 1842

With the rapid development of Melbourne from its bush camp origins as Bearbrass in 1835, to a substantial, but still primitive town within a few years, the New South Wales government saw the need to raise finance for local services more directly from those who would benefit from them. Among the pressing needs of the town were the provision of a safe water supply, drainage, and in particular the making and cleansing of streets.

The problems of an unserviced town were brought home with every rain when the gullies, especially that which formed Elizabeth Street, became raging torrents, drowning citizens and their livestock, and carrying away their goods. A bridge was built in Flinders Street across a gully near the foot of William Street, which may have been Melbourne’s very first bridge, although another timber crossing had been put over the Elizabeth Street drain in about 1838. The dust nuisance and deep ruts that broke ankles and axles, were equal problems (Cannon 1991; Lay pers. com. 2002).

Initially Governor Bourke used the 1833 Governance Act which provided for police magistrates to issue fines for breaches of public health and safety and appointment of a town surveyor to set out footpaths and approve private paving. Debate however continued on the merits of municipal incorporation in Sydney, fuelled by the passing of the English Municipal Corporations Act in 1835. The New South Wales Legislative



Council followed suit with the passing of legislation in 1842 for the incorporation of both Sydney and Melbourne.

The Town of Melbourne was initially defined as the Parish of North Melbourne (ie north of the river) and the suburb of Newtown (Fitzroy) but was extended in 1844 to cover the south of the river down to St. Kilda. £2,000 was allotted to the Corporation, conditional on a similar sum being raised in property rates (Barrett 1979:39).

With the creation of the Corporation of Melbourne, convict labour was withdrawn to Sydney and the council employed crews to repair the worst parts of the main streets. They began by grubbing stumps, cutting the streets level and filling in hollows in the roads. Unfortunately the dammed up of water in the gullies caused waterlogging of some properties where the cellars became cesspools, and exacerbating floods. The building of some storm water channels and construction of a few wooden crossings over these for pedestrians initiated the first formal bridge construction in Melbourne, albeit at a very small scale.

While the Corporation’s funds did not extend at this stage to the erection of a permanent bridge across the Yarra, the major geographic obstacle to transport and communication in the colony, it did licence a punt and then gave permission to the entrepreneurs of the Melbourne Bridge Company (who had taken over the punt licence) to construct the first bridge over the river in 1846.

Geelong Corporation 1849

Following the abortive district council, Geelong residents (or some of them) continued to lobby for municipal government. A public meeting in May 1849 passed a motion to petition the New South Wales Legislative Council to incorporate Geelong as a City as it had done for Melbourne. As a result an act was passed in October to incorporate the inhabitants of the town of Geelong, making it New South Wales’ third incorporated town. As with Melbourne, roads and bridges became major pressing issues.

Central and District Roads Boards

The Select Committee on Roads and Bridges, set up in November 1851 by the Legislative Council under the chairmanship of Henry Miller, considered the state of the new colony’s roads and bridges. It came up with the predictable findings that ‘...the colonies roads were poorly located, badly aligned, inadequately designed, too narrow, encroached upon by buildings and badly constructed’. It also found that road surveys too often were on unsuitable routes, having slavishly followed the settlers tracks rather than the most effective alignment chosen with a concern for future road and bridge building. They had poor river crossing points where low bridges would be washed away, and passed through swamps, soft sandy country and steep hills. For example the original 3 chain reserve on the Mt. Alexander Road through Carlsruhe, while avoiding two river crossings of the later route, went through the middle of a swamp which was under water for much of the year. In Melbourne’s north, High Street climbs one of the



steepest hills in the area (Rucker’s) and crosses a large swamp as it follows one of Hoddle’s principal survey lines. The irregular line of Plenty Road, shows how an original settlers track skirted such obstacles. The Select Committee clearly considered the need to realign roads in some instances rather than waste money on correcting the problems of poor route choice (Anderson 1994:14).

The most severe problems, however, were in the basic difficulty experienced by road traffic, whether on horseback, wagon or foot, to pass over the roads, which became intractable quagmires in winter. River crossings were especially perilous.

Even though the committee was inactive during the winter of 1852, some immediate results were achieved with £1000 grants to both Richmond and Kilmore local committees. These became the first local road authorities since the creation of the Heidelberg and Brunswick/Coburg road trusts.

The Select Committee’s main recommendations were for the establishment of a Central Roads Board and District Roads Boards with the responsibility for determining lines of communications, formation of Macadamised roads as the resources of the Government permitted, and the on-going maintenance of roads. Three means of funding these roads were proposed. The Central Roads Board would have direct Government funding, the District Roads Boards would raise revenue through local government and one-for-one government subsidy, and toll fees could be collected by District Roads Boards to fund road maintenance.

The Central Roads Board would be responsible for ‘main roads’ in the colony, which were defined as being the roads to Kilmore (Sydney Road) Bendigo-Echuca, Geelong-Colac, Bacchus Marsh-Portland, Brighton Dandenong-Gippsland. All other roads would be the responsibility of the district boards.

This system of decentralised responsibility suited the Colonial Government, which now had funding and a pressing demand to build roads and bridges, but did not wish to supervise every detail of the spending.

Miller secured the reappointment of the committee in July 1852 to complete the inquiry and report, and in February 1853 an ‘Act for Making and Improving Roads’ was passed, resulting in the appointment of the Central Roads Board in March. The first board members included Francis Murphy, who represented squatters interests, Henry Miller, who represented the urban areas and Norman Campbell, who had government associations and so would provide a conduit between the board and governor. Campbell was replaced in 1854 by Captain. A. P. G. Ross, Commander Military Royal Engineers (Barrett 1979:86-7).

By early 1853 the Board had commenced road making, Macadamising the Sydney Road at Carlton, Mt. Alexander Road at Royal Park the Richmond Road and St. Kilda Road. The Board took an interest in river crossings, recommending a scale of punt fees at Hodgson’s Collingwood Punt and ordering ‘the bridge over the Barwon River should be



erected as soon as practicable’, the Geelong-Colac District Road Committee having been formed to assist (Barrett 1979:88-9).

The Collingwood local committee was set up by late 1853, followed by Emerald Hill and then three Road Districts were proclaimed in the same year - Barrabool Hills, Portarlington and Port Fairy. The Warrnambool local committee was proclaimed a Road District in July 1854 and by 1855 eight roads boards were in existence. The number doubled by the following year.

The District Roads Boards constructed roads and bridges to quite varied standards, quality and design, particularly following the demise of the Central Roads Boards in 1857. In some more prosperous and heavily settled areas such as the Western District and the Central Goldfields, quite high standards of construction were achieved. The Central board had the function of approving design and expenditure for roads and bridges and was particularly concerned that the standards of construction were maintained so as to avoid wasteful false economies, which had characterised much of the earlier construction work.

In 1854 an act of amendment gave the Roads Boards power to levy tolls, but the roads Act was repealed in 1863 by the Roads District and Shires Act, which authorised the establishment of rural shires. The District Roads Boards therefore established the pattern of local government which became the subsequent form of administration throughout Victoria.

The collection of tolls was an option for roads boards, shires and towns under the various acts, and even though they were universally disliked by road users, they were extensively applied as a means to fund road improvements. Their efficacy, however, may be in doubt, as the revenue generated by tolls does not appear to have been very great and comparatively little new works were funded by tolls alone. Revenue from tolls as a proportion of all road funding was generally less than 5 per cent. In any case, tolls were finally abolished in 1877.

The demise of the Central Roads Board appears to have been due to both political and financial strangulation. Some segments of Government believed the functions of a central body were better carried out by local administration. At the same time railway construction was drawing on the colonial government’s funds and this was obviously given priority.

Municipal Act and local council control

Urban municipalities developed in a slightly different form to the rural shires. Melbourne and Geelong had been incorporated in the 1840s under New South Wales statutes, but new legislation in Victoria in 1854 (the Municipal Institutions Act) provided for the incorporation of boroughs (towns and cities) and so created the subtle distinction between the rural and urban municipalities which remained until the Local Government Act of 1879.



Although many roads districts had already reconstituted as rural shires or boroughs in the 1860s, the District Roads Boards were formally abolished under the Shire Statute in 1869. The following tables show the rapid development of municipal government following the gold rushes. By the 1870s the majority of Victoria had been incorporated either in road board districts , boroughs or shires.

Table 3: Roads Boards

Established by Number

Up to 1855 8

1856 16

1857 27

1862 70+

1868 104

Table 4: Urban municipalities

Established by Number

1842 Melbourne

1849 Geelong

1855 8

1862 54

1868 62

By the 1870s control of roads and bridges was further decentralised as responsibility for their planning, construction and maintenance was transferred to local authorities under the Consolidating Local Government Act of 1874. This was the case even for Sydney Road. As a consequence, road and bridge construction was decided by local political and economic concerns, often to the detriment of connecting main roads which were seen by many municipal councils as serving the needs of outsiders passing through or even drawing business away from their own towns. Even so, considerable funding was also distributed to municipal road works, at least up to the 1890s depression.

State grants were often a deciding factor in getting shires to construct bridges, particularly where the cost could be spread three ways, as with bridges on shire boundaries. Such examples include the Redesdale Bridge and the Merri Creek Bridge at Kalkallo.

Sometimes a close connection was made between the local councils and the Victorian Government. This often led to special mechanisms for funding bridge construction. For example, a committee was appointed on behalf of the Councils of Prahran and Richmond to receive and disburse moneys for the purpose of construction and maintenance of the new Church Street Bridge and was authorised to borrow from the



National Bank of Australia Ltd. Contributing bodies for the construction project were the State Government, the cities of Prahran, Richmond and Melbourne and the Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Trust.***

One of the unusual results of the system of road funding to district councils, Roads boards and later Shire’s was the variation in designs and engineering standards across the state which it caused. The differing quality and quantity of bridge construction can be explained not only by the different levels of funding to each district, but to the differing levels of skill possessed by local engineers and shire administrators. One legacy of this system is the large collection of early and distinctive stone and iron bridges in the area west of Geelong and south of Ballarat. Here a greater proportion of large, early metal bridges survive than anywhere else in Victoria. They include McMillans, Pollocksford, Pitfield, Shelford, Russells, and Cressy Bridges

Public Works Department

The following section has been derived from the summary essay in the Public Records Office guide to holdings (VPRS VA 669 Public Works Department). The abolition of the Central Roads Board saw some of its functions taken over by the Board of Land and Works, which had responsibility for Public Works and Crown Lands & Survey and later the Railway Department.

On 1 September 1877, by Order of the Governor-in-Council, the administration of matters relating to roads and bridges was separated from the administration of railways and responsibility was assumed by the Roads and Bridges Branch of the Public Works Department. Responsibility for main roads and bridges had previously been exercised by the Department of Roads and Bridges from 1858 to 1871 and the Department of Railways and Roads from 1871 to 1877. By 1884 the civil establishment for this function within the Professional Division of the Department included an engineer "specially engaged in the preparation of designs, plans and specifications of the new Falls and Princes Bridges"; an engineer, two inspectors, an overseer and three foremen of road labourers who together were responsible for the supervision and inspection of roads, bridges and reclamation works executed by the Government; the preparation of plans and specifications and the supervision of plans and specifications furnished by local bodies for subsidised works.

Given the very few staff employed, it is presumed that the actual construction work must have been undertaken by contractors but the role of the Department in co-ordinating and managing this work has not yet been researched. By 1889-90 the appropriation of funds outside the boundaries of municipalities had been reduced to 750 pounds which was allocated for the completion of existing

*** (Church Street Bridge Act 1919 (No.3020) VPRS 8029 Ledger: Church Street Bridge Construction)



contracts. Allocations for non-municipal roads then ceased for a period during the 1890's when the appropriations for public works generally were drastically reduced. By 1897-8, the appropriations included sums for the making, clearing and draining of roads to Village Settlements and by 1903-4 substantial sums were again being provided for road works and bridges, drainage and other works subject to the approval of the Governor-in-Council. Throughout the period small sums were also allocated to local municipal authorities to assist in the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges. Although these allocations were also significantly less during the 1890's, at no time did appropriations for this purpose cease. Although the constitution of municipal authorities has been amended a number of times, the construction and maintenance of local roads and bridges has continued to be a municipal responsibility.

Figure 20: The new Princes Bridge Melbourne from the winning design entry

(State Library Victoria, Picture Collection)

Federation and Commonwealth road funding

One of the roles of the new Commonwealth Government was to provide for national communication. This role was formalised under the Federal Aid Roads Agreement of 1926. This agreement gave greater security of funding for declared state highways, of which there were 1474 miles by 1927. £360,000 per year were allocated from this source to Victoria The Act was amended in 1931 to provide a user pays element through raising revenue via customs and excise duties on motor spirit. However, in the 1930s and 40s funding for roads remained static due to the impact of the depression and then material and labour shortage during the Second World War.

Following the war, Commonwealth reconstruction grants kicked off road and bridge building, which then gained further pace as the economy improved and pre-war construction plans could finally be funded. In addition, the delayed response to the 1939 fires, which saw a new policy of removing sawmilling settlements from the bush and relocating them into towns, meant that forest roads were upgraded to take the heavy logging trucks which replaced the former timber tramway systems.



Establishment of the Country Roads Board 1913

By 1910 it had become increasingly apparent that there was a need for a central roads authority to take over responsibility for the care and management of the main roads of the State. Up to this time there had been a lack of co-operation between the agencies with operational responsibility for roads, i.e. the Roads and Bridges Branch of the Public Works Department under the Board of Land and Works and local municipalities, in the construction and maintenance of main roads. Expenditure of State funds was without proper supervision and there was no thorough investigation of actual needs. The absence of a systematic policy and funds had resulted in Victorian roads being in a deplorable condition. At this time the use of the motor car accentuated the demand for better roads. As a result of these needs the Country Roads Act 1912 (No.2415) was proclaimed in 1913 providing for the establishment of the Country Roads Board as a central road authority with responsibility for those roads considered to be main roads. Although the Country Roads Board was established in 1913 to co-ordinate the construction and maintenance of main roads and bridges, the Public Works Department continued to have a role in the construction of roads and bridges. The final report of the Royal Commission on the State Public Service in 1917 indicates that the Public Works Department confined its operations chiefly to by-roads, tourist roads and special roads, although some overlapping with the Board could occur. The report which made no mention of bridge construction by the Public Works Department, proposed the amalgamation of the Roads and Bridges Section with the Country Roads Board. It is not clear exactly when the Public Works Department ceased to exercise responsibility for road construction, although in 1936 responsibility for tourist roads was vested in the Country Roads Board.

Country Roads Board

The disintegration of municipal roads in the latter part of the nineteenth century and first decade of the twentieth led to yearly representation to Government of road interests and municipal government. The issues of poor roads were considered in the 1910 report of the Inspector General of Public Works, William Davidson. The major recommendation was for the establishment of the Country Roads Board (CRB), which could act in co-operation with municipalities for the improvement of roads and bridges. This resulted in the Country Roads Act of 1912, which constituted the CRB and identified the relationship with municipalities. Under the Act the CRB would be responsible for main roads, but construction costs would be shared with municipalities on a half and half basis. On-going maintenance would be funded 1/3 by the board and 2/3 by shires. With the formation of the Country Roads Board in 1913, Government funds for the construction of roads and bridges became available to all municipalities outside the Metropolitan area. The majority of new bridge construction from that time was therefore subject to the scrutiny of the Country Roads Board, which also began to set standards for design and choice of construction materials (Norm Butler 2002).



The new Board spent its first year inspecting Victorian roads and bridges with local councils to determine what needed to be done. Contracts for road and bridge construction were let from 1914 onwards. However, the outbreak of War limited the Board’s ability to carry out sufficient new construction work to redress the decades of neglect. As a consequence, much of the existing bridge stock, most of which was considerably older than 30 years, was patched up, and nursed through a few more years of service.

The first Chairman of the CRB, William Calder, was instrumental in advocating the use of permanent materials as a long-term economy, reversing a trend where cheap and rapid construction using the immediately available materials had been followed. Previously, timber had been the main material for spans, with iron and stone only employed on the most important roads. Stone was also common for abutments in conjunction with timber beams. Some exceptions are noteworthy, such as the number of substantial early iron bridges in the Ballarat/Geelong area. This may have been due to the fact of the established local engineering capacity resulting from the gold rushes, and the influence of individual engineers such as CAC Wilson. The CRB’s preference on economic grounds was reinforced concrete, which was best suited to the generally short spans.

When the Board was able to expend funds in its first decade, it concentrated on those rural roads, which provided greatest cost-benefit. As a measure of its task, the CRB constructed 86 bridges in the period 1914-20, 46 in concrete and 41 in timber (Norm Butler 2002). In its annual reports, the CRB emphasised the advantages of using

permanent materials on economic grounds, with a preference given to concrete. No mention was made of metal bridges and no metal bridges were recorded as being constructed in the period 1914-19 (Norm Butler 2002, CRB Annual Reports, 1914:65; 1917:7).

Figure 21: William Calder, first chairman of the Country Roads Board

Following the War, the CRB played an important role in reconstruction and resettlement of returned soldiers. The 1918 Developmental Roads Act gave the CRB responsibility for other roads, which were not main roads, but were important to rural development. In particular the CRB was given the task of building roads linking railways to the newly designated soldier settlement schemes. The Arundel trestle bridge is an example of one such scheme.



Only in 1924 did the CRB undertake significant new steel bridge construction when the Old Barwon Bridge was replaced in steel to a design of DV Darwin – who was later to become a long-serving chairman of the CRB. The £73,900 contract was the largest undertaken by the Board since its inception. The 127m long, four-span, cantilevered riveted steel plate girder, was constructed between the old bridges girders, before they were taken down (Norm Butler; Museum Victoria image collection)

Figure 22: Replacement of the Barwon Bridge in the 1920s illustrating the use of the original box girders as a temporary staging (Museum Victoria image collection)

With the advent of Federal funding, the proclamation of State Highways was provided for in the 1925 Highways and Vehicles Act, with half funding from the Commonwealth for construction but none for maintenance.

One of the outcomes of this was the identification of construction methods, which maximised the value of limited funds. Like the Central Roads Board, the value of suitable standards was recognised, but a staged development policy was also promoted where work was done to a basic standard with the expectation that it could be upgraded as traffic increased.

A result of this policy was the more extensive use of composite bridge construction employing local hardwood timbers for decking, steel joists and brick or concrete abutments. This form of design, adapted to suit each site individually, was seen as providing a balance between lower cost and greater strength.

The central administration permitted a control of standards through experimental work, testing and design specification. For example, the CRB pioneered the design and construction of electrically welded steel structures with three particular examples standing out. CRB Annual Reports in 1931 and 1932 describe the Sunday Creek Bridge



near Seymour as the first welded steel truss bridge in the State. McKillops Bridge over the Snowy River on the Bonang-Gelantipy Road was constructed in 1931 as an electrically-welded continuous deck steel bridge claimed to be one of the longest welded bridge in the world at the time. McKillops Bridge gained notoriety when it was destroyed in a flood the day before its official opening in January 1934, when floodwaters reached half-way up the trusses, pushing over one pier, dislodging the trusses and washing them down stream. The bridge was subsequently rebuilt (Butler 2002; CRB Annual Reports 1930-34).

Figure 23: The first McKillops Bridge.

The CRB was also involved closely with the Closer Settlement Board under the 1925 Appropriation Act. As closer and soldier settlement schemes were developed, the CRB was given responsibility for road and bridge construction within the settlement areas.

The use of relief workers under various sustenance schemes from 1929 assisted in providing labour for basic road maintenance and some construction, but did not provide funds for capital works such as bridge building. Where bridge construction did go ahead during the depression, these cost constraints meant that timber had an advantage over imported or locally made iron and steel. With much of the local steel production



devoted to the war effort and subsequent reconstruction programs and imports curtailed as a result of the war, this bias towards timber bridges continued for some years.

By the early 20th century the rail network had achieved its maximum extent. Up to World War I, the road system in the Melbourne area was generally developed for private use with freight and commuter traffic focussed on rail. In country areas the rail-freight dominance was also evident with road transport concentrated on serving the rail-heads and stations along the lines. However, by the 1930s competition from roads was having an impact on rail.

The massive increase in motor traffic began in the 1920s, slowed in the depression and war years, and then took off again following the war. Road freight became the prominent road planning issue as road transport vehicles capability improved. Road bridge construction developed new design parameters in order to accommodate the greater speed, volume and weight of this new traffic. Bridge designers responded by making greater use of metal joists in timber bridges, and eventual replacing most of the timber with new steel and concrete designs.

Another reason for the change in the preferred bridge construction material, was the difficulty in obtaining satisfactory timber for the main beams in timber bridges from the 1930s. To solve this, the Board adopted the practice of using steel rolled steel joists instead of round timber stringers. Many bridges were constructed in this manner with timber substructure, steel stringers, timber crossbeams and a timber running deck. To maximise the length obtainable with available RSJ sizes, the stringers were often welded or splice bolted at quarter points to make a continuous beam (Butler 2002).

From the 1930s to 1950s the CRB built many composite bridges employing concrete or timber abutments and piers, RSJs for the main beams and timber decks. An early example of the composite RSJ and timber deck bridge was the Hume Highway Bridge constructed over Goulburn River at Seymour by the CRB in 1933 (CRB Annual Report 1933). Cheynes Bridge of 1947, built by the CRB on the Licola Road, was a late example of the type, which had become a typical form of country bridge in the 1930s. By the post WWII period, pre cast concrete was a more common CRB bridge type and cast in place flat concrete slab had also become popular (Butler 2002; Chambers 1996a).



Figure 24: Cheynes Bridge Licola Road, Heyfield

Norm Butler notes that the first composite concrete and steel bridge deck in the State was built by the Country Roads Board at Chinamans Creek at Broadford in 1934. This structure utilised “rods bonding the steel joists and the concrete” (shear connectors) to provide a design that was more economical in the use of steel. The work embodied “a new idea recently developed by the Tasmanian Public Works Department.” Due to the proportionally high costs of the fabrication of the shear connectors, the Board at the time decided that overall it was not economic to use this system. Twenty years later, however, when steel was in short supply, this method became (and still is) the accepted system for steel and concrete bridge deck construction” (Butler 2002).

The super elevated Fergusons Bridge built by the CRB in 1939 over the Campaspe River, which incorporates a banked, curved deck designed to take the greater speeds of motorised traffic, represents another aspect of the design trend for motor vehicles. However, super-elevation in itself was practiced from very early days, being a carryover from railways practice. An early example of super elevation is the Wodonga Creek Hume Highway Bridge of 1933 (Butler 2002; CRB Annual Report 1934:21).

Earlier bridges designed for horse and wagon traffic needed only to withstand the dead load of a wagon. With the advent of fast motor traffic, stresses on bridges were much greater from braking, vibration, and where the bridge was on a curve, lateral movement. The super-elevated deck allowed higher speeds and a greater margin of safety for traffic, in the same way that cambered bends on road corners were introduced into new road-making (Moloney 1999). As a consequence of the increase in the scale of road traffic and the legal mass limits of heavy vehicles, the redevelopment of the road system and in particular the reconstruction of bridges commenced in the 1950s. Adoption of new design standards (AASHO H20 S 16 44) led to a significant change in the



construction of new bridges from the 1950s on, in conjunction with a program for replacement of bridges to meat increased load limits.

The main achievements of the CRB in the mid twentieth century have been further outlined by Norm Butler in his analysis of references in the Country Roads Board Annual Reports and Chief Engineer’s Reports, as follows:

All weather access to remote areas of the state was a continuing problem. In 1934/35, a suspension bridge was constructed across the Deddick River to service the Ambyne Settlement. This structure still exists. The bridge was built from materials salvaged from the temporary bridge constructed at the Snowy River crossing after McKillops Bridge was washed away in January 1934.

Figure 25: Ambyne Settlement Bridge, one of the few road suspension bridges in Victoria.

With the onset of World War 2, a survey of bridges was undertaken throughout the state to establish their soundness to carry vehicles for defence purposes. The survey identified a significant shortfall in the bridge stock and urgent bridge replacement and upgrading work was put into effect, mainly utilising timber and RSJ construction. .

After World War 2, it was recognised that changes were needed to facilitate the rapidly growing road transport industry. The Motor Car Act 1949 increased the allowable loads for heavy vehicles. At this time the CRB, in association with the Council of State Road Authorities of Australia, adopted the American Bridge Loading Standard H20-S16-44, equivalent to a 32.1 ton semi trailer. The previous Class A loading was for a 16.7 ton vehicle. This, compounded with the poor state of bridges



already identified, created a situation in Victoria where many major roads were closed to fully laden vehicles and the Government was urged to undertake an urgent bridge replacement and strengthening program. The program commenced in the late 1940s but due to shortages of materials (steel and cement), experienced bridge contractors and bridge design engineers it was not until the mid 1950’s before the program took full effect. The bulk of the work utilised precast concrete and precast prestressed concrete units however composite steel and concrete superstructures became accepted for longer spans.

To best utilise scarce materials, a variable depth plate girder bridge comprising 4 spans and 290 feet long was constructed on the Woolsthorpe Caramut Rd over the Merri River in 1949, the first such structure built in Victoria

A significant large span composite concrete and steel plate girder structure was constructed by the CRB on the Maroondah Highway at Bonnie Doon in the early 1950s to provide for the raised water level of the Eildon Weir (Lake Eildon)

The Country Roads Board also undertook works within the Metropolitan area, usually under separate Acts of Parliament using funds from the Special Projects Fund. Significant steel and concrete bridges built were Johnson St (1955), Napier St (1959) and Banksia St (1961) bridges.

In 1957, the most major bridge built under this system was the King Street Bridge together with the Flinders Street Overpass. The work was undertaken largely as a design and construct project with the Prime Contractor, Utah Aust Pty Ltd, electing to fabricate the plate girders from high tensile steel. The work was challenging, particularly the substructure piling which was driven to significant depths through very soft South Melbourne silts. The project was completed successfully however some months after opening, one of the high tensile steel plate girders fractured under load on a cold morning. The failure was the subject of a Royal Commission and subsequent repairs were carried out under the direction of the Country Roads Board.

Although generally committed to a policy of standardisation of bridge designs, the Country Roads Board continued to innovate where possible. In the mid 1960s, the CRB constructed a steel rigid frame bridge on the Princes Highway East over Boggy Creek at Nowa Nowa as the rocky site was very suited to this approach.

In the late 1950s and 60s with the closure many railway lines, the use of railway line to construct composite concrete bridge decks became popular in some areas. The Shire Engineer of Stawell Shire, Mr Norman Cottman, utilised many kilometres of railway line in this manner. Generally the rails were used in short span bridges however use was made of this system in composite cross decked steel and concrete bridge decks in bridges over the Wimmera River at Quantong (Country Roads Board) and Glenorchy (Shire of Stawell).



Figure 26: Blue Bridge near Yendon, showing a more elaborate version of the rail deck bridge.

The scarcity of suitable timber for bridge decking lead to the development of steel troughs as a bridge deck material in the late 60s and early 70s, usually in conjunction with steel RSJs and steel crossbeams. This material was overlaid by either asphalt or concrete but due to corrosion in the base of the troughs, many of these decks have now been replaced. Some decks have been treated with a reinforced concrete overlay and promise a longer life. A few structures were built from scratch with this deck system.

In the 1980s, the problems with timber decking also lead to the development of transverse precast deck slabs, most notably the Waldron Deck system. As well as being used in a repair mode, this system has been used to construct new bridges, generally with a steel H pile substructure, recycled steel RSJs and precast slabs fixed transversely onto the flanges of the RSJs. In some cases, old timber bridges have been removed to well below waterline, new concrete pile caps, concrete or steel piers built and a RSJ and precast deck placed.

Probably the most significant steel bridge built in the state is the West Gate Bridge built by the Lower Yarra Crossing Authority under special Act of Parliament. This long span elevated structure has its central three spans as a cable stayed orthotropic steel box. Designed by Freeman Fox of the UK, the western span collapsed during construction in 1970 with significant loss of life. The collapse was the subject of a Royal Commission of Inquiry. After significant delay, the bridge was completed in a strengthened form. In the 1980s and 1990s, bridge construction in Victoria has utilised prestressed concrete with steel being used only where it has an economic advantage (eg Waldron Bridges), for construction or traffic management reasons, or for historic reasons (eg Steel truss bridge at Thompson River on Walhalla Rd.



Urban Planning and the MMBW

Urban planning had been left to individual councils during the nineteenth century, with the State Government taking on the role only where major metropolitan-wide issues were involved, such as the expansion of the rail network, flood works on the Yarra and health nuisances. With the establishment of the Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works in 1891 a city-wide planning and construction authority was formed for at least water supply, drainage and sewerage. When other issues of infrastructure planning came to the fore, the MMBW was often an enthusiastic participant as it attempted to enlarge its empire.

The 1925-9 Melbourne Strategy Plan was an attempt by the Town and Country Planning Commission to provide consistent urban planning across Melbourne. The Commission was an advocate for roads development, with a series of parkways proposed to link the major routes around Melbourne and improve the quality of arterial routes through the suburbs. At this stage rail still provided the bulk of goods and commuter transport, so its road plan was designed to accommodate the growing recreational use of cars. The plan was not implemented due to the onset of the depression and lack of political motivation for such a wide-ranging strategy.

Figure 27: View under Bell Street Bridge showing the reused lattice trusses and riveted plate girders.

Implementation of consistent road planning following the 1929 strategy plan was hindered first by the depression and then by materials and labour shortages during and immediately following World War II. The case of the Bell Street Bridge in Coburg is an interesting illustration. The 19th century narrow bluestone and wrought iron bridge was inadequate by the 1940s, and planning for its replacement began immediately following the war. However, the chosen method was to widen and strengthen it by adding second-hand lattice trusses from the old Hawthorn Railway Bridge along with a new concrete



deck. The work was not completed until 1954. Subsequently the bridge was further widened with two more of the Hawthorn lattice trusses in the 1960s, and again with new concrete girders in the 1980s.

The Melbourne Strategy Plan was also carried out at a time of considerable development of the central city and increased car use, which created Melbourne’s first traffic jams. Many of its road proposals addressed the bottlenecks in and out of the central city, and in particular, those caused by the limited crossings of the Yarra River, where only two bridges served the south and south east suburbs.

The industrial areas of Port and South Melbourne were particularly disadvantaged with the need for a round-about journey or slow ferry crossing at Clarendon Street to access Melbourne’s docks. The Spencer Street Bridge was constructed in 1928-30 following an Act of Parliament of 28 September 1927, by the Board of Land and Works Railway Construction Branch, and opened on 12 February 1930. Designed by CH Perrin and W D Chapman, the bridge employed arched variable depth plate girders and cast iron balustrades intended to match those on the existing Prince’s and Queens Bridges.

Figure 28: Spencer Street Bridge during Construction c1929

Also, like its predecessor it incorporated the most up to date engineering and design characteristics of the time. As Melbourne’s main gateways, crossing the principle river of the Metropolis, the Yarra River bridges were always given the highest status, and therefore the chosen designs needed to demonstrate the importance of the crossing.

One of the most pressing demands on bridges and bridge engineers in the post war period was the increase in legal mass limits for heavy vehicles which meant many older bridges required replacement or were given restrictive load limits.

The MMBW was given responsibility for metropolitan planning and developed a Melbourne Metropolitan Planning Scheme in 1954. As part of this strategy a series of interlinking arterial roads were proposed which appeared to draw to some extent on the



1929 plan, but introduced freeway standard roads with a series of controlled-intersection, divided roads, radiating from the centre and circulating around the city in three ring roads. About 450 kilometres of freeway were proposed in the scheme, many of which were subsequently built, and some (such as the Metropolitan Ring Road and Scoresby Freeway), only now coming to fruition.

By-pass roads became the new trend as part of strategic planning in the 1950s. Initially road widening had accommodated increased traffic, but this was clearly having destructive results for urban areas for example the removal of all the houses and shops along Hoddle one side of the street. The Country Roads Act of 1956 deals in part with by-pass roads and can be seen as the first stage in the development of freeways in Victoria.

The MMBW Highways Branch constructed the King Street Bridge and Flinders Street overpass in the late 1950s. This was seen as part of the road strategy for Melbourne developed by the MMBW, and the bridge would subsequently be the responsibility of the MMBW. The King Street Bridge was perhaps the beginnings of a new age of road building, which saw multi-lane by-pass roads and freeways as the solution to road planning. Such roads relied heavily on grade separation, and so demanded a new type of bridge - road over road. The King Street Bridge of 1961 (in conjunction with the elevated section of Kings Way and the Flinders Street Overpass) was perhaps the first example of major grade separation bridge in Victoria. However, it did not include the on and off ramps, which came soon after with full freeway construction such as the Maltby Bypass and South Eastern Freeway. King Street Bridge also gained notoriety when only a year old, on a cold morning, a girder failed due to metal fatigue and stress resulting in the partial collapse of a section of the roadway. The subsequent Royal Commission found that the cause of the collapse was inadequate contract co-ordination, supervision and deficient systems for testing of the steel (Anderson 1994:190-98). The MMBW Highways Branch successfully carried out repairs to the King Street Bridge to the design of their engineer Bill Burren .

The MMBW was constituted as the Metropolitan Main Roads Authority in 1956 (MMBW Act 1956), on the basis that it administered town planning (Anderson 1994:91). Its freeway proposals were slowly implemented (at least initially) by the MMBW itself. The South Eastern Freeway was seen as a means to reduce congestion on Toorak Road and other routes to the eastern suburbs. The MMBW commenced construction of the freeway in 1962, while the CRB constructed Victoria’s first freeway-standard road in 1961, with the completion of the Maltby Bypass around Werribee. By 1968 the Tullamarine Freeway had been constructed to link the city to the new international airport (Anderson 1994:200-4).

The full transition to a car-based culture can be recognised in the establishment of the Metropolitan Transportation Committee in 1963, which prepared the 1964-66 Melbourne Traffic Plan. This prescribed a radical freeway-based remedy for Melbourne’s transport problems. Within the decade, the south Eastern and Tullamarine Freeways had been constructed, a start made on the West Gate Bridge Crossing and



Eastern Freeways, and a network of reserves created in planning schemes for future freeways (Anderson 1994:206).

Elimination of level crossings was an important planning objective in the post WW II period as road traffic became more congested, particularly in the Metropolitan area, but also on main country roads. The Country Roads and Level Crossings Act 1954 No 5791 provided for the CRB and Victorian Railways to obtain special funding for projects identified as high priority. One of the first projects undertaken under the provisions of this Act was the construction of a deviation of the Hume Highway for a distance of 3.92 miles through Glenrowan township, to eliminate two level crossings. The work was completed in 1957 at a total cost of 88,000 pounds. A deviation on the Ouyen highway eliminated two level crossings near Murrayville.

The Victorian Railways completed a four-lane concrete overpass bridge to eliminate the level crossing on the Dandenong Frankston Road near Dandenong with the Dandenong Shire council constructing the approach road. The concrete bridge carrying the Heidelberg main road over the railway at Clifton Hill consisting of a four-lane overpass with two lane left-turning ramp down to Hoddle Street and a two lane right turn loop from Hoddle street to Heidelberg Road was also opened to traffic in 1957. Further work was carried out in 1957 on commencing the bridge over the Melbourne-Geelong Railway at Corio with four lanes on the Geelong Road (CRB Annual Report 1958 :30).

The Heathmont, Dandenong Frankston Road, Barry Road Broadmeadows, Princes Highway Corio and Heidelberg Road Clifton Hill, were all complete or underway by 1958. The cost in that year of level crossing works not including those funded through the housing commission, was 122,791 pounds (CRB Annual Report 1958 :31).

The Barry Road overpass was somewhat unusual in being undertaken on behalf of the Housing Commission as part of the proposed Broadmeadows Housing Estate. 61,000 pounds was provided for road and bridge works at Morwell, Norlane and Broadmeadows (CRB Annual Report 1958).

The design requirements for these bridges presented some unusual engineering problems. Grades on approach embankments had to accommodate the generally underpowered vehicles of the time. This was not always successful, as for example, “Mount Mistake” on the Geelong Road, which was notorious for the slowness of trucks labouring up the too-steep grade. Another problem involved designing on sharp skew angles, or in some of the more complex overpasses such as Sunshine, combining additional ramps and grade separation to give access to roads parallel to the lines.

The 1961 rail overpass at Craigieburn on the Hume Highway, was possibly the first dual carriageway controlled access road and a precursor to the first freeway, the Maltby Bypass.

Much of the bridgework in this period employed prestressed and prefabricated reinforced-concrete beams. However, some significant metal examples stand out as



particularly long bridges of the period including the Huntingdale, Newport and Albion Overpasses and bridges over the Maltby Bypass.

The Maltby Bypass, which carries the Geelong Road around Werribee, takes the honour as the first true freeway standard divided road with grade separation intersections, in Victoria. The first three level interchange was constructed at the Tullamarine- Bell Street junction in 1971. The West Gate Bridge stands out as a unique achievement in Victorian bridge building. While only five of its spans are of metal, this bridge has main spans four times longer than any other, and an overall length 10 times most other bridges. This was the first cable stayed bridge in Victoria and its collapse on October 15, 1970, brought on in part by removal of bolts to correct warping of the metal box girders, resulted in one of the worst industrial disasters in Victoria when 35 men died. The West Gate Bridge collapse came only four months after a similar steel box girder bridge collapsed in Wales, and was one of four such collapses in the 1970s which brought a halt to the further development of large steel box girder bridges.

Responsibility for metropolitan roads was transferred to the CRB from the MMBW in 1974 (Metropolitan Bridges, Highways and Foreshores Act 1974) following lobbying by the CRB and the recommendations of the Bland Report.

Figure 29: West Gate Bridge – during construction including erection of one of the five central steel spans the largest bridge of any kind in Victoria.

(State Library Victoria Picture Collection, J.T. Collins photographer)



Road Construction Authority

In 1983, the CRB was replaced by the Roads Construction Authority (RCA) under the terms of the Transport Act (1983). Three other new authorities were also created under the Act to deal with registration, licensing, traffic control regulations and safety (Road Traffic Authority) suburban public transport (Metropolitan Transport Authority) and country rail transport (State Rail Authority).

In reality, there was little change to road construction and maintenance activities compared with the former CRB, although the new authority had lost some of its role in traffic planning. The organisation came under some restructure with greater emphasis put on regional offices, and contracting out work. The RCA was, however, short lived. In February 1989 the State Labour Government implemented an amalgamation of the RCA and RTA under the new title Roads Corporation which was subsequently rebranded as VicRoads.

VicRoads

In 1989, the State Government amalgamated the Road Construction Authority and the Roads Traffic Authority to become the Roads Corporation, trading under the name of VicRoads. The new organisation, combined the disparate functions of the various road and road vehicle related functions of the State Government to provide a more effective and customer focussed service. Particular emphasis was placed upon Road Safety, strategic development of the various functions of the organisation and upon the regional structure as the service delivery point.

Rationalising operations by introducing Quality Management and putting more emphasis upon Design and Construct Contracts has produced significant shifts in road and bridge design innovation and in cost structures. Increasingly, bridge designs were out-sourced to private industry as is all construction. Road and bridge maintenance has also been significantly out-sourced.

VicRoads was also instrumental in seeking interstate co-operation on obtaining uniform mass limits for heavy vehicles which included the introduction of heavier vehicle masses and larger combination vehicles. Vehicle mass limits for a 12 axle semi trailer increased from 38 tonne to 42.5 tonnes over a 10 year period and Triaxle/ Triaxle B Double vehicles with a mass limit of 62.5 tonnes are now permitted. Road trains were also allowed to operate under permit on the Sturt Highway from Mildura to the South Australian Border. In addition, the maximum legal height for vehicles was increased to 4.3m, with stock transports being able to operate to 4.6m under a general gazetted permit

In the early 1990s, the incoming Government introduced a tax levy, which financed the Better Roads Fund to improve the road infrastructure. A significant portion of this fund was used in the replacement and/or upgrading of old, deteriorated or structurally inadequate bridges on both the State-operated road system (Highways, Main Roads,



Forest Roads and Tourists' Roads) and on Council controlled roads where state operations caused detrimental effect. This has resulted in an increase in works on bridges, both in replacement and upgrading. It has also resulted in major research work by Melbourne University and Monash university in analysis of cast in place concrete bridges built from the late 1930s to the early 1950s which revealed that many bridges were much stronger than previously thought.

An increasing emphasis has also been placed upon environmental matters, including erosion prevention, flora and fauna protection, preservation of historic artefacts and buildings - both pre and post contact and upon Native Title issues. The preservation and treatment of significant historic bridges has been supported by grants to the National Trust to conduct studies to identify structures worthy of preservation/protection.

Significant bridges have also been constructed with the development of the Melbourne Freeway system, including the Western Ring Road development from Brooklyn to Greensborough, the Eastern Freeway Extension from Doncaster Road to Springvale Rd and the South Eastern Arterial link from Toorak Rd to Warragul Road. Significant works were carried out on regional links with duplication and grade separation works on the Calder Highway from South of Gisborne to North of Kyneton, the Princes Highway between Warragul and Moe, Western Highway at Ballarat Bypass and the upgrading of the Princes Highway between Laverton and Geelong

In 2000, VicRoads adopted the SM1600 design code for bridge loading for all new bridges, a significant increase in loading compared with previous loadings, in recognition of the likely increases in mass limits in the future.

VicRoads has played a significant role in the development of works throughout Victoria over the past 12 years, particularly on the State Roads system and continues to carry out significant bridge building projects. An important aspect of its work is the upgrade of Victoria's roads and bridges to carry the greater loads of future traffic.

Technological developments

Advances in Iron and Steel

The Anglo-European settlement of Victoria (and Australia) coincided with some significant technological and industrial development in Britain and the rest of the world. As such, there was an evolving discipline in bridge building, which could be drawn on (when circumstances permitted) in the creation from scratch of a transport infrastructure in Victoria.

Through the advance of metallurgy in the industrial revolution, cast and wrought-iron became common bridge construction materials. The Coalbrookdale cast iron bridge of 1779, coincided with the settlement of Australia. This became a model for iron bridges and a starting point for experimentation in metal structures over the next hundred years.



The major disadvantaged of iron was a low tensile strength. Iron with a low carbon content (steel) was much stronger and durable, but before new furnace technology was developed, iron had to be forged many times to produce steel. Wrought iron was easier to make, but was more brittle and susceptible to fatigue and other failures. Bridges built with the two materials, therefore required quite different design solutions, but by 1880 better understanding of the relative properties led to more common use if iron for both buildings and bridges

Joining metal bridge components presented challenges. The first cast iron bridges were constructed using timber carpentry methods with tenons and pegged connections. Wrought iron had been blacksmith welded for hundreds of years, but this process was almost impossible in large components. Riveting plate, strip and angle iron became a viable method of building up strong components and entire bridges following the development of riveting machines in 1789 (first introduced by mill engineer William Fairbairn). In fact there were considerable parallels in building bridges and large industrial buildings. The first pattern for “I” beams appeared in Britain in 1824 and had become common in the USA and UK by the 1850s. By 1860 wrought iron beams were standard in Australia for heavily loaded floors. Rolling of structural steel section had begun in England and the USA in 1884. However, from their introduction in the 1850s to the early 1900s, large wrought iron columns and girders were generally assembled from plates and “T” or angel section, because there were no rolling mills with sufficient power to roll sections over about 12 inches (300mm.) (Cowan 1998:69-70).

The first cheap method of making steel, invented by Henry Bessemer in England 1856, made it possible to build stronger and longer bridges. In the Bessemer process, the carbon in the iron is reduced by blowing compressed air into the bottom of a converter, a furnace shaped like a cement mixer, which contains molten pig iron. The excess carbon in the iron burns out, other impurities form a slag, and the furnace is emptied by tilting. More efficient steel-making processes, such as the basic-oxygen process, have since superseded the Bessemer process.

Most steel was imported into Australia before World War I with the UK, USA, Belgium, France and Germany supplying the bulk of Australian steel. British steel-making appears to have been relatively unsuccessful before about 1879 when Thomas Gilcrist determined the correct furnace lining to avoid brittle steel resulting from high phosphor ores. This was a time when Swedish low phosphor ores were being used by Belgian steel-makers to produce a ductile steel which the British (and possibly Australians) dubbed “Belgium Iron” so as not to loose face (Stacy 2002 pers. comm.).

With the opening of the BHP steelworks in Newcastle, Australia became an exporter of steel products from 1916, although structural steel was still imported for special work such as the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge which used steel supplied and erected by Dorman Long & Co. (Harry Truman IE Australia).

While rolled wrought iron sections including “I” beams were in use in the late nineteenth century, rolled steel does not appear to have become common until after



World War I. Twelve inch rolled steel girders were employed in railway construction in South Australia from about 1917 (Stacy 2002 pers. comm.).

Imported versus local

Many of the first wave of metal bridges in Victoria were built using imported prefabricated ironwork. One story of some of these bridges suggests a fascinating if as yet unverified origin. The Crimean War was waged by Britain from March 1854 to early 1856. We know that I.K. Brunel designed prefabricated hospitals for the Crimean, (Florence Nightingale was one of the driving forces behind this). It is also believed that prefabricated bridges were manufactured by Brunel with the intention of shipping them to the Crimea. Brunel had previously supervised the fabrication in Britain of many bridges for colonial railways, which were then usually trial-assembled in Britain, before being dismantled, the plates coated in linseed oil, packed up and sent to Australia (eg. Saltwater River Railway Bridge at South Kensington). The bridges were probably 'Fairbairn' bridges – i.e. box girder bridges of the Fairbairn Patent - like the Barwon Bridge, so to design some standard span bridges that could be prefabricated would be a relatively simple task. With the cessation of the Crimean War, the bridges were no longer needed, and hence were used in the colony.

Church Street Bridge appears to have been a typical single-span, box-girder structure, with a bracing top arch. The three large box girder bridges of the mid nineteenth century, Church Street Bridge, Barwon River Bridge, and Saltwater Rail Bridge were therefore remarkably similar. The Shelford and Keilor Bridges are the only surviving box girders that can give some idea of the appearance of these early structures, although at a reduced scale.

Metal for bridge building was practically all imported before the 1880s. Several attempts had been made to produce iron from local ores beginning with the Fitzroy Ironworks at Mittagong, NSW, which produced its first pig iron in 1848. Small quantities of iron were produced here spasmodically over the next twenty years, amounting to a total of 2,594 tons by 1869. Other blast furnaces were constructed at Mt. Jagged South Australia (1874), Lal Lal near Ballarat (1875) Ilfracombe on the Tamar in Tasmania (1875), a new plant at Lithgow (1875), Mittagong (1876) and Redbill Point also on the Tamar (1878) (Hughes 1964:17; Jack & Cremin 1994).

All together, however, these furnaces still only produced at best a few thousand tons of iron per year, and at worst a few hundred tons. When one considers a single medium sized bridge might contain 500 tons of iron, the Colonial output was insignificant.

What iron was produced was generally for smaller structural work, although the Esbank Works at Lithgow was producing rails from a 450 mm rolling mill from 1878 (Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering 1988:849). Following an attempt by James Rutherford at Lithgow in 1875, William Sandford produced the first Australian Steel. Steel began to be used in Australian buildings from 1887. Dorman Long had quickly become the major British exporter of steel to Australia.



More substantial production of iron and steel did come in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with a number of integrated steel works comprising blast furnaces, steel converters and rolling plant. They included the Newcastle steelworks, which commissioned its first blast furnace in 1915, Australian Iron and Steel Pty Ltd Port Kembla works of 1928, the Whyalla steelworks, which was inaugurated by BHP in 1941 and AIS Kwinana in Western Australia in 1968.

G and C Hoskins took over Sandfords Lithgow Works in 1925 and developed an integrated steel works on the site. However, this venture was hampered by its inland site and transport costs, so in conjunction with Dorman Long and Howard Smith, Hoskins erected a new works under the name of Australian Iron and Steel at Port Kembla in 1928. AIS was taken over by BHP in 1935 which then gained a monopoly on Australian steel making (Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering 1988:320).

Prior to 1936 only a limited range of steel was produced, however with improved economies and the demand created by the Second World War, Australian production rapidly expanded. Open hearth steelmaking at Port Kembla reached a high level of refinement by the 1950s. The introduction of the Basis Oxygen Steelmaking process in Newcastle in 1962 doubled steel production.

Local Fabrication

Manufacture of products from imported iron was somewhat different. Foundries had been established in Melbourne from 1842 when Robert Langlands and Thomas Fulton opened their works. These two men were to be enormously influential in training others that followed. Having dissolved the partnership in 1846 and set up competing works, both Fulton and Langlands were making cast iron beams and pillars, principally for shops and stores in 1857 (Lewis n.d.).

Sydney founders were able to produce structural iron cheaper than their Victorian counterparts, due to the 25% lower wages in the gold rush period. Large beams were cast for the Gundagai Bridge and iron girders for Vickerie’s Chambers at the Fitzroy Iron works in the 1860s. But this was a brief period of local success, not equalled again until the twentieth century.

In 1856 Scott Clow and Prebble opened the first cast iron foundry in Melbourne, and in 1860 Enoch Hughes established a crude rolling mill. By 1861 there were 10 foundries in Ballarat alone.

Fabrication of bridge components from imported plate, strip and angle was relatively easy for the local iron works. The number of lattice girders in the early period bridges suggests that it was easier for the local works to handle the smaller section of these type, compared to plate girders of similar strength. Riveted box girders had only recently been developed for large bridge works in Britain, the first example being Stephenson’s 1850 Britannia Bridge.



Victorian Foundries gained an incredible boost in the early 1850s as a result of orders for mining equipment. Cast iron for beams was already an old-fashioned concept when Melbourne Iron founders were being established to produce crushing machines for the goldfields. Wrought iron was now coming into extensive use due to the influence of mill engineer William Fairbairn. However, wrought iron beams on cast iron columns was a common structural system for large commercial and industrial buildings. Its application to bridge construction was a logical extension. Mains Bridge on Flemington Road is one of the few examples surviving which demonstrates this form of construction.

Manufacture of larger structural iron sections may have begun at the Carron Iron Rolling Mills in Dudley Street in 1860. In the 1870s, the Albion Scrap Iron Rolling Mills were operating on Melbourne’s South Bank. The works passed into the hands of Archibald Campbell, John Sloss & A M McCann in 1883. This firm appears to have abandoned rolling iron in favour of maritime and railway work, but the old Albion plant was purchased in 1885 by Joseph Vaughan. Vaughan was producing “I” section under the name “Lion Rolling Mills” for such structures as the Falls (Sandridge) Bridge over the Yarra (Lewis n.d.).

In 1888 Dorman Long showed their RSJs at the Centennial Exhibition in Melbourne. Other Exhibitors included D Colville & Sons, and the Dalzell Steel & Iron Works from Scotland, both firms subsequently also gaining a market here. Box Girders weighing 10 tons each were made by Mort’s Dock and Engineering Co for the Australia Hotel in 1889, while in the same year Johnson & Sons Tyne Foundry on Southbank made what was then the largest girder yet. This measured 24.3 m long, 2.6m deep and .9 m wide (Lewis n.d.).

From the 1890s a considerable amount of steel came to be used in Australia, but all was imported from Britain, Belgium or Germany. Johns Hydraulic Engineering Co, were major metal manufacturers of imported steel for buildings, bridges and other work. They imported Belgian and German steel and from 1904 obtained increasing quantities from the Carnegie-Phipps Steel Co. of Pittsburgh. Dorman Long, however, remained the dominant maker with their stamp including the working “British Steel” from 1931 in response to a colonial “Buy British” campaign. Dorman Long were responsible for major works such at the Swanston Street Railway bridge (part of Princes Bridge) in 1908 (Building 19 May 1908 :36-40).

Other common brands in the early twentieth century included Cargo Fleet, Frodingham Iron & Steel Co Ltd, & Dalzell Steel, Lanarkshire steel. Imported I sections were available in 16” x 6” from the early 1900s (Lewis n.d.)

The fabrication of structural ironwork from Australian produced iron and steel did not become a significant part of engineering until the Newcastle steel works opened in 1915. While rolling mills commenced work in that year, most of the product was rail for the New South Wales Government. However, in 1916 an 18 inch (450 mm) merchant mill for rolling light rails and structural steel was commissioned in



conjunction with a second blast furnace. (Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering 1988:852). Local manufacture had reached the stage that the Sydney Steel Co, made a rolled girder 16.8m x 1.3m††† x 0.6m in 1908, and Hoskins produced a girder 25m long in 1919 (Lewis n.d.)

While BHP was producing large quantities of steel at Newcastle from 1915, importation at a considerable scale continued. When Cecil Hoskin found difficulties in upgrading the Lithgow Works in the 1920s, the company made arrangements with Dorman Long and Howard Smith to establish a new steel works at Port Kembla. Known as Australian Iron and Steel, the Port Kembla plant was commissioned in 1928. It was taken over by BHP in 1935, but appears to have continued producing and marketing under its own name for some time after. (A number of bridges show the stamp “A.I.S. 20 x 6 ½” or other dimensions). By 1931 the Port Kembla works had rolling mills of 10, 27 and 36 inches (250, 685 and 915 mm) (Hughes 1964).

The distinction between Rolled Steel Joists, RSJs (or taper flanged beams) and universal beams - UBs (or wide flange beams - WF) is not clear in the individual bridge data. Unfortunately both VicRoads & Municipal Engineers have used the terms RSJ & Universal Beams fairly interchangeably (as was previously found in the Timber Bridges Study with the terms stringers and beams), which means the database descriptions cannot be used to date bridges with any reliability, however, it might be a technique that can be applied in the field.

Many bridges of the post WWII era used the heaviest RSJ available, (24" x 7.5" x 95lb) sometimes strengthened with welded coverplates. These were superseded by universal beams (parallel flange) with heavier weights, which became available in 1972. Prior to this only RSJs were rolled in Australia, although it was a regular practice to use 36" x12" imported Universal Beams. These were shipped out from England as deck cargo. Special care had to be taken in preparation of these beams, due to salt impregnation of their surface during shipping. Universal Beams were being made in the US before WWII, but Australian manufacture began in the early 1960s and was first covered legally in AS A1-1965.

In the 1960s, cast in place reinforced composite concrete decks, generally 24" X 7.5" on rolled steel joists were used for 45' spans, while 36" x 12" universal beams were used for 60' spans. There were also some bridges built using metric beams which were imported into Australia after the Second World War to overcome the chronic shortage of steel in this country at that time.

Advances in Design Theory

Design theory in bridge construction had been transmitted as a series of “rules of thumb” and practical knowledge under an apprentice system. The limits of any design

††† This dimension appears excessive for the period, Brian Harper (pers com. 2002) for one considers this was probably a fabricated girder.



approach could only be found through trial and error, and the inevitable collapse of bridges. In the early ninetieth century, engineers still relied on the work of Renaissance mathematicians and scientists in understanding beam action and the theory of framed structures, and truss design (De Lony 1996). It was in France, however, that engineering was first taught as an academic discipline, the École des Ponts et Chaussées, founded in 1747, and the first theoretical studies concerning the stability of arches, transmission of forces, and the multi-radius form were conducted .

However, it took the worst bridge disasters of the nineteenth century in the USA, Great Britain, and France to usher in the development of standards, specifications, and enough regulation to protect the travelling public. The collapse of a cast- and wrought-iron truss in Ashtabula with the loss of 83 lives, prompted an investigation by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The Tay Bridge disaster caused 80 deaths and resulted in similar inquiries in Britain (Delony, Eric, 1996).

The reasons for these major failures (ignorance of metallurgy, which resulted in uneven manufacturing methods and defective castings, and inadequate inspection and maintenance) eventually led to advanced theories of stress analysis, understanding of material properties, and renewed respect for the forces of nature. Advances in design theory, graphic statics, and a knowledge of the strength of materials by engineers such as Karl Culmann and Squire Whipple were achieved in the second half of the 19th century.

In the second half of the nineteenth century to growth of railroads, with their increased static and dynamic loads required more precise assessment of the amount of stresses in bridge members to accommodate the thundering impact of locomotives. The American Squire Whipple and other European engineers such as Collignon, contributed to both “…analytical and graphical analysis, testing of full-size members, comprehensive stress tables, standardised structural sections, metallurgical analysis, precision manufacturing and fabrication in bridge shops, publication of industry-wide standards, plans, and specifications, inspections, and systematic cooperation between engineers, contractors, manufacturers, and workers” (De Lony 1996).

Whipple’s book on stress analysis, A Work on Bridge Building, included a major breakthrough with the realisation that truss members could be analysed as a system of forces in equilibrium. Forces are broken down into horizontal and vertical components whose sums are in equilibrium. Known as the "method of joints," it permits the determination of stresses in all members of a truss if two forces are known (De Lony 1996).

The next advance came with the work of a German engineer, A Ritter,. the "method of sections" published in 1862 by Ritter simplified the calculations of forces by developing very simple formulae for determining the forces in the members intersected by a cross-section. The third advance was a better method of graphical analysis, developed independently by James Clerk Maxwell, Professor of Natural Philosophy at King's College, Cambridge (UK), published in 1864, and Karl Culmann, Professor at the



newly established Federal Institute of Technology (Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule) in Zürich (Switzerland), who published his methods in 1866 (De Lony 1996).

Further theoretical development came with the development of Three Moment Equation, which led to an understanding of the forces involved in continuous beams, and further influenced girder designs.

Construction Techniques

One of the disadvantages of metal bridge construction was the requirement to transport and place large, heavy beams (whether riveted or rolled sections) The advantage of timber and masonry was that these could be constructed on site, and materials often sourced nearby. In the early years of Victoria’s road development, the poor state of the road system and high transport costs or the sheer inaccessibility of bridge sites, precluded the use of large fabricated metal construction. The role of lattice and other truss bridges in the early period of bridge construction may have in part been influenced by the ability to fabricate large beams on site from small components of flat and angle iron.

Railway construction may also have influenced the uptake of metal bridge designs as engineers endeavoured to design for the much greater loads of steam locomotives. The role of iron in railways, in rail, locomotive building, rolling stock, and other areas clearly established it as a primary material.

Early lattice truss designs such as the Hawthorn Bridge and the Mia Mia Bridge, (built with girders originally intended for Hawthorn), were generally crude designs reliant on high levels of redundancy. This was probably due to inadequate knowledge of the strength and properties of the materials used, and lack of scientific analysis of the forces acting on the bridge and the manner that design could counter these forces.

A major development in the design of metal bridges, and particular open web truss designs, came from the work of W.C. Kernot at Melbourne University’s engineering department. His scientific investigation into the properties of metal, their strength and the most economic designs for bridges resulted in much lighter and cheaper bridges being erected.

The use of riveted plate girders and then rolled steel joists to replace timber components in existing bridges at a later date, demonstrates the next stage in road development where an infrastructure was in place to transport and erect large beams. In several cases, (eg. the Barwon Bridge) the existing bridge could be used as form-work or a construction platform for the new construction.

The adoption of the most spectacular forms of bridge design, such as cable suspension bridges, tubular girders and cantilevered trusses was uncommon and usually at a fairly small scale in Victoria. The Wollaston Bridge over the Merri River, is an unusual



surviving example of the suspension bridge on a main road. Most have been foot bridges, the Ambyne Bridge being the only other surviving road suspension bridge.

A conservative stream in design continued in several areas so that when the railways built the Heyington rail bridge over the Yarra, they still used riveted construction as late as 1967. While the Ascot Vale Rail Bridge was still employing riveting in 1975 (Butler 2002).

Concrete began to be used in substructures of timber and metal bridges from the early 1880s, using Portland cement imported in barrels from England. By the late 1880s local manufacture had commenced resulting in a price drop and more widespread use. By 1910 concrete was well established as a substructure material and reinforced concrete was gaining acceptance (Stacy 2002 pers. comm.).

Two significant figures in the application of concrete construction technology to bridge engineering were Sir John Monash and J.T.N. Anderson. Credit for the introduction of the Monier system of reinforcing concrete goes to the Sydney firm of Carter Gummow & Co. who erected the Morrell or Anderson Street Bridge to a design of the Public Works Department in 1899. This is Victoria’s oldest surviving concrete bridge, although not technically reinforced concrete. Monash and Anderson acted as Victorian representatives of Carter Gummow. This led to a successful partnership with Monash and Anderson gaining the Victorian patent rights to the process. They went on to design and build more than 18 Monier arch bridges between 1900 and 1914. The firm also built more than 40 reinforced concrete slab bridge and many T-girder bridges between 1904 and 1915, using French and German design models.

An illustration of the opposition to concrete bridges can be found in the history of the Upper Coliban Spillway Bridge. Although J T N Anderson had the ear of Stuart Murray of the Victorian Water Supply Department, and Monash and Anderson submitted a series of proposals for arch bridges needed to carry the diverted roads around the new Coliban Reservoir, they still had to overcome suspicion and hostility to the system. This Hostility was generated by the collapse of their Kings Bridge in Bendigo while under test. Kernot’s evidence at the inquest on the death of a workman during the bridge collapse, indicated the causes as excessive test load and the inadequacy of current theory to predict the stress on a highly skewed arch. Monash and Anderson had to convince the editor of the Kyneton Guardian to allow a reply to his critical leading article in order to scotch the rumours about inferior construction practice (Holgate, Taplin & Alves 1996).

By the 1930s standard CRB concrete composite bridges typically followed the pattern of reinforced concrete pier, rolled steel joist beams and timber decks. Other variations included concrete decks, sometimes with timber piers. Concrete bridges either in composition with steel or all concrete were a major part of the CRB bridge building program from the 1930s and dominated the post WWII period.



A distinctive form of bridge construction was developed by the railways, probably in the late nineteenth century, which utilised worn lengths of rail, which could be laid across the abutments and piers of former stone, brick and timber bridges at close spacing, and then filled with ballast. The simple next step was to poor a concrete slab to add strength and increase spans. Road Bridges appear to have been built in the same way, both to replace existing timber decks, or as completely new structures. Norman Cottman, Shire Engineer at Stawell appears to have used this system extensively in the 1960s and 70s, by retrieving rail from closed lines (Norm Butler 2002).

The development of composite steel and concrete bridges and in particular the use of reinforced concrete decks structurally integral with steel beams, commenced with Lynchs Bridge over the Maribyrnong, built in about 1936. From the Second World War, the vast majority of large new road bridges were constructed using prefabricated reinforced concrete beams on reinforced concrete piers and carrying reinforced concrete decks.

Welding

Traditional blacksmith welding by hot hammering, dates to ancient times with little advance apart from improvements to the heating source until the nineteenth century.

Oxygen Acetylene and Oxy Hydrogen welding was patented in UK in the 1850s and in Victoria in 1864. A demonstration of an effective oxygen welding system was carried out by Russel Grimwade at a Melbourne meeting of the Institute of Engineers in 1909. It was introduced commercially in 1911 with leading suppliers of gas coming from the British Oxygen Company and the Commonwealth Oxygen Co (COMOX). By 1912 Commonwealth Oxygen Co had begun production of commercial oxygen in Sydney.

Electric arc welding had been introduced overseas in about 1885 and established in Australia by Robert Bruce and Co and E. J. Rigby as agents for the English Quasi Arc Co in 1913. It was used by the Prahran and Malvern Tramways Trust for track welding and by the Metropolitan Gas Company from 1919. The first all welded gas-holder was erected by the MGC at South Melbourne in 1922 (Wieckhardt 1990).

By the early 1930s welding had become commonplace in Melbourne steel fabrication. In the late 1920s the Railways Department had used welding to reinforce existing railway bridges. The Echuca Bridge, Victoria Street Bridge and Hawthorn Bridge were all treated with the application of welding to reinforce the junctions of existing members, or with the addition of new members to reinforce and stiffen the structure. This work was carried out in expectation that this would strengthen the bridges, although lack of empirical evidence and poor understanding of the effect of welding on wrought iron may have resulted in them weakening the bridges (George Deutsch pers. comm. 2002).

The CRB experimented with welded construction in the late 1920s and 1930s. Welding was first used by the CRB for structural work on bridges in 1928 when the bridge over



Pykes Creek Reservoir at Ballan was built, incorporating welded trusses with reinforced concrete deck. The first all-welded steel bridge was built over Sunday Creek on the Hume Highway near Seymour in 1931 (CRB Annual Reports). Subsequently McKillops Bridge over the Snowy was constructed as the first on-site all welded steel truss bridge. It was claimed by the CRB to be one of the longest welded bridges in the world at the time (Weickhardt 1990; CRB Annual Reports 1933-4).

McKillops Bridge gained notoriety by being washed away the day before its official opening in January 1934 when the Snowy River rose to a record flood, 14 feet above any previous measure. Debris carried by the floodwater, which rose to half way up the trusses carried the trusses down stream to lie parallel with the river and pushed over one pier. The bridge was rebuilt on the same site but three metres higher (Butler 2002: CRB Annual Reports 1933-4; The Commonwealth Engineer 1/9/1933, 1/3/1934).

The 1932 Princes Highway Bridge, over the Tambo River at Swan Reach, was also notable as it employed electrically welded continuous plate girders with concrete deck. The Grange Road Bridge was also built using welded construction in 1934. Welded construction was still sufficiently novel to be described in detail in engineering publications (CRB Annual Reports 1932-4; Lewis n.d.: 8.09.10).

The King Street Bridge was a major engineering innovation in a number of ways. It was one of the longest metal bridges ever constructed and incorporated significant spans, including variable depth girders and suspended spans. The failure of one girder lead to an inquiry that influenced subsequent bridge design and material standards.

In the 1970s, the CRB developed techniques of friction welding sheer studs, using a process developed in Russia, which involved spinning the studs under high pressure and at high speed in contact with the beams (pers. com. Max Lay). This economic system became the standard shear connector system, which is still in use today.

Design aesthetics

As the most prominent civil construction in many young settlements and the entrance to many towns, which were created on river crossings, the local bridge has played an important role in creating a sense of place. As a consequence, there has often been an attempt to invest aesthetic values in their designs. Stone bridges drew on an established tradition of classical architecture, with design elements such as keystones, string courses, coping stones, pilasters and the like, going back to Roman designs. Timber bridges tended to be more rustic, although Central Roads Board and Public Works Department bridges still reflected the skill of the carpenters in shaped corbels and other details.

Metal bridges also had many elements that were not purely functional. The stone abutments were generally constructed in traditions of the masonry architecture. Hand-rails where often elaborate and purely decorative treatments such as cast mouldings



were also added. In particular, the most important routes and crossing points were often given bridges that were statements of the status of the local district or the colony.

For example Princes Bridge has cast iron spandrels to create the appearance of a masonry arch with hidden arched wrought iron beams and lattice trusses behind. This bridge was built as the show-piece of the times, reflecting the politics, technology, economy and style of Marvellous Melbourne and Victoria.

Bridges across the Yarra were always built as the expression of the times, employing the state of the art technology of the period each was built as a conscious statement of the status of these river crossings. Each one (before the purely utilitarian South Eastern Freeway bridges) was conceived as the ultimate in bridge design of the time.

Metal arch bridges offered perhaps the greatest scope for replicating traditional masonry and timber bridge design. The first metal bridge in the world (Ironbridge in Shropshire) was a cast iron arch using timber bridge carpentry techniques. However very few metal arch bridges were erected in Victoria. The first was at Banksia Street, while Princes Bridge is the most prominent, the only other example is the northern span of Church Street Bridge, recently replaced with a steel arch as part of alterations for the City Link Tollway.

Decorative treatment of bridges gives way at some point in the twentieth century to a purely utilitarian approach, particularly with the adaptation of standard designs. However, bridges continue to be vehicles for the expression of status and there is a resurgence of aesthetic considerations in the broader design criteria used by engineers.

The retention and repair or improvement of old bridges was also driven by a sense of history and aesthetics. This can be seen in the subtle widening of existing bridges where particularly stone arches and parapet walls have been rebuilt to widen an old bridge. The concrete side rails of the Peace Memorial Bridge in Dandenong were jacked up and shifted to one side. Sometimes replacement of an old bridge was opposed because of a wish to preserve an historical landmark. Again the stone bridges have faired best with many old bridges remaining on discontinued alignments. This process has occurred throughout Victoria’s bridge building history, (although there does not appear to have been a documented campaign to preserve perhaps the first great bridge, Lennox’s first Princes Bridge over the Yarra). Alsop in Geelong has been influential in ensuring the retention of a number of important iron (and other) bridges in the district.



Figure 30. Banksia Street wrought iron arch bridge in c 1960.



Conclusion

The history of metal road bridges in Victoria spans most of the history of European Settlement although the first decade or two was marked by much more rudimentary structures and a reliance on traditional timber and stone designs. The growth in wealth, population, administrative systems and industrial expertise which was driven by the gold rushes, created both the demand for new bridge construction and the instruments necessary to sustain it.

Early experiments with box girder bridges and other complex fabrications were soon overtaken by a pattern where more standard designs were adopted. Topography, traffic loads and span length were criteria that influenced the choice of metal plate girder bridges over timber or stone. However, other factors, such as the influence of particular engineers, the comparative wealth of the construction authorities, local roads boards or councils, and availability of windfall construction materials, were also factors in bridge design. The most elaborate of metal bridges (often using complex truss designs) were the result of more difficult design problems, such as spanning large rivers. Some were clearly intended as expressions of colonial status and technological advancement.

From the 1930s, when the CRB wielded overarching influence on road and bridge design and scientific and economic considerations were refined, bridge construction became far more standardised. The role of metal bridges declined in the second half of the twentieth century as concrete become more prominent and metal was relegated to specialist applications.

In recent years, VicRoads has approached the conservation of significant road bridges as a matter of urgency. The demands of modern road transport, and especially increased loading limits and the use of B double and B triple trucks, have created the need to upgrade bridges throughout the state. Victoria became the first State to introduce new national mass limits for heavy vehicles. A targeted bridge upgrading program has enabled 89 per cent of the declared arterial road network to be made available for these more productive vehicles.

During 2001-2 $182 million was spent on maintenance works on 22,282 km of roads, and 4988 bridges and major culverts. This included significant repairs to 330 bridges at a cost of $11.6 million. This network includes freeways, State Highways, Tourists’ Roads and Forest Roads that are directly managed by VicRoads, as well as main roads that are usually managed by local government to standards set by VicRoads. Since the implementation of Victoria’s Bridges Strategy, more than 160 bridges that were either in poor condition or unable to carry large freight vehicles, have been upgraded. A major inspection program has been under way for several years including a total of 633 major culverts and bridges inspected during 2001. Strengthening or replacement was carried out on 39 bridges on the rural arterial road network (VicRoads Annual Reports 1999-2001).



The recognition of the impact of this maintenance program has lead to the need to properly document and assess Victoria’s historic bridges. VicRoads has worked closely with Heritage Victoria and the National Trust in recent years to maintain and preserve heritage bridges. The completion of a major study on the history of timber bridges in Victoria was a milestone in 2002, while the commencement of this study of metal bridges is the next stage in an on-going process to preserve this heritage.



Appendices

Engineers & designers

For most of the nineteenth and into the twentieth century, road and bridge engineers in Victoria were generally overseas trained, usually in England. Some only worked in Victoria for short period or were contracted for individual projects. Where overseas firms supplied bridge components they often also provided the design expertise.

Miles Lewis regards the colonial designers as having relied heavily on published books, and considered they were dependent on old and conservative training manuals. He describes some of the results as “retardetaire” where old or even obsolete construction styles were employed (Lewis n.d.). Designers, engineers and architects were generally British in their style and technology, although American influence developed in 1890s, when the architect Harry Tompkins went to American and returned as an advocate of steel frame construction. By the early twentieth century America had became the centre of bridge engineering due to the success of the big suspension bridges of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Railways were closed shops where the design process was constrained by a very conservative approach, while the old guard remained. For example the Heyington rail bridge was of riveted construction long after welding had become a universal technique for steel road bridges. However, railway engineering eventually became more up-to-date when the old guard retired.

A significant change in bridge design came as a result of the research and experimental work of Melbourne University Engineering Department. In particular Professor

William Charles Kernot was influential in his work on bridge truss design and advocacy of light, well-designed, scientific construction, which gave cheaper and better results. He arrived in Australia in 1851 studied at the University of Melbourne and became its first qualified engineer. He worked in the Victorian Department of Mines and Water Supply Office, before becoming Lecturer and then Australia’s first Professor of Engineering 1868-1909 at the University of Melbourne. He was President of the Victorian Institution of Engineers, The Victorian Institute of Surveyors and The Royal Society of Victoria 1885-1900. He is commemorated by the Kernot Medal for distinguished engineering achievement in Australia (Beauchamp 2002).

Figure 31: William Charles Kernot.

Charles Anthony Corbett Wilson was an important figure in the history of bridge building in Victoria. Wilson was born in London in 1827 and articled in 1846 to a



London engineering firm. He arrived in Victoria in 1851, unsuccessfully trying his luck at the gold digging. He carried out the original survey for the Geelong to Melbourne Railway and was employed in the construction of the original Iron Barwon Bridge at Geelong and the Shelford Bridge. He was the Shire of Leigh Engineer, when considerable road and bridge work was being undertaken in the Western Distorict. He later expressed a debt to the training he received there under Charles Rowand. Wilson practised his profession for an incredible sixty-four years (1846-1910) and was responsible for many iron, timber and concrete bridges in western Victoria. He was succeeded by his son Charles Corbett Powell Wilson as shire engineer on his retirement.

In the twentieth century, bridge engineering was pushed forward on several fronts. In this regard John Monash was particularly influential albeit as a reinforced concrete design engineer. However, he certainly helped to have new ideas accepted in bridge design.

Due recognition should also be given to the Country Roads Board for its influence on bridge design and construction in the State. From a policy point of view, William Calder, the first Chairman, should be recognised for his view that more permanent materials should be used for bridge construction, timber being only used where other materials were well out of the question. Other significant CRB bridge designers/constructors would include DV Darwin (Later Chairman of CRB), and I J O’Donnell (also later Chairman of CRB). More research needs to be done in this area to recognise the significant contribution made by individual bridge engineers in Victoria.

Designers and engineers of Victorian bridges are only occasionally recorded. Some who appear to have played significant roles in Victorian bridge-building have been listed below. These have been gleaned from Cumming’s paper on Victorian engineers and the work of Taplin and Holgate on Monash and Anderson bridges. They are included for reference against future research on metal road bridges.

A. B. A'Beckett, Engineer for Shire of Poowong & Jeetho. C 1900

Basil R. Abery, CRB Chief Bridge Engineer and Deputy Chief Bridge Engineer, Geelong division in 1950s, involved in Werribee bypass

L H Anderson, Shire engineer Tambo 1945 –

C. R. Anderson, Shire Engineer, Tambo. Tambo (timber) R. Bridge.

W. J. Andrew, Shire Engineer, Braybrook.

Rudolph (Rudy) Bagg, Chainman and overseer at Stawell district CRB, in 1950s, 60s under E.J. Munz and others



John Barrow, Acting Engineer in Portland erected the timber, 20 span, Glenelg River Bridge in Harrow in about 1858

Francis C.E. Bell, practiced in the North of Britain and NSW then became engineer of the Essendon Railway in 1858 and gave evidence to several select committees 1859-61.

R Boyd, Shire Engineer, Talbot & Clunes,1965, shortly after amalgamation

Joseph Brady, involved as agent for Cornish and Bruce on the Bendigo Railway, practicing in Melbourne in the 1870s.

William Edward Bryson, Designed many of the bridges and viaducts on the Melbourne, Mt. Alexander and Murray River Railway and worked under George W Hemans in Britain

L T Butler CRB Design Engineer Bendigo and then Dandenong 1940s

Eric Byrne CRB Bridge Inspection Engineer 1940s

William Calder , the first Chairman, CRB 1914 – 1930s

Arthur E Callaway, Shire Engineer Woorayl

Archibald Lorne Campbell , Shire Engineer for Corio, also Shire of Meredith.

Henry Cadogan Campbell, Engineer for the Central roads Board in 1853.

Carlo Catani, Chief Engineer of the Victorian Public Works Department in early 20th century.

W.T. Chaplin, Consulting Engineer for Monash and Anderson at Kyneton 1900-1, later Rochester Shire Engineer.

R J Chambers Shire of Berwick Engineer 1948-73. (In the Wake of the Pack Tracks Berwick Pakenham Hist Soc 19..)

Captain Andrew Clarke, R.E. M.P. Surveyor General during late 1850s and in charge of the design and procurement for the Mt. Alexander Railway. Chair of the Railways Committee and advocate for substantial railway construction as opposed to American light lines.

G. Clayfield Contractor, Daylesford. Excelsior Bridge, Coomoora Bridge.

James Fraser Cleeland, Shire Engineer, Valuer and Inspector Thistles, Mansfield.

John Montgomery Coane, worked in Queensland 1867-70, then came to Victoria as a teacher around Ballarat and established a practice as a consulting engineer with G.H.



Grant, then consulting engineer to the City of Brighton. His treatise on roads was highly influential and became a standard text for road and bridge engineers between 1908 and the 1930s.

R. B. Comer [or Corner?], Surveyor, Kyneton.

Frank M Corrigan , Shire Engineer Alberton 1930, CRB Board Member 1940s

J. E. Cowley, Proprietor of Cowley’s Iron Works, Ballarat. Prepared iron for Barham-Koondrook Br, Grant St Br Project, Saltwater Br Project.

John William Crawley , Engineer with the Central roads board 1853, and gave evidence to the select committee of Roads and Bridges in 1861, then worked in Warrnambool in 1888.

A. F. Daniel, Bulla Shire engineer, 1900s

George Christian Darbyshire, Engineer of the Melbourne and Mt. Alexander Railway in 1855 and then Engineer-in-Chief of the Victorian Railways from 1857, he reported extensively on railway and bridge engineering to a number of select committees.

Donald Victor Darwin. Bridge Engineer CRB 1925, Assist Chief Eng 1928, Chief Eng 1941, joined Board 1940, Chairman 1949, retired June 1962, died 8.3.1972.

William Davidson, Inspector General of Public Works Department, Victoria in 1900s.

M. G. “Bridgie” Dempster, Bridge Engineer CRB 1930s, designed unbuilt Fitzimmons Lane Bridge (Reminiscences p 51)

Charles Devlin, Assistant Engineer Borough of Daylesford in 1900s

Edward Dobson, Initially worked in Victoria as Acting Engineer of the Melbourne and Hobson’s Bay Railway in 1870 but also published extensively on bridge and engineering matters.

William Dwyer and Alfred Lloyd of Gnarwarre, contract for stonework repairs to Pollocksford Bridge for the price was £393 in 1882 (stated by Mr W. J. Dwyer son of William, to N.S. McAdam letter in National Trust file).

Bob Easlick, Bridge Construction Engineer Kings Street Bridge

C.E. Edwards, Shire engineer of Kyneton in late nineteenth century.

Thomas Ewing, Kyneton Shire Engineer.

Farquahar Brothers, undertook a number of significant contracts in the 1890s and early 1900s including Chinaman’s Bridge and the Goulburn River Bridge at Seymour



and some of the Murray River Bridge work. I. E. W. Farquaharson carried out Timberwork repairs to Pollocksford Bridge by for £227-7-0 in 1882

Arthur Farrer Ballarat City engineer, opposed to Monier design for Grant Street and submitted his own in 1902-3. Also involved in reconstruction of Yarrowee Creek drain, and probably other bridges in Ballarat.

Mephan Ferguson, Ironfounder and engineer responsible for fabricating ironwork for many road and rail bridges including the Johnson Street, Cordite Avenue and Bruntons Bridges

E. F. Gilchrist, City Engineer, Malvern. Shire Engr, Charlton. (Same as above?)

Robert Grey Ford, Head of Railways Design Office 1882 and later engineer in the Department of Public Works. He was given the task of preparing specifications and plans for Yarra Falls Bridge, but resigned before completing it.

George Francis, District Roads Engineer, responsible for a number of seminal bridges from the 1860s to the 1880s, including the replacement Flemington Bridge incorporating cast iron columns, the lift span Lynchs Bridge, the light weight lattice truss Plenty River Bridge and Maribyrnong Road Bridge.

J Gardiner Shire of Berwick Engineer 1890-93,

W. A. Gay, Box Hill Shire Engineer, supervised the reforming and metalling of roads throughout the settled areas.

William Gibbins , Road Surveyor 1853-7, Acting Road Engineer 1862.

Richard B. Gibson, Engineer with the Central roads Board 1854-8.

Henry Gore, Shire Secretary and Engineer Creswick, also Public Works Department engineer, father of W. H. Gore.

William Henry Gore , Shire Secretary Engineer and Valuer, Shire of Creswick, followed by his son Henry Gore who was also Creswick’s engineer.

William Henry Green , came to Victoria in 1855 to become Engineer and Surveyor with the Victorian Railways Resident Engineer on the Melbourne-Sandhurst Line 1862, Echuca Line 1866 and at Kyneton on 1878, then worked in other Australian colonies.

John George Griffith, Engineer to Portland Shire Council in 1869.

Tom Hamilton , Maffra Shire Council Assistant Shire Engineer 1950s

George William Harris , Inspector of Roads in Victoria 1853-6, then engineer-Secretary to the Mount Gambier and Victoria Roads Boards until about 1888.



Alfred R.C. Harrison , Chairman of Melbourne, Mt. Alexander and Murray River Railway in 1852 then Road Engineer for Department of Roads and Bridges 1854-63.

Norm Haylock, CRB Bridge engineer 1950s?

CHR Heale - Omeo Shire Engineer designed Livingstone Creek bridge 1919 and 1921, - said to be the first concrete bridge in the Shire. replacing a previous bridge known as Connely’s Bridge that was damaged by floods in 1916.

IF Higgens Shire of Berwick Engineer 1862-5,

Thomas Higginbotham, among his many railway and water supply posts he was Inspector General of Roads and Bridges in the Public Works Department of the Board of Land and Works in around 1858.

J Holland Shire of Berwick Engineer 1873-6,

George Holmes, Contractor for the Saltwater Bridge, then the Essendon Railway in 1860.

William Bennet Hull , Resident Engineer for Malmsbury and Castlemaine sections of Bendigo Line in 1861.

S. Jeffrey, Benalla Shire Engineer c1900

John North Kelly designed the 1876 Victoria Bridge, and also the 1868 Merri Creek bridge and probably the Rocky Waterholes bridge, Shire of Merriang Engineer from 1870s to retirement in 1906, and was followed by E.P. Munz.

R Kempson Shire of Berwick Engineer and Secretary, 1865-73,

H L Keys Shire of Berwick Engineer 1904-48,

George Kermode Public works Department Chief Engineer in the 1920s and 30s, responsible for supervising the reinforcing of the Hawthorn Bridge using electrical welding.

Prof. William Charles Kernot , engineer with Victorian Department of Mines and Water Supply Office, Professor of Engineering, University of Melbourne, 1868-1909.

M.E. Kernot , Engineer in Chief for construction of railways in the Board of Land and Works in the early 20th Century.

Andrew Kerr , Surveyor and Engineer to Warrnambool from 1850s to about 1855.

R.W. Larritt , Inspector General of Roads in 1860.

Le Cocq, Shire Engineer Marong and Bet Bet.



Hugh Lindsay, surveyor of the Geelong Ballarat Line then private civil engineer giving advice on roadworks.

P. Lingford , Consultant Shire Secretary and Engineer in South Gippsland

D. A. Little , Shire Secretary and Engineer Bacchus Marsh 1920s

CWK Little , Shire of Leigh Secretary and Engineer 1932-8

F. N. Lock, Shire Engineer Springfield

W. H. Lockwood, Engineer Shires of Whittlesea and Epping in 1900s.

John Arnold MacCarthy , Railways engineer in Charge of Castlemaine to Sandhurst section of Bendigo line in 1862.

G A Masterton, Senior Bridge Design Engineer CRB 1940s, supervised strengthening of VR bridges on Murray using welding in 1928-9, Designed Lynch’s Bridge – first welded steel composite concrete deck, went to Europe with Cec Wilson to seek tenders for King Street Bridge.

J. Matheison, CRB Engineer in 1940s-60s.

George Maughan, Engineer for Shires of Creswick, Mt. Franklin and Glenlyon in early 1900s. involved in Monash & Anderson Coomoora concrete and steel bridge 1909.

J. Maxwell, Kyneton Shire Engineer.

James Meldrum, Shire of Numurkah Engineer

Thomas H. Merritt , Engineer of the Melbourne and Suburban Railway where he was responsible for 12 bridges, including one over the Yarra.

C.A. Mickle, Assistant Engineer, Shire of Toowong and Jeetho. was Hampden Shire Engineer in 1930(McAlpine),

S. Morris, Bannockburn Shire engineer, supervised tender for repairs to Pollocksford laminated timber arch and bluestone Bridge 1882 for rebuilding the Bannockburn abutment and pier and reconstructing the deck. The masonry was done by two local men,

John Monash Bridge Engineer responsible for Chandler Highway, (outer circle railway bridge, Footscray Swing Bridge, and many concrete arch and beam Monier bridges

John Montgomery, Shire of Grenville engineer 186401889.

Samuel Morris, Secretary and Engineer for Shire of Bannockburn in 1900s.



Adrian Charles Mountain , principally a road and sanitation engineer, produced many papers including “The Evolution of The Modern Road.” Engineer for City of Melbourne, commemorated in Mountain Street at Victoria Dock.

F. P (or EP?). Muntz, Shire Engineer Merriang from 1906. MB-Darraweit Guim.

Joe Muntz shire engineer from Beaufort. son of E.J.

Muntz Engineers referred to in History of John Monash [Vic] pre WW1, for example from http://home.vicnet.net.au/~aholgate/jm/mainpages/people1.html

E.J. Munz Shire Engineer for Ripon, 1890s to 1920s, consulting Engineer to Lexton and Avoca, and for a while Gremville. District engineer for Stawell district from 1924, when offices in Stawell. Retired from CRB 1935 but continued as shire of Lexton enginer until his death in 1950.

Thomas Bingham Muntz, A senior consulting engineer. Member of a large family of engineers in Victoria. Arbitrator for the Fyansford Bridge contract. Designer of the Bendigo Creek Improvement Scheme and friend of M&A. FF, BC&W, KB. [Also began as a shire engineer at Metcalf, near Woodend, Coode Canal, Redesdale Bridge, etc etc and Mayor of Prahran, Melbourne & father of famous artist Josephine Muntz Adams]

William Jamison Muntz, Water resources engineer. MABB.

Stuart Murray Snr., Chief Engineer Victorian Water Supply commission, responsible for irrigation schemes on Goulburn-Murray.

Sir Francis Murphy , President of Board of Main Roads 1853-5.

Dave Nicholson Bridge Division CRB on Werribee Bypass in 1950s (Reminiscences: 310)

D A. Nowlan, For a time, Acting Shire Sec. and Engineer, Shire of Creswick.

I. J. O’Donnell (also later Chairman of CRB).

William O’Hara , Worked under significant engineers in Britain and Ireland including Alexander Nimmo and Sir John MacNeill. Draftsman with the Victorian Railways from 1855-65 where he designed many bridges and viaducts on the Mt. Alexander line.

Keith Opie, CRB engineer worked on Bonnie Doon Bridge (Reminiscences p63

H. G. Oliver, Shire Engineer Bright.



W A Ozanne, CRB and Gippsland engineer who was responsible for the welded steel girder Swan Reach on the Tambo River, and Glenaladale welded steel truss bridge. Also designed the Major Mitchell Bridge, Wangaratta of 1934.

C.H. Perrin, was engineer with the Victorian Railways from at least 1902 and was Chief Engineer of the Railway Construction Branch in 1930 when the Spencer Street Bridge was erected.

William Zachary Perrott, Engineer with Central Roads Board 1853-63.

Thomas E. Rawlinson, Road Engineer in the Department of Roads and Bridges in 1860, responsible for the Banksia Street wrought iron arch bridge c1872.

George Somerset Read, Assistant Surveyor, City of Bendigo. Later, Shire Engineer, Marong & Bet Bet.

W. Rettie, District Inspector of Public Works.

Joseph Richard Richardson, City Surveyor, Bendigo. UMAB-Short St.

G.W. Robinson, Shire of Berwick Engineer and Secretary 1876-90, 1894-1904,

W. Robertson, Surveyor/Engineer with Town of Ballarat East c1899-1903+. Favoured Monash design for Grant St Bridge against Farrer in Ballarat City, described as a clerk of works

H. M Rooney, Hampden shire engineer in 1946 to at least 1953 (McAlpine),

Charles Rowand, Engineer with Roads and Bridges Department in 1856 then in Department of Railways and Roads in 1876. He went on to work as a consulting Engineer on such projects as the Victoria Street Bridge in Richmond in 1882. Influenced the Wilson

Francis Ryley, Engineer in the Roads and Bridges Department 1857. Responsible for work on Wangaratta timber arch bridge in 1850s.

L. H. Sambell. shire engineer Beechworth 1920s, council member and a booster for the Shire Lake Sambell is named after him (Advertiser, 18/1/1922; 19/4/1922; Griffiths p.67)

A. K. T. Sambell, Shire Engineer, Traralgon water supply relieved as shire secretary in 1907 by Walter West

Harry E Sando, CE. Town Clerk and Engineer, Clunes Borough Council, responsible for Government Bridge Clunes 1896.

Captain Charles Seabrook municipal engineer with Sandringham Council.



G. M. Scott, Shire Engineer, Howqua in 1900s.

Mr. Scott, Engineer, Casterton- 1896 - (Back-To Sandford Centenary – 1957)

J.L. Shaw, Leigh Shire secretary and engineer 1862-3

Cecil Short, Shire Engineer, Alexandra.

Alexander Kennedy Smith, 1854-1880, principally a gasworks engineer, though a member of the royal commission on the Echuca Bridge. (Dennis Cumming, 'Some Public works Enginers in Victoria in the Nineteenth Century'. Miles Lewis)

James Alexander Smith, 1878 – 1933, carpenter & timber bridge contractor, president of the Victorian Institute of Engineers from 1908-1911. Born 1857 in South Yarra, first son, John Thomas, died in 1911 due to a fall from a bridge.

Robert Speed, Shire Engineer, Ararat in c1910.

John Steavenson, Commissioner of Roads and Bridges in 1858, Assistant Commissioner of Roads under the Local Government Act in 1864, Secretary of Railways Department 1871 and gave several submission on Select Committees on Roads and Bridges.

Harry Tompkins architect went to American 1890s, and returned as an advocate of steel frame construction.

Saxil Tuxen, Engineer to Shire of Mornington Peninsular and others.

A MacKenzie Tyers, Shire of Bright Engineer.

J. A. L Waddell, Structural Engineer, Kansas, USA. Monash History reference to Tambo Bridge

Prof. William Henry Warren, Professor of Engineering at the University of Sydney.

Bruce Watson, CRB Bridge Design Section 1950s

Cec Wilson, CRB Bridge Engineer worked on Bonnie Doon, went to Europe with G Masterton to seek tenders for King Street Bridge.

Walter West Shire Engineer, Traralgon 1907-

Clement Wilkes, Engineer with Central Roads Board 1854-62, and on Department of Roads and Bridges in 1864.



Charles Anthony Corbett Wilson practised (1846-1910), Surveyor for the Geelong to Melbourne Railway involved on original Barwon Bridge and Shelford Bridge, Engineer for the Shires of Leigh (1863-1910)and Bannockburn. Influenced by Rowand

Charles Corbett Powell Wilson followed his father CAC Wilson as Leigh Shire Engineer on his retirement (1910-32).

Charles Symons Wingrove (c11819-1905) Secretary and Engineer of the Eltham Roads Board from 1857, and remained so until 1904. Employed by Heidelberg shire in 1872 so survey and estimate improvements to Banksia Street. Also secretary to Heidelberg in 1872, and 1878-88. Garden 124-5.

Robert Hopper Woodcock (1881-1951) Secretary and Engineer to the Dandenong Shire in 1912. continued as Shire Engineer until his resignation in 1936 due to Parkinson’s Disease. In 1942 he came back for a short period as Acting Shire Engineer. At the opening ceremony for the Dandenong Creek Bridge, the CRB chairman, William Calder, stated that Woodcock “was considered one of the best engineers in Victoria” (South Bourke and Mornington Journal September 1919).

Sir William Austin Zeal , Agent for Cornish and Bruce on railway construction at Castlemaine.



Glossary

Conversions

12 pennies (12d) = 1 shilling (s). 20 s = one pound (£1). Written as £/s/d. £1 = $2. 12 inches (in. or ") = 1 foot (ft or '). 3 ' = 1 yard (yd). 22yd = 1 chain (ch or chn). 80 ch = 1 mile. 1 mile = 1.609 kilometres. 1 foot = 30.48 centimetres. 1 pound weight (lb) = 0.453 kilograms.

Bridge Definition:

A bridge is a structure that provides a continuous path or road over water, valleys, ravines, or over other pathways.

Whilst most bridges are built to convey humans and their means of transport, they may also be built to convey water, canals, pipelines and livestock.

Theoretical frameworks:

Rule of Thumb is a term used to identify a range of empirical rules used in engineering theory prior to scientific analysis of forces.

Method of Joints: analytical system used to calculate the loads in truss members, which rests on the proposition that if the truss as a whole is in equilibrium, then every joint must be in equilibrium. Thus the equilibrium of each joint can be looked at in isolation i.e. the sum of all the forces coming into the joint must be zero. Thus every joint can be analysed as a concurrent force system in equilibrium.

Method of Sections: a form of truss analysis which allows up to three unknown forces to be solved in a less prescribed, but more efficient manner then the method of joints. Instead of looking at the equilibrium of each joint, it determines the equilibrium of a larger portion of the truss. It is especially useful for finding the force in a particular member in a large truss, or as a random check on the method of joints.

Graphic Analysis, or graphical statics: a branch of statics, in which the magnitude, direction, and position of forces are represented by straight lines, used to resolve forces in structures.

Three-Moment Theorem: The three-moment equation was derived by the French Engineer Emile Clapeyron in 1857 using the differential equations of. beam bending. The equation is used in connection with continuous girders expressing the relation of the moment at any



support to the moments at the preceding and following supports in terms of the loading and span lengths. It is particularly helpful in solving for the moments at the supports of indeterminate beams.

Structural Form:

The basic design and form of a bridge is based on the way they bear the weight of the structure and its load.

Beam, or girder bridges are supported at each end on abutments on the ground with the weight thrusting downwards.

Truss bridge are formed from the triangulated frame members in tension and compression. There is a wide variety of truss designs, which follow an evolution to greater economy in materials and manufacture.

Cantilever bridges are a form of girder or truss bridge where the centre span is suspended from other girders which are cantilevered beyond their supporting piers.

Arch bridges thrust outwards but downwards at their ends; they are in compression. Tied arches avoid the need for strong abutments to support the thrust of the arch, which is sustained by the carriageway instead.

Suspension bridges, originally made of woven vines or later rope and iron chains, generally comprise steel cable under tension to pull inwards against anchorages on either side of the span, and the roadway hangs from the main cables by a network of vertical cables.

Cable-stayed bridges, bridge design relies on diagonal cables connected directly between the bridge deck and supporting towers.

Movable Bridges: Some bridges that were too low to allow traffic to pass beneath easily, were designed with movable parts, like swing bridges, drawbridges, lift bridges, bascule bridges, sliding bridges.

Fabrication:

Any of these bridge structural forms might be constructed of either 'trusses', or 'girders' and these might be of constant or varying height. Girders have solid plates of metal joining the top and bottom flanges, whereas trusses are open and have many members that connect the flanges together.

Spans formed from a single piece of metal (eg. Rolled Steel Joists - RSJ) requiring little fabrication, are often referred to as 'beams'. Today a beam is any member that works in bending.

Fabricated girders may be described as 'plate girders', with a solid plate between the upper and lower flanges, whether welded, riveted or bolted.



When the several plates are joined to form a hollow section, (rectangular, square, cylindrical or other shape) the girder is referred to as a 'box girder'.

Trusses are referred to as 'single' or 'double' to denote the number of planes of support between flanges.

STRUCTURES: Engineering

(This section is from Bridges and Tunnels of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania 1997-2002 Bruce S. Cridlebaugh)

Compression Stress characterized by pressing together.

Dead load The weight of the structure itself, independent of traffic or the environment, which must be supported by the structure. Compare to live load.

Deflection The perpendicular distance a beam bends from straight, due to load and span.

Force External influence on an object which tends to produce a change in its shape or causes movement.

Live load The dynamic or moving weight, such as traffic, carried by a structure. Compare to dead load.

Moment The tendency of a force to cause a rotating motion.

Parallel Positioning of a member so that it is aligned with another in such a way that if extended the two members would not meet. Compare to perpendicular and transverse.

Perpendicular Positioning of a member so that it projects out from or crosses another at a right angle. Compare to parallel and transverse.

Posttension A type of Prestressing in which reinforcing tendons are fed through tubes which are covered by concrete poured into the form. Once the concrete cures and the forms are removed, the tendon is clamped on one end and jacked tighter on the other until the required tension is achieved. This produces a reinforced concrete beam with a postive camber which is able to withstand greater loads without deflection as compared to unreinforced beams of similar dimensions. Compare to pretension.

Prestressing Methods of increasing the load bearing capacity of concrete by applying increased tension on steel tendons or bars inside a beam. Types of prestressing include posttension and pretension.

Pretension A type of prestressing in which reinforcing tendons stretched to a desired tension and then covered by concrete poured into the form. Once the concrete cures and the forms are removed, the tension of tendon is transfered to the concrete increasing its compression and creating a positive camber. This produces a reinforced concrete beam which is able to withstand greater loads without deflection as compared to unreinforced beams of similar



dimensions. Compare to posttension. Also, cable hangers (or suspenders) used to support a bridge deck are commonly pretensioned before being attached to the deck.

Redundancy Principle of incorporating additional or duplicated structural members above that needed to carry load to provide safety margin in the event of failure of a member.

Shear Stress placed transversely on a member in opposite directions.

Strain The deformation of an object caused by a force acting upon it. Compressive strain is the shortening of an object in compression. Tensile strain is the enlongation of an object in tension. Shearing strain is a lateral deformation caused by a force which tends to move part of an object more than another. Compare to stress.

Stress The resistance of an object to external force. Compressive stress develops as an object in compression resists being shortened. Tensile stress develops as an object in tension resists being enlongated. Shearing stress develops as an object subject to shearing forces resists deformation. Compare to strain.

Structure A stable assembly of components which carries a load while resisting various applied stresses, and transfers the load though its foundation to the ground.

Tension Stress characterized by pulling apart.

Thrust A force caused by one part of a structure pushing outward against another. The thrust at the abutments of segmental arch is also called drift.

Transverse Positioning of a member so that it projects out from or crosses another, generally in a horizontal position. Compare to parallel and perpendicular. Also, describes a movement across the length of an object as opposed to along its length.

MATERIALS: Masonry

Aggregate Crushed stone, gravel, or sand added to cement to make concrete.

Ashlar Cut, squared building stone finely dressed on all sides adjacent to other stones. Requires only very thin mortar joints. Random ashlar uses rectangular stones in discontinuous courses. Coursed ashlar uses rectangular stones of the same height in each horizontal course, but each course may vary in height. Broken range-work arranges ashlar units into horizontal courses of varying heights, which may be divided into horizontal groups at various intervals.

Composite Employing two or more materials for distinct major components eg. masonry and iron, masonry and timber, timber and iron, masonry timber and iron, steel and concrete. Often used to donate a bridge where materials are used in combination to provide additional strength, such as reinforced concrete cast to girders and fixed via welded studs forming an integral spanning member.



Concrete An artificial, stone-like building material made by combining cement with aggregate and adding sufficient water to cause it to set and bind the materials together. There are various mixtures to meet specific performance requirements. It is also commonly reinforced by placing steel mesh or rods before pouring into the forms.

Dressed stone A stone masonry unit which has been squared and shaped for precise fit with other stones. Undressed stone has naturally rough and irregular shapes.

Joint The place where two masonry units meet, often bound together by mortar.

Masonry Construction method using units such as stone, brick, and concrete block which are usually joined with a binding agent such as mortar. Mortar is a mixture of lime and/or pulverized clay (cement) with very fine sand and water. Less often, the units are held in place by their own weight, especially with very large stones. Also includes concrete construction.

Reinforced concrete Concrete which gains added strength by placing wire mesh or rods into the formwork before the concrete it poured.

Rubble Rough, irregular stone fragments used in construction of a wall or wall surface.

A random rubble wall has discontinuous courses and may include smaller garrets, small stones used to wedge larger ones into position or fill gaps. A coursed rubble wall is more organized and built to a level course at various intervals. A squared rubble wall is built of roughly squared stones of varying size which are brought to level courses every third of fourth stone.

Rustication Ashlar masonry having the visible surfaces raised or textured in contrast to the finely dressed joints.

String-course A horizontal course in a masonry wall which is of different colour, texture, or size.

MATERIALS: Metal

Alloy Two or more metals, or metal combined with non-metallic substances, to obtain a desired performance characteristic, such as hardness, elasticity, corrosion resistance, etc.

American standard beam Common name for an S-Shape steel beam.

Angle Structural steel shape resembling L. May be Equal Leg Angle or Unequal Leg Angle (shown). Used in trusses and built-up girders.

C-Shape or Channel Structural steel shape, which has a cross-section resembling. Similar to W-Shapes with half-width flanges on one side. Used in trusses and built-up girders.

Extrusion A structural member formed by forcing a material, such as steel, through a hole of the desired cross section; refers to both the process and the final product.



Flange On structural steel shapes, such as C-Shapes, S-Shapes, and W-Shapes, the horizontal portions at the top and bottom which are perpendicular to the web.

Forge Process used in forming a metal structural member by heating and hammering to the desired shape.

I-beam Common name for an S-Shape steel beam.

Iron A malleable (may be pressed and shaped without returning to its original form), ductile (may be stretched or hammered without breaking), metallic element. The main ingredient used in the production of steel. Once a common building material for bridges, but was gradually replaced by steel around the turn of the 20th century.

Cast iron has a higher carbon content (2.0% - 4.5%) and is less malleable (more brittle). It is shaped by pouring it in a fluid, molten state into molds. Steel alloys are next in decreasing order of carbon content (approx. 0.2% - 2.0%), followed by wrought iron , which has less carbon content (approx. 0.2%). This makes wrought iron tough, but more malleable. It is more easily shaped by heating and hammering (forging).

Narrow Flange Beam An S-Shape steel beam.

Rivet A metal fastener with a large head on one end, used to connect multiple metal plates by passing the shank through aligned holes in the plates and hammering the plain end to form a second head.

Rolled section A structural member formed by heating a material, such as steel, and passing it through a series of rollers to achieve a desired shape.

S-Shape or Narrow Flange Beam Structural steel shape which has a cross-section resembling an I with sloped inner flange surfaces adjacent to the web. May be formed by extrusion or rolling. Designated by the prefix S followed by the depth in inches and the weight per linear foot in pounds, such as S6x10. Commonly called I-beam or American standard beam. Compare to W-Shape.

Steel Any of a variety of iron-based metallic alloys having less carbon content than cast iron, but more than wrought iron.

W-Shape or Wide Flange Beam Structural steel shape which has a cross-section resembling an H with flat inner flange surfaces adjacent to the web. May be formed by extrusion or rolling. Designated by the prefix W followed by the depth in inches and the weight per linear foot in pounds, such as W18x40. Compare to S-Shape.

Web On structural steel shapes, such as C-Shapes, S-Shapes, and W-Shapes, the flat portion which is perpendicular to and joining the flanges. Also, the system of members connecting the top and bottom chords of a truss.



Weld Joining two metal pieces by heating them and allowing them to flow together. Creating a bond by using another nonferrous metal which melts below 800 degrees Fahrenheit is called soldering. Creating a bond by using another nonferrous metal which melts above 800 degrees Fahrenheit is called brazing. The continuous deposit of fused metal created in these processes is called a bead.

Other common fasteners used in metal structures include: rivets, threaded bolts, and pin/eyebar connections.

STRUCTURES: Bridge

Abutment Part of a structure which supports the end of a span or accepts the thrust of an arch; often supports and retains the approach embankment.

Anchor span Located at the outermost end, it counterbalances the arm of span extending in the opposite direction from a major point of support. Often attached to an abutment.

Anchorage Located at the outermost ends, the part of a suspension bridge to which the cables are attached. Similar in location to an abutment of a beam bridge.

Aqueduct A pipe or channel, open or enclosed, which carries water. May also be used as part of a canal to carry boats. Sometimes carried by a bridge.

Arch A curved structure which supports a vertical load mainly by axial compression.

Arch barrel The inner surface of an arch extending the full width of the structure.

Arch ring An outer course of stone forming the arch. Made of a series of voussoirs. An archivolt is an arch ring with decorating moldings.

Ballustrade A decorative railing, especially one constructed of concrete or stone, including the top and bottom rail and the vertical supports called ballusters. May also include larger vertical supports called stanchions.

Baltimore truss A subdivided Pratt truss commonly constructed for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. It has angled end posts and a top chord which is straight and horizontal. Compare to camelback truss and Pennsylvania truss.

Bascule bridge From the French word for "see-saw," a bascule bridge features a movable span (leaf) which rotates on a horizontal hinged axis (trunnion) to raise one end vertically. A large counterweight is used to offset to weight of the raised leaf. May have a single raising leaf or two which meet in the centre when closed. Compare to swing bridge and vertical lift bridge.

Battledeck heavy steel plate deck supported on beams or cross-beams, sometimes employing rail lines. Usually overlayed with gravel of asphalt.



Beam A horizontal structure member supporting vertical loads by resisting bending. A girder is a larger beam, especially when made of multiple plates. Deeper, longer members are created by using trusses.

Bearing A device at the ends of beams which is placed on top of a pier or abutment. The ends of the beam rest on the bearing.

Bent Part of a bridge substructure. A rigid frame commonly made of reinforced concrete or steel which supports a vertical load and is placed transerse to the length of a structure. Bents are commonly used to support beams and girders. An end bent is the supporting frame forming part of an abutment.

Each vertical member of a bent may be called a column, pier, or pile. The horizontal member resting on top of the columns is a bent cap. The columns stand on top of some type of foundation or footer which is usually hidden below grade. A bent commonly has at least two or more vertical supports. Another term used to describe a bent is capped pile pier. A support having a single column with bent cap is sometimes called a "hammerhead" pier .

Bowstring truss A truss having a curved top chord and straight bottom chord meeting at each end.

Box girder A steel beam built-up from many shapes to form a hollow cross-section.

Brace-ribbed arch (trussed arch) An arch with parallel chords connected by open webbing.

Bridge A raised structure built to carry vehicles or pedestrians over an obstacle.

Buttress A wall projecting perpendicularly from another wall which prevents its outward movement. Usually wider at its base and tapering toward the top.

Cable Part of a suspension bridge extending from an anchorage over the tops of the towers and down to the opposite anchorage. Suspenders or hangers are attached along its length to support the deck.

Cable-stayed bridge A variation of suspension bridge in which the tension members extend from one or more towers at varying angles to carry the deck. Allowing much more freedom in design form, this type does not use cables draped over towers, nor the anchorages at each end, as in a traditional suspension bridge.

Camber A positive, upward curve built into a beam which compensates for some of the vertical load and anticipated deflection.

Camelback truss A truss having a curved top chord and straight bottom chord meeting at each end, especially when there are more than one used end to end. Compare to Baltimore truss and Pennsylvania truss.

Cantilever A structural member which projects beyond a supporting column or wall and is counterbalanced and/or supported at only one end.



Castellated girder A steel beam fabricated by making a zig-zag cut along its web, then welding the two sides together at their peaks. This creates a beam which has increased depth and therefore greater strength, but is not increased in weight.

Catenary Curve formed by a rope or chain hanging freely between two supports. The curved cables or chains used to support suspension bridges may be referred to as catenaries.

Centreing Temporary structure or falsework supporting an arch during construction.

Chord Either of the two principal members of a truss extending from end to end, connected by web members.

Column A vertical structural member used to support compressive loads. Also see pier and pile.

Composite design integral steel and reinforced concrete structure forming single structural member where the deck beams work together in carrying the load to the supports, also known as composite deck beam.

Composite materials concrete, steel, timber and masonry used in various combinations.

Continuous span A superstructure which extends as one piece over multiple supports.

Corbelled arch Masonry built over an opening by progressively overlapping the courses from each side until they meet at the top centre. Not a true arch as the structure relies on strictly vertical compression, not axial compression.

Counter A truss web member which functions only when a structure is partially loaded.

Cradle Part of a suspension bridge which carries the cable over the top of the tower.

Cripple A structural member which does not extend to the full height of others around it and does not carry as much load.

Crown On road surfaces, where the centre is the highest point and the surface slopes downward in opposite directions, assisting in drainage. Also a point at the top of an arch.

Culvert A drain, pipe or channel which allows water to pass under a road, railroad or embankment.

Deck The top surface of a bridge which carries the traffic.

Deck truss A truss which carries its deck on its top chord. Compare to pony truss and through truss.

Elliptical arch An arch formed by mutiple arcs each of which is drawn from its own centre. Compare to a roman arch which is a semi-circular arc drawn from a single centrepoint.



Embankment Angled grading of the ground.

End post The outwardmost vertical or angled compression member of a truss.

Expansion joint A meeting point between two parts of a structure which is designed to allow for movement of the parts due to thermal or moisture factors while protecting the parts from damage. Commonly visible on a bridge deck as a hinged or movable connection.

Extrados The outer exposed curve of an arch; defines the lower arc of a spandrel.

Eye bar A structural member having a long body and an enlarged head at each end. Each head has a hole though which a pin is inserted to connect to other members.

Falsework Temporary structure used as support during construction. Falsework for arch construction is called "centreing."

Fill Earth, stone or other material used to raise the ground level, form an embankment or fill the inside of an abutment, pier or closed spandrel.

Finial A sculpted decorative element placed at the top of a spire or highpoint of a structure.

Fixed arch A structure anchored in its position. Compare to hinged arch.

Floor beam Horizontal members which are placed transversely to the major beams, girders, or trusses; used to support the deck.

Footing The enlarged lower portion of the substructure or foundation which rests directly on the soil, bedrock, or piles; usually below grade and not visible.

Gabion A galvanized wire box filled with stones used to form an abutment or retaining wall.

Girder A horizontal structure member supporting vertical loads by resisting bending. A girder is a larger beam, especially when made of multiple metal plates. The plates are usually riveted or welded together.

Gusset plate A metal plate used to unite multiple structural members of a truss.

Haunch The enlarged part of a beam near its supported ends which results in increased strength; visible as the curved or angled bottom edge of a beam.

Hinged arch A two-hinged arch is supported by a pinned connection at each end. A three-hinged arch also includes a third pinned connection at the crown of the arch near the middle of a span. Compare to fixed arch.

Howe truss A type of truss in which vertical web members are in tension and diagonal web members in compression. Maybe be recognized by diagonal members which appear to form an "A" shape (without the crossbar) toward the centre of the truss when viewed in profile. Compare to Pratt truss and Warren truss.



Humpback A description of the sideview of a bridge having relatively steep approach embankments leading to the bridge deck.

Impost The surface which receives the vertical weight at the bottom of an arch.

Intrados The interior arc of an arch.

Jersey barrier A low, reinforced concrete wall wider at the base, tapering vertically to near mid-height, then continuing straight up to its top. The shape is designed to direct automotive traffic back toward its own lane of travel and prevent crossing of a median or leaving the roadway. Commonly used on new and reconstructed bridges in place of decorative ballustrades, railings or parapets.

Keystone The uppermost wedge-shaped voussoir at the crown of an arch which locks the other voussoirs into place.

King Truss Two triangular shapes sharing a common centre vertical member (king post); the simplest triangular truss system. Compare to queen truss.

Knee brace Additional support connecting the deck with the main beam which keeps the beam from buckling outward. Commonly made from plates and angles.

Lag Crosspieces used to connect the ribs in centreing.

Lateral bracing Members used to stabilize a structure by introducing diagonal connections.

Lattice An assembly of smaller pieces arranged in a gridlike pattern; sometimes used a decorative element or to form a truss of primarily diagonal members.

Lenticular truss A truss which uses curved top and bottom chords placed opposite one another to form a lens shape. The chords are connected by additional truss web members.

Member One of many parts of a structure, especially one of the parts of a truss.

Parabola A form of arch defined by a moving point which remains equidistant from a fixed point inside the arch and a moving point along a line. This shape when inverted into an arch structure results in a form which allows equal vertical loading along its length.

Parapet A low wall along the outside edge of a bridge deck used to protect vehicles and pedestrians.

Pennsylvania truss A subdivided Pratt truss invented for use by the Pennsylvania Railroad. The Pennsylvania truss is similar in bracing to a Baltimore truss, but the former has a camelback profile while the latter has angled end posts only, leaving the upper chord straight and horizontal. Compare to camelback truss and Baltimore truss.

Pier A vertical structure which supports the ends of a multi-span superstructure at a location between abutments. Also see column and pile.



Pile A long column driven deep into the ground to form part of a foundation or substructure. Also see column and pier.

Pin A cylindrical bar which is used to connect various members of a truss; such as those inserted through the holes of a meeting pair of eyebars.

Pony truss A truss which carries its traffic near its top chord but not low enough to allow crossbracing between the parallel top chords. Compare to deck truss and through truss.

Portal The opening at the ends of a through truss with forms the entrance. Also the open entrance of a tunnel.

Post One of the vertical compression members of a truss which is perpendicular to the bottom chord.

Pratt truss A type of truss in which vertical web members are in compression and diagonal web members in tension. Many possible configuartions include pitched, flat, or camelback top chords. Maybe be recognized by diagonal members which appear to form a "V" shape toward the centre of the truss when viewed in profile. Variations include the Baltimore truss and Pennsylvania truss. Compare to Warren truss and Howe truss.

Pylon A monumental vertical structure marking the entrance to a bridge or forming part of a gateway.

Queen Truss A truss having two triangular shapes spaced on either side of central apex connected by horizontal top and bottom chords. Compare to king truss.

Reinforcement Adding strength or bearing capacity to a structural member. Examples include the placing of metal reinforcement bar into forms before pouring concrete, or attaching gusset plates at the intersection of multiple members of a truss.

Revet The process of covering an embankment with stones.

Revetment A facing of masonry or stones to protect an embankment from erosion.

Rib Any one of the arched series of members which is parallel to the length of a bridge, especially those on a metal arch bridge.

Rigid frame bridge A type of girder bridge in which the piers and deck girder are fastened to form a single unit. Unlike typical girder bridges which are constructed so that the deck rests on bearings atop the piers, a rigid frame bridge acts as a unit. Pier design may vary.

Rise The measure of an arch from the spring line to the highest part of the intrados, which is to say from its base support to the crown.

Segmental arch An arch formed along an arc which is drawn from a point below its spring line, thus forming a less than semicircular arch. The intrados of a Roman arch follows an arc drawn from a point on its spring line, thus forming a semi-circle.



Simple span A span in which the effective length is the same as the length of the spanning structure. The spanning superstructure extends from one vertical support, abutment or pier, to another, without crossing over an intermediate support or creating a cantilever.

Skew When the superstructure is not perpendicular to the substructure, a skew angle is created. The skew angle is the acute angle between the alignment of the superstructure and the alignment of the substructure.

Span The horizontal space between two supports of a structure. Also refers to the structure itself. May be used as a noun or a verb. The clear span is the space between the inside surfaces of piers or other vertical supports. The effective span is the distance between the centres of two supports.

Spandrel The roughly triangular area above an arch and below a horizontal bridge deck. A closed spandrel encloses fill material. An open spandrel carries its load using interior walls or columns.

Splice plate A plate which joins two girders. Commonly riveted or bolted.

Springer The first voussoir resting on the impost of an arch.

Spring line The place where an arch rises from its support; a line drawn from the impost.

Stanchion One of the larger vertical posts supporting a railing. Smaller, closely spaced vertical supports are ballusters. Also see ballustrade.

Stiffener On plate girders, structural steel shapes, such as an angle, are attached to the web to add intermediate strength.

Stringer A beam aligned with the length of a span which supports the deck.

Strut A compressive member.

Substructure The portion of a bridge structure including abutments and piers which supports the superstructure.

Superstructure The portion of a bridge structure which carries the traffic load and passes that load to the substructure.

Suspended span A simple beam supported by cantilevers of adjacent spans, commonly connected by pins.

Suspenders Tension members of a suspension bridge which hang from the main cable to support the deck. Also similar tension members of an arch bridge which features a suspended deck. Also called hangers.

Suspension bridge A bridge which carries its deck with many tension members attached to cables draped over tower piers.



Swing bridge A movable deck bridge which opens by rotating horizontally on an axis. Compare to bascule bridge and vertical lift bridge.

Through truss A truss which carries its traffic through the interior of the structure with crossbracing between the parallel top and bottom chords. Compare to deck truss and pony truss.

Tie A tension member of a truss.

Tied arch An arch which has a tension member across its base which connects one end to the other.

Tower A tall pier or frame supporting the cable of a suspension bridge.

Truss A structural form which is used in the same way as a beam, but because it is made of an web-like assembly of smaller members it can be made longer, deeper, and therefore, stronger than a beam or girder while being lighter than a beam of similar dimensions. Truss types may include: Warren, Pratt / De Burgh, Howe / Allan / Dare, Deck Truss / Through Truss, King Post Truss, Queen Post Truss, Double Diagonal, Smith Truss, MacDonald Truss / Whipple Truss (1889-94), Long Truss, Bow String Truss.

Truss forms

X Truss or cross truss – generally shallow girders with closely spaced flat or angle diagonals, usually riveted at cross junctions

Lattice – a vertical line through the truss intersects more than 2 diagonals

Double Warren Truss – proprietary or patented design – can be analysed, top and bottom intersections are joined, usually not riveted at cross junctions of diagonal members

The concept of Minimum Energy Loss culverts was developed by Norman COTTMAN, shire engineer in Victoria (Australia) and by Professor Gordon McKAY, University of Queensland (Brisbane, Australia) during the late 1960s (CHANSON 2003).

Since about 150 structures were built in Eastern Australia. While a number of small-size structures were built in Victoria, primarily under the influence of Norman COTTMAN, shire engineer, major structures were designed, tested and built in South-East Queensland

Trussed arch A metal arch bridge which features a curved truss.

Upper chord Top chord of a truss.



Vault An enclosing structure formed by building a series of adjacent arches.

Vertical lift bridge A movable deck bridge in which the deck may be raised vertically by synchronized machinery at each end. Compare to swing bridge and bascule bridge.

Viaduct A long, multi-span structure.

Voussoir Any one of the wedge shaped block used to form an arch.

Warren truss A type of truss in which vertical web members inclined to form equilateral triangles. May be recognized by diagonal members which appear to form a series of alternating "V" and "A" shapes (without the crossbar) along the length of the truss when viewed in profile. Often the triangles are bisected by vertical members to reduce the length of the members of the top chord. Compare to Pratt truss and Howe truss.

Web The system of members connecting the top and bottom chords of a truss. Or the vertical portion of an I-beam or girder.

Wing walls Extensions of a retaining wall as part of an abutment; used to contain the fill of an approach embankment



International and Victorian Chronology of Bridge Building and Technology:

(Victorian developments highlighted)

1738: The caisson, a device essential to building bridge piers in water, is developed for a bridge over the Thames at Westminster.

1755: The earliest attempt to use iron for an arched bridge was made at Lyons, France,

1779: The first completed iron bridge was the semicircular cast-iron arch bridge over the river Severn at Coalbrookdale, England, built by Abraham Darby III in 1779, which still stands.

1780: First steam powered rolling mill opening in England.

1789: Riveting machine introduced to manufacture by William Fairbairn. This enabled steam boilers and fabricated girders to be built more easily.

1801: First modern iron suspension bridge built by James Finney of Pennsylvania carries pedestrians.

1809: First suspension bridge capable of carrying vehicles, with a span of 74m, built across the Merrimac River in Massachusetts.

1818: The Institution of Civil Engineers is founded in England.

1825: Suspension Bridge over the Menai Straits in Wales, by Thomas Telford, single span of 176m. Seen by many to inaugurate the age of modern bridge building.

1833: The earliest tied bowstring arch was built at Lugao, Hungary, 1833, where a cast-iron arch was tied at deck level by a chain.

1835: Melbourne settled

1845: Wooden Balbirnie's Bridge erected over the Yarra River (Demolished 1850)

1847: Gold discovered in California - lead to first 'gold rush'.

1847: Institution of Mechanical Engineers is founded in England.

1847: Major suspension bridge built over the Ohio, one of the first in the USA.

1850: First stone arch Princes Bridge built over Yarra River by David Lennox. Replaced 1888

1850: The riveted wrought-iron box girder, forming a closed tube, was first used in the Britannia tubular bridge over the Menai Straits 1850 designed by Robert Stephenson (1803-1859), and fabricated by William Fairbairn (1789-1874) established the superiority of wrought-iron over cast iron.



1851: Gold Rushes in Victoria commence.

1851: First wooden Hawthorn Bridge

1852: The American Society of Civil Engineers is founded in New York.

1853: First wooden Keilor Bridge over the Maribyrnong River Replaced 1860s

1854-1859: The wrought-iron box girder, Victoria Bridge over the St Lawrence at Montréal, Canada, built 1854-59, was for many years the longest bridge in the world.

1855c: Botanic Gardens pedestrian bridge Between Richmond and Gardens Demolished

1856: Quamby Stone Arch Bridge, near Woolsthorpe

1856: Bessemer Process was developed for making inexpensive steel.

1856: Seimens in UK and Martin in France develops the regenerative furnace, that burns previously unburnt gases for greater efficiency - reduces the coal used and increases steel production.

1857: First Church Street Bridge between Richmond and Prahran riveted box girder (Replaced 1923)

1857: First Johnson Street Bridge between Richmond and Kew timber (Replaced 1877)

1857: Studley Park Bridge Church St. Richmond to Kew (Demolished 1930s)

1859: Djerriwarrh Creek Bridge Stone Arch

1859: Hughes Creek Bridge, Avenel Stone Arch

1859: First Iron Bridge over Barwon River Geelong riveted wrought iron box girder (Replaced 1926)

1859: Moorabool River Bridge, Batesford Stone Arch

1861: Second Hawthorn Bridge, Bridge Road wrought iron lattice truss

1861: Merri Creek Bridge Heidelberg Road Stone Arch

1864: The first wrought-iron arch bridge of importance was constructed, when a bridge of three spans was built crossing the Rhine at Koblenz, Germany.

1868: Second Keilor Bridge over Maribyrnong River riveted box girder (Restored 1984)

1868: Mia Mia Bridge, Redesdale (lattice trusses 1859 originally for Hawthorn Bridge)

1869: First railway line across USA completed from the Atlantic to the Pacific.



1869: The Suez canal (1859-1869) opens to shipping, linking the Mediterranean and the Red Seas, shortening the voyage to Australia.

1871: Bet Bet Bridge Bung Bong wrought iron lattice truss

1872: Banksia Street Bridge, first metal arch bridge in Victoria, demolished 1960s.

1874: Jorgensons Bridge near Clunes wrought iron lattice truss

1874: Shelford Bridge designed by C.A.C.Wilson wrought iron box gider

1874: The first major steel bridge, Captain Ead's great bridge over the Mississippi at St Louis, USA, was completed 1874. The arches are formed of open triangulated ribs, supporting the roadway by vertical columns at the apexes of the arch bracing.

1875: Merri Creek Bridge High Street, Northcote stone arch

1877: Second Johnson Street Bridge Between Richmond and Kew (Replaced 1958)

1878: First all steel bridge erected in 1878, crossing the Missouri River at Glasgow, South Dakota, USA. (Encyclopaedia Britannica 1964 edition)

1880: Woady Yaloak River Bridge Cressy wrought iron lattice truss

1883: Swing Bridge near Sale wrought iron lattice truss and plate girder

1883: Brooklyn Suspension Bridge, New York opened - introduces revolutionary method of cable spinning.

1883: Manganese Steel patented - a super hard alloy that is one of the first of the specialist alloy steels.

1884: Victoria Street Bridge Richmond - Hawthorn wrought iron lattice truss

1885: First transcontinental railway opens across Canada.

1887: Brunton's Bridge Thomson River, Walhalla [Similar to Victoria Street Bridge]

1888: Second Princes Bridge over Yarra River wrought iron lattice truss and arch

1889: Queens Bridge, The Falls Bridge

1890: Chandler Highway Bridge Kew / Fairfield (former Railway Bridge) steel truss

1890: Wollaston Suspension Bridge Warrnambool

1892: Moonie Ponds Creek Bridge Brunswick Demolished

1892: Walmer Street footbridge Abbotsford / Fairfield



1894: Manchester Ship Canal opened, linking Manchester to the Atlantic Ocean.

1899: Bendigo Creek Bridge Bendigo

1899: Morell Bridge Anderson Street Monier concrete arch

1900: Second Fyansford Bridge over Moorabool River Monier concrete arch

1900: Wheeler's Bridge Lawrence

1900: Electric arc steel-making furnace is used for the first time. Developed in Sheffield during World War 1.

1900: Tungsten carbon steel - high-speed steel - demonstrated for cutting tools.

1909: Electric arc welding machines, with an asbestos shield around the electrode, gave a much better control of the heat from the arc, thus achieving a stronger more reliable weld.

1910: Broken River Bridge Benalla Concrete

1911 Janevale Bridge, Laanecoorie Monier concrete arch

1911: Leigh River Bridge near Mt Mercer

1913: Moonie Ponds Creek Bridge Mount Alexander Road, (Monash concrete reconstruction of 1868 cast and wrought iron bridge)

1914-18: Iron and steel demand sours due to war demands

1915: Footbridge, Castlemaine Concrete Truss

1915: Road Bridge, Castlemaine Concrete Truss (Demolished)

1915: BHP Newcastle Steel Works opened

1916: Campaspe River Bridge Rochester

1918: First radio link between Australia and England is opened.

1919: Oxy-acetylene cutting demonstrated in Melbourne

1920: Australian Iron & Steel Port Kembla integrated steel works opened

1920: Electric arc welding is introduced into shipyards and immediately proves its superiority over riveting.

1920: Electricity Supplies spread throughout industrialised nations.

1920: Panama Canal (1879-1889, 1904-1914) opened - linking the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.



1921: Electric arc welded pipes produced for the gas pipeline industry.

1923: Second Church Street Bridge between Richmond and Prahran

1926: World's first continuous hot-strip steel mill is opened in Pennsylvania. Primarily produced sheet metal for the automobile industries.

1928: Invention of furnace for smelting iron ore electrically - the Tysland-Hole furnace.

1930: Spencer Street Bridge over Yarra River, Variable depth riveted plate girder

1931: Sunday Creek Broadford, first welded steel truss

1931: McKillops Bridge Snowy River, Welded steel truss.

1931: George Washington Suspension Bridge, New York opened - double the span (1066m) of the previous record holder.

1932: The Sydney Harbour Bridge is opened, one of the great single-arch bridges of the world, with a span of 503m / 1,650 ft.

1933: First continuously cast steel machine used in Germany - prototype of later industrial scale steel plants from 1943.

1934: Grange Road Bridge Welded steel truss

1935: BHP acquires AIS

1937: Golden Gate Suspension Bridge, San Francisco opened - world's longest span 1280m

1938: Hoddle Bridge Punt Road Concrete arch

1940: Tecoma Narrows Suspension Bridge collapses - leads engineers to re-consider aerodynamic stability of structures.

1951: Swan Street Bridge Concrete arch

1952: First steel made using a new oxygen steel making process, developed by Linz-Donawitz of Austria, where oxygen is injected through the roof of the furnace to purify the molten iron before it is converted to steel.

1960: Kings Way Bridge over Yarra, first ‘freeway’ style crossing welded steel plate cantilevered and suspended girder

1961: High strength steels - maraging steel - created with up to 19% nickel, 9% cobalt, 5% molybdenum and about 0.5% titanium. Primarily used for rockets and missiles.

1964: Verazzano Narrows Suspension Bridge, New York opened - world's longest span 1298m.



1968: First steel made using a new spray steel-making process, developed in England, where molten iron is sprayed out and becomes atomised, rapidly turning into steel.

1978: West Gate Bridge

1981: Humber Estuary Suspension Bridge, United Kingdom opened - world's longest span 1410m.

1997: Store Baelt Suspension Bridge, Denmark opened - world's longest span 1600m.

1998: Akashi-Kaikyo Suspension Bridge, Japan opened - world's longest span 1990m.



Bibliography

Adams, J. 1981 Shire of Tambo Centenary History.

Adams, J. 1987 Path Among the Years: A History of the Shire of Bairnsdale.

Allan, J. A., 1939, The Greater Highways of Melbourne’. Victorian historical Magazine, Vol. XVII, 1939, pp77-86.

Allom Lovell & Associates, 2001, Princes Bridge, Conservation Management Plan.

Allom Lovell & Associates, 2002, Sale Swing Bridge, Conservation Management Plan, report for VicRoads. (draft)

Alsop, P. F. B.1971, 'History of the Shelford iron bridge over the Leigh River, Bannockburn-Rokewood Road, Shire of Leigh', Geelong, April 1971. Includes notes on the design of the bridge, C A C Wilson C E and a history of the Settlers' Arms at Shelford (now demolished)

Alsop, P. F. B.1974, ‘Shelford bridge’ The Investigator, 9 (4) December 1974, 24-40

Alsop, P. F. B.1980, 'The Pollockford bridge’ The Investigator, 15 (1) March 1980, 24-40

Alsop, P.F. B. 1984-6, ‘An outline history of Victoria’s early roads’. Roads Victoria, December 1984; March-April 1985; August-Sept 1985; Jan-Feb 1986; April 1986.

Alsop, P.F.B. 1965. A History of the Prince Albert Bridge with a short Biography of Captain Foster Fyans. P.F.B. Alsop, Roadlines June 1965. pp11-19 Bridge over the Barwon River at Marnock Vale, 1862,

Alsop, P.F.B. 1968. Bridging the Rivers 1939-1859 – Part I: The Barwon Breakwater. P.F.B. Alsop, The Investigator Vol.3. No.2 May pp85-109

Alsop, P.F.B. 1968. Bridging the Rivers 1939-1859 – Part II: David Lennox. P.F.B. Alsop, The Investigator Vol.3. No.3 Aug pp. 155-174

Alsop, P.F.B. 1968. Bridging the Rivers 1939-1859 – Part III: Punts. The 1852 Flood. Timber Bridges to 1853. P.F.B. Alsop, The Investigator Vol.3. No.4 Nov pp. 214-230

Alsop, P.F.B. 1969. Bridging the Rivers – Part V: (Conclusion) The Barwon Iron Bridge. P.F.B. Alsop, The Investigator Vol.4. No.2 May pp. 84-101

Alsop, P.F.B. 1969. Bridging the Rivers 1939-1859 – Part IV: Punts. The Road Act of 1853. The Central Road Board. Conditions on the Queen’s Highways. P.F.B. Alsop, The Investigator Vol.4. No.1 Feb pp. 33-43



Alsop, P.F.B. 1971 Book Review: Geelong Sketchbook. P.F.B. Alsop, The Investigator Vol.6. No.3 Sep p94?

Alsop, P.F.B. 1971. An Historical Note about three Bridges built over the Geelong-Melbourne Railway Line at Ashby, Geelong :1854, replaced 1862, widened 1929, replaced 1971.

Alsop, P.F.B. 1971. Geelong’s First Water Supply. P.F.B. Alsop, The Investigator Vol.6. No.1 Mar pp. 15-22,26, The story of the Breakwater on the Barwon River and its builders – Captain Foster Fyans, Nicholas Fenwick and David Lennox.

Alsop, P.F.B. 1971. The Shelford Bridge. Roadlines June pp. 5-8

Alsop, P.F.B. 1972. The Telegraph Bridge at Ashby - Geelong. Roadlines Mar/Apr pp 5-7

Alsop, P.F.B. 1972. The Telegraph Bridge at Ashby, Geelong. P.F.B. Alsop, The Investigator Vol.7. No.1 Mar Pp 8-11

Alsop, P.F.B. 1974. A history of the Shelford iron bridge over the Leigh River, Bannockburn-Rokewood Road, Shire of Leigh, with a note on the designer of the bridge, Mr. Charles Anthony Corbett Wilson, C.E., and a history of the Settlers’ Arms Inn at Shelford.

Alsop, P.F.B. 1974. Moving the Monument to Matthew Flinders. Matthew Flinders Memorial Cairn. Roadlines? pp. 6-7

Alsop, P.F.B. 1974. Moving the Monument. The Investigator Vol.9. No.1 Mar pp23-27

Alsop, P.F.B. 1974. The Shelford Bridge. The Investigator Vol.9. No.4 Nov pp117-134

Alsop, P.F.B. 1978. Letter: Arches through the ages. Engineers Australia Dec 1, p.4

Alsop, P.F.B. 1981. Letter: Bridge Construction at the Turn of the Century. Engineers Australia Feb 6-19, p 3

Alsop, P.F.B. n.d.. Concrete Bridges in Victoria: Morell, Wheeler’s Creek, Fyansford.

Alsop, P.F.B., 1980, “Pollocksford Bridge”, The Investigator 58, Vol 15 No 1, March 1980. pp24-29

Alves, L. 1997a, “Weeroona Avenue Bridge Bendigo”, National Trust Classification Report.

Alves, L. 1997b, “Anderson Street Bridge/Morrell Bridge”, National Trust Classification Report.

Anderson, J. T. 1934. Metropolitan roads and bridges. Part 2. One hundred years of engineering (editor L. R. East). J IEAust, 6(10):359-60, Oct.

Anderson, W. K. 1994, Roads for the People, A History of Victoria’s Roads, VicRoads, Hyland House, Melbourne.



Anon. 1980. A look at Victoria’s bridges - past and present. CRB News, 44:8

Anon.1939. A survey of bridge building in Australia. The Australasian Engineer, 7 Nov.:17-44

Atkinson, W. L., Burke, K. J., Deutsch, G. P., Selby-Smith, P. & Wedgwood, R. 1990. The Echuca bridges - meeting the engineering, historic and user needs. Trans Multi-disciplinary engineering, IEAust, GE14(1):13-21.

Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, 1988, Technology in Australia 1788-1988, A condensed history of Australian technological innovation and adaptation during the first two hundred years, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre. http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/titlepage.html

Bannockburn Shire Minutes, 30/7/1866

Barber, E. H. 1973. Engineers, lawyers, and two bridges. The Chartered Engineer (IEAust, Victoria Division), 17(7):3-4

Barrabool Shire Council Minute Books, 1912-1923, 20/11/1919, p.296.

Barret, B. 1979, The Civic Frontier, Melbourne University Press.

Bayley, J. Roads Administration in Victoria 1832-1985, unpublished manuscript (quoted in Anderson 1994)

Beauchamp, D. The Victorian Engineers of University Square, Transactions of Multidisciplinary Engineering, Vol GE 26 2002, Institute of Engineers Australia

Beeston, R., 1995, Government Buildings Register Review of Country Railway Places -

Bennet, D. 1999, The Creation of Bridges, Lothian Melbourne.

Book Review: Builders of Melbourne. The Cockrams and their contemporaries 1853-1972. P.F.B. Alsop, The Investigator Vol.8. No.4 p?

Broomham, Rosemary. 2001, Vital Connections, A History of New South Wales Roads from 1788, NSW Roads and Traffic Authority (Hale and Iremonger).

Building & Engineering Journal,11 October 1890, and report on the competition, p 359. (Plates)

Building 19 May 1908

Butler, Norm, 2002, notes on history of CRB and index to metal bridges in CRB Annual Report – unpublished typescript

c1920 (being demolished) Photographer: Wilson P. Evans collection <http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/pictoria/b/1/8/doc/b18765.htm>



Cannon M. & McFarlane, I, 1988, Historical Records of Victoria, Foundations Series, Volume 5, Surveyors Problems and Achievements 1836-1839. Victorian Government Printing Office.

Cannon, M. M. 1991, Old Melbourne Town Before the Gold Rush, Loch Haven Books.

Cannon, M. M. 1995, Melbourne After the Gold Rush, Loch Haven Books.

Carrol, Brian, 1983, The Hume, Australia’s Highway of History, A Heritage Field Guide, Kangaroo Press.

Chambers, D. & Churchward, M. 1999, McMillans Bridge, National Trust Classification Report.

Chambers, D. 1989, A history of road development in Victoria 1834-1961, Road Construction Authority, Kew.

Chambers, D. 1996a, Cheynes Bridge, National Trust Classification Report.

Chambers, D. 1996b, Mia Mia Iron Girder Bridge, National Trust Classification Report.

Chambers, D. 1997, An Historical Sketch of Road and Railway Timber Bridge Construction in Victoria, Report for the Timber Bridges Committee of the National Trust.

Chambers, D. 1999a, Glenmona Bridge, National Trust Classification Report

Chambers, D. 1999b, Hotspur Bridge, National Trust Classification Report

Chambers, Don, 1998, “Zeal Bridge”, National Trust Register Classification Report, File Number B6850. National Trust,

Church Street Bridge 1861 Photographer: Cox and Luckin <http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/pictoria/b/3/6/doc/b36204.htm>

Churchward, M., 2001, “A Site Visit to Hawthorn Bridge” Engineering Heritage committee tour notes, 15 November 2001,IE Australia

Churchward, M., 2002 “Comments prepared by Matthew Churchward with information from the National Trust Timber & Metal Bridges Database. October 2002”

Clarke, Andrew, 1856, Report upon Railways Presented to both Houses of Parliament

Coane, J M & H E [revised B M Coutie]. Coane's Australasian Roads. 4th ed, Melbourne 1927.

Coane, J. M., H E Coane & J M Coane junior. Australian Roads. 1st ed, Melbourne 1908.



Corbett, A. H. 1962, 'Kernot. The Man among his Students', University of Melbourne Gazette, vol. 8, pp. 2-5.

Cottman, N.H. (1976). "Fivefold Increase Obtained in the Capacity of a Small Bridge using a Shaped Minimum Energy Subway." Aust. Road Res., Vol. 6, No. 4, pp. 42-45.

Cottman, N.H., and McKAY, G.R. (1990). "Bridges and Culverts Reduced in Size and Cost by Use of Critical Flow Conditions." Proc. Instn. Civ. Engrs., London, Part 1, Vol. 88, pp. 421 437. Discussion :1992, Vol. 90, pp. 643-645.

Country Roads Board, 1970, The Road Builders. Country Roads Board of Victoria, (SLV 625.709945 V66CO)

Country Roads Board, Fifty Years of Progress, Melbourne 1963.

Country Roads Board, The Country Roads Board, Victoria, 1913-1975, Melbourne 1975.

Country Roads Board, various dates, Annual Report. [Norm Butler index of references to metal bridges in CRB Annual Reports.]

Cowan, Henry J, 1998, From Wattle and Daub to Concrete and Steel the engineering heritage of Australia's buildings, pp 69-70., Melbourne University Press,

Cronin, Bernard, 1948, How Runs the Road, Acacia Press, Melbourne.

Cumming, D.A. 1985, “Some Public Works Engineers in Victoria in the Nineteenth Century:, notes prepared while a Visiting Fellow, Melbourne University engineering Department Technology Note TR-85/10.

Dacre Smyth, The Bridges of the Yarra - A Book of Paintings, Poetry and Prose, Melbourne, 1979 (2nd. edition, 1980).

Darwin, D. George H. Matheison, J and Wilson C, 1960, ‘King Street Bridge Project’ , Journal of the Institution of Engineers Australia, 32: 167-182, September.

Darwin, D., George, H., Mathieson, J. & Wilson, C. 1960. King St Bridge project. JIEAust, 32:167-182, Sept. 1960.

Delony, Eric, 1996, Context for World Heritage Bridges, A joint publication with TICCIH, International Council on Monuments and Sites, http://www.icomos.org/studies/bridges.htm

Dempster M.G. & Ozanne W. A. 1934 “Snowy River Flood of January 1934” The Commonwealth Engineer, March 1 1934 pp.227-234

Dempster, M.G. 1932 “Bridge over the Snowy River Woolgoolmerang, Victoria” The Commonwealth Engineer, September 1 1932 pp.33-8.



Dingle, T. and Rasmussuen, C. 1991, Vital Connections: Melbourne and its Board of Works 1891-1991, p.246, McPhee Gribble/Penguin, Melbourne.

Dufour, Frank, 1913, Bridge Engineering Roof Trusses, A manual of practical instructions in the calculation and design of steel truss and girder bridges for railroads and highways..., Chicago.

Dunstan, D., 1994, Better than Pommard, A History of Wine in Victoria, Australian Scholarly Publishing

Edmonds, Leigh, 2002, Moving Goods and People, An Historic Survey of Road and Rail Transport in Victoria: a cultural sites network background study, report to Historic Places Section Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

Electric Welding, 1934. Vol III (new series), no. 15, Feb. 1934.

Ellis, M.H. 1966, Metal Manufactures Limited: A Golden Jubilee History, 1916-1966 (Harbour Press, Sydney, c.1960)

Ferguson, J.M., 1992, Mephan Ferguson A Biography. Published by the Author.

Ford, O, and Vines, G. 1998, City of Brimbank Post-contact Cultural Heritage Study.

Geelong Advertiser, 19 June 1920

Harrigan, L. 1962, Victorian Railways to ’62, Victorian Railways Public Relations and Betterment Board.

Harrigan, L., 1962, Victorian Railways to '62, Victorian Railways Public Relations and Betterment Board, Melbourne.

Holgate, A. Taplin, G & Alves L. 1996, John Monash engineering to 1914, Monier Arch Bridge across the spillway of the Upper Coliban Reservoir, National Trust Classification Report file No. 6766.

Holgate, A. Taplin, G & Alves L. 1996, Monier Arch Bridge across the spillway of the Upper Coliban Reservoir, National Trust Classification Report file No. 6766.

Hughes, Helen, 1964, The Australian Iron and Steel Industry 1848-1962 (MUP, Parkville,)

Jack, Ian & Cremin, Aedeen, 1994, Australia’s Age of Iron History and Archaeology, Oxford University Press/Sydney University Press.

Jones, V. n.d., Solomon’s Ford: Which Ford, Which Solomon?.

Kernot, M E, Economic Railway Construction in Victoria. (including appendix)., Minutes of the Proceedings Institution of Civil Engineers, Volume. 129, Part 3, Session 1896-1897, pp280-285.



Kernot, W. C. 1875, Notes on Iron Arches, read to the Royal Society of Victoria 25 September 1875..

Kernot, W. C. 1898, On Some Common Errors in Iron Bridge Design. Melbourne.

Kernot, W. C. 1906. On Some Common Errors in Iron Bridge Design, 2nd edition. Melbourne, Ford

Kernot, William Charles, biographical entry in Physics in Australia to 1945, R.W. Home, with the assistance of Paula J. Needham, Australian Science Archives Project, 1995, http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/physics/P000538p.htm

Kernot, William Charles, MA, MCE, 1845-1909., Obituary, Kernot, W C, Minutes of the Proceedings, Institution of Civil Engineers, Volume 178, part 4, session 1908-1909. P 368.

Larson, Peter, 1998-2002, Convictions: Australian Shipping on the net http://www.blaxland.com/ozships/

Lay, M. G. 1984, History of Australian Roads, Special Report No. 29, Australian Road Research Council.

Lay, M.G. 2001, Conference Proceedings, 11th Engineering Heritage Conference, IE Australia.

Lay, M.G. 2002, pers com. Information on Victorian roads and bridges from research for a new history in preparation.

Lay, M.G. 2003, Melbourne Miles: The Story of Melbourne’s Roads, Australian Scholarly Publishing.

Lay, M.G.1993, Ways of the World, A History of the Worlds Roads and of the Vehicles That Used Them, Primavera Press.

Lennox D. 1850, Return of Public Works, Port Phillip Government Gazette pp 984-986

Lennox, D., Return of Public Works 12 November 1850 (1846 to 1850), Port Phillip Government Gazette pp 984-986,

Lewis, Miles, 1995, Melbourne: the City’s History and Development, City of Melbourne.

Lewis, Miles, nd, Australian Building, a cultural investigation, Web Publication (http://www.arbld.unimelb.edu.au/~milesbl/australian%20building/pdfs/1.00.pdf)

Linge, G.J.R., 1979, Industrial Awakening, the Geography of Manufacturing in Australia 1790-1890, Canberra, ANU Press.

Macedon & District Historical Society, n.d., A Brief History of the Gisborne and Mount Macedon Districts, http://www.gisbornemountmacedon.org.au/history.htm.



Manning I, 1991, The Open Street: public transport, motor cars and politics in Australian Cities, Transit Australia Publishing, Sydney.

McCall, R.W. & Atkinson, A.S. 1935 ‘Design and Construction of Grange Road Bridge, Melbourne’ The Commonwealth Engineer, February 1, 1935. Pp.207-213.

Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works, 1953, Melbourne Metropolitan Planning Scheme 1954, Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works.

Metropolitan Town Planning Commission, 1929, Plan of General Development: Melbourne, Report, Melbourne; Victorian Government Printer.

Miller, A. & Clark K. 2000, A Survey of Masonry and Concrete Arch Bridges in Virginia, Virginia Transport Research Council. Virginia Department of Transportation

Miller, AB 2002, A Management Plan for Historic Bridges in Virginia, Virginia Transportation Research Council Virginia Department of Transportation.

Moloney, D. & Vicky Johnson, 1998, Shire of Bulla Heritage Study.

Moloney, D. 1999, Fergussons Bridge, National Trust Classification Report.

Museum Victoria, Biggest Family Album – photographic database.

National Trust of Australia (Victoria) - classification & citation File No 2639; Survey and Identification Committee Data Form submitted by N.S. McAdam and J.W. Meehan, Shire of Barrabool, 20/11/1970.

National Trust of Victoria (Australia) Bridges Working Group, 1989, Numerical Rating System of Evaluation of Significant Bridges, Typescript Manuscript 19/6/1989

New South Wales, Railway Bridges Inquiry Commission. Report of the Royal Commission, & c. Sydney, 1886.

O’Connor, C., 1975. The Design of Bridge: An Historical Study,

O’Connor, C., 1983a. Historic Bridges of Australia, Technical Papers, IEAust, Queensland Division, 29(28):9-15, Sep.

O’Connor, C., 1983b. Register of Australian historic bridges. Canberra: IEAust

O’Connor, C., 1985. Spanning Two Centuries, Historic Bridges of Australia, University of Queensland Press.

O’Connor, C., 1986. The selection of bridges for the Australian register of the National Estate. University of Queensland, Department of Civil Engineering, Research Report No. CE69, Mar.



O’Connor, C., 1997. The history and development of bridging in Australia. Proc. Austroads Bridge Conference ‘Bridging the Millennia’, Sydney, Nov, p3-24

O'Connor, Colin, 1983, Register of Australian Historic Bridges, Institute of Engineers Australia. p. 65.

Phillips, Valmai, 1983, Bridges and Ferries of Australia, Bay Books, Sydney and London.

Pitt, William & John H. Grainger. 'Design for Swing Bridge over the Yarra'.

Priestly, S., 1984, The Victorians: Making Their Mark Fairfax, Syme & Weldon Associates.

Rasmussen, C. 1992, “A Tale of Two Bridges: The Hawthorn Bridge Controversy 1929-30, Victorian Historical Journal, Vol 63 No 1, June 1992.

Report of the Royal Commission into the failure of the Kings Bridge 1963, Melbourne; Victorian Government Printer.

Richardson, E. 1855. Keilor bridge. Trans Victorian Institute for the Advancement of Science, Paper XVII:149-53

Rudd Charles 1892-1900 Photographer: <http://www.statelibrary.vic.gov.au/pictoria/a/1/6/doc/a16765.html>

Russell, G., 1837, Plan of Settlement of Port Phillip (State Library of Victoria map collection)

Saul. Jon & Moore, Wendy, 1991, Down the Line to Upfield, a history of the North Melbourne – Coburg – Somerton Railway, Revised and enlarged edition. Coburg Public Transport Group. n.b. Royal Parade bridge over Royal Park – Fitzroy goods line rebuilt 1978 p.11.

Savage, P. With enthusiasm for Burning, the Story of Welding and Associated Industries in Australia.

Saxon, B. W., 1971. Early Victorian Bridges, 4th year thesis, Melbourne Teachers College.

Searle, G. 1982, John Monash, a biography, Melbourne University Press.

Searle, G. The Golden Age: A History of the Colony of Victoria, 1851-1861.

Smyth, D., 1979. The Bridges of the Yarra, Melbourne: The Author

Stacy Bill, 2002 Technical Division Transport SA., pers. comm.

The Australian Builder and Railway Chronicle: an illustrated weekly journal. : Vol. 1 (1859)-v. 2, no. 12 (Mar. 31, 1860), 30/4/1859 p.129; 1859-1962? - later titled Australian builder: a journal of architecture, building, engineering, scientific and mechanical art, No. 1 (Jan. 26, 1861)- (not yet examined) SLV. LTM 82; RARELTF 690.5 AU78



Trevor Budge & Associates, 1994, Macedon Ranges Heritage and Landscape Study, Shire of Macedon Ranges

Trevor Budge & Associates, 1994, Macedon Ranges Heritage and Landscape Study Shire of Macedon Ranges, pp 515-7, Appendix 1 p. 360

VicRoads Retirees Association, 1995, Reminiscences of life in the Country Roads Board. VicRoads Retirees Association, Kew, Vic. : SLTF 354.94008642 R28V

VicRoads, Bridges Database, Oct. 2001.

VicRoads, various dates, standard design drawings for timber and metal bridge, VicRoads Design Department, Camberwell.

Victoria, Parliament, 1860. “Votes and Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly Session 1859-60, Vol I. -prepared in response to a motion by a Mr Humffray passed on 16 Feb 1859 requesting the tabulation., covers all public monies expended on bridges from the independence of Victoria from NSW on I July 1851 to 1 Jan 1859. administered by the Surveyor-General before Capt Pasley's appointment as Commissioner of Public Works and the establishment of the structure of the Board of Land and Works.

Victoria. 1855 Select Committee (Royal Commission?) into Roads and Bridges Victorian Parliamentary Papers.

Victoria. 1859-1860. “Bridges, Return to an Order of the Legislative Assembly”. Votes and Proceedings, Legislative Assembly. Melbourne 11 Feb 1860

Victoria. Port Phillip Government Gazette Return of Public Works by David Lennox, the Superintendent of Bridges, pp 984-986

Victorian Government Gazette, 1958, Pages 68, 1598, 2472, 2656,

Victorian Government Gazette, Victorian Railways Annual Reports, Statement Showing Dates of Line Openings.

Victorian Government Gazette. Return of Victorian Public Servants, Public Service Board Victoria,

Victorian Parliamentary Papers, report of the Select Committee of the Legislative Committee on Bridge Contracts, 17 April 1860.

Victorian Public Records Series (VPRS) VA 669 Public Works Department, Public Records Office of Victoria.

Victorian Railways Bridge Maintenance Files and Contract Registers (Eng Ref No D12321 File 12/979



Vines, G. 1994, ‘Hamilton Highway, Woady Yaloak Bridge, Archaeological survey’. A survey of Aboriginal and European archaeological sites for the proposed realignment of the Hamilton Highway, Cressy, unpublished report for Vic Roads.

Vines, G., 2003, “Russells Bridge”, National Trust Classification Report.

Vines, G., 2003, Metal Road Bridges in Victoria, Part 1 - History of Metal Road Bridges in Victoria, report to National Trust of Australia (Victoria).

Waddell J.A.L. 1916, Bridge Engineering (New York : Wiley,)) Chapter LXXX (Glossary of Bridge Terminology).

Ward, A.C. & Associates, 1988, Study of Historic Railway Buildings and structures or V/Line (V/Line, March 1988)

Waugh. Andrew, 2001, Victorian Signalling Histories No 14, Version 1.0

Wieckhardt, G. 1990, Development of welding in steel construction, Trust News XVIII 9 April 1990 pp.22-3.

Williams, J.P, “The Theorem of Three Moments”, Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol LXXVI, c1912.



Index – engineers and bridges mentioned in the text

See also Chronology for dates of individual bridges.

A'Beckett, 82 Abery, 82 Ambyne Settlement Bridge, 57 Anderson, 74 Anderson C.R., 82 Anderson L.H., 82 Andrew, 82 Arundle Road Bridge, 32 Bagg, 82 Balbirnie’s Bridge, 13 Banksia Street Bridge, 77 Barrow, 83 Barwon Bridge, 19, 46, 53, 68, 82 Bell, 83 Bell Street Bridge, 60 Benalla Bridge, 17 Boggy Creek Bridge Nowa Nowa, 58 Bonnie Doon Bridge, 58 Botanic Gardens Bridge, 34 Boyd, 83 Brady, 83 Brees, 24 Brown, 24 Brunel, 37 Brunton’s Bridge, 35 Bryson, 37, 83 Bulla, 19 Bulla Bridge, 25 Burren, 62 Butler, 83 Byrne, 83 Calder, 52, 82, 83 Callaway, 83 Campbell, 83 Campbellfield Bridge, 34 Carter Gummow, 74 Catani, 83 Chambers, 83 Chaplin, 83 Chapman, 61 Cheynes Bridge, 55 Chinamans Bridge, 35 Chinamans Creek Bridge, 56 Church Street Bridge, 48, 68, 77 Clarke, 36, 83

Clayfield, 83 Cleeland, 83 Coane, 83 Comer, 84 Coode, 42 Corrigan, 84 Cottman, 58, 75 Cowley, 84 Craigieburn overpass, 63 Crawford River Bridge, Hotspur, 27 Crawley, 27, 84 Cressy Bridge, 49 Creswick Creek Bridge, 26 D’Ebro, 14 Dalrymple, 17 Daniel, 84 Darbyshire, 37, 84 Darlington Bridge, 32 Darwin, 53, 82, 84 Davidson, 84 Dempster, 84 Devlin, 84 Djerriwarrh Creek Bridge, 32 Dobson, 24, 84 Doran, 26 Dwyer Lloyd, 84 Easlick, 84 Edwards, 84 Elizabeth Street drain, 44 Ellerslie Bridge, 30, 32 Ewing, 84 Fairbairn, 67 Fairbairn & Sons, 19 Falls Bridge, 49 Farquahar Brothers, 35, 84 Farrer , 85 Ferguson, 20, 85 Fergusons Bridge, 56 first Princes Bridge, 14 Flinders Street gully, 44 Flinders Street Overpass, 58, 62 Footscray swing bridge, 18 Ford, 85 Francis, 15, 17, 18, 85 Fulton, 69



Gardiner, 85 Gay, 85 Gibbins, 85 Gibson, 85 Gilchrist, 85 Glenmona Bridge, 26, 31 Gore W.H., 85 Gore, Henry, 85 Goulburn River Bridge, Seymour, 55 Grainger, 14, 42 Grange Road Bridge, 76 Green, 85 Griffen, 27 Griffith, 85 Hamilton, 85 Harris, 85 Harrison, 86 Hawthorn Bridge, 28, 73, 75 Haylock, 86 Heale, 86 Heidelberg Bridge, 14 Heyington rail bridge, 81 Higgens, 86 Higginbotham, 37, 86 Holland, 86 Holmes, 86 Hotspur Bridge, 32 Howe, 14 Howlong Bridge, 33 Hughes Creek Bridge, 17 Hull, 86 Humble and Nicholson, 21, 23 Iron Bridge at Keilor, 25 Jarrett, 27 Jeffrey, 86 Jenking and Lewis, 32 Johnston Street Bridge, 28 Jorgenson’s Bridge Clunes, 26 Kalkallo, 19 Keilor Bridge, 68 Kelly, 86 Kempson, 86 Kermode, 28, 86 Kernot, M.E., 86 Kernot, W.C., 73, 81, 86 Kerr, 86 Keys, 86 Kilmore Creek, 16 King Street Bridge, 58, 62, 76 Kings Bridge, 33 Kings Bridge Bendigo, 74 Kororoit Cree Bridge South Gisbornek, 25 Kororoit Creek Bridge, Brooklyn, 32 Langlands, 69

Langlands & Co, 26 Larritt, 86 Le Cocq, 86 Lennox, 14, 34 Lindsay, 87 Lingford, 87 Little, 87 Lock, 87 Lockwood, 87 Lynchs Bridge, 17, 35, 75 MacCarthy, 87 Mains Bridge, 15 Maltby Bypass, 62 Manton, 12 Masterton, 87 Matheison, 87 Maughan, 87 Maxwell, 87 McKillops Bridge, 54, 75 McMillan’s Bridge, 21 McMillans Bridge, 49 Melbourne Bridge Company, 12, 13, 45 Meldrum, 87 Merri Creek Bridge, 15 Merritt, 87 Mia Mia Bridge, 26, 32, 73 Mickle, 87 Mollison, 12 Monash, 74, 82, 87 Monier, 74 Montgomery, 87 Moonee Ponds Creek, 15 Moonee Ponds Creek Bridge, 34 Morris, 87, 88 Mount Mistake, 63 Mountain, 88 Munro, 14 Muntz, 88 Muntz, F.P., 88 Munz, 26, 88 Murphy, 88 Murray, 88 New Crossing Place’, 16 Nicholson, 88 Nowlan, 88 O’Donnell, 82, 88 O’Hara, 88 Old Broadmeadows Bridge, 19 Oliver, 88 Opie, 88 Oughton, 31 Ovens River bridge, 17 Ozanne, 89 Peace Memorial Bridge, 77



Perrin, 61, 89 Perrott, 89 Perry, 11 Pitfield Bridge, 22 Pitfield Bridge, 49 Platt, 42 Plenty River Bridge, 18 Pollocksford Bridge, 49 Price, 20, 32 Princes Bridge, 34, 49, 76 Princes Highway Bridge Swan Reach, 76 Pykes Creek Reservoir Bridge, 75 Queen Street Falls, 13 Rawlinson, 89 Read, 89 Rettie, 89 Richardson, 89 Richardson River Donald, 27 Richmond Bridge, 34 Riddell’s Creek, 19 Robertson, 89 Robinson, 89 Rooney, 89 Rosson, 14 Rowand, 82, 89 Russells Bridge, 49 Ryley, 89 Saltwater River Railway Bridge, 68 Sambell A.K.T., 89 Sambell L.H., 89 Sando, 89 Scott, 90 Seabrook, 89 Shaw, 90 Shelford Bridge, 20, 82 Shelford Bridge, 49, 68 Short, 90 Speed, 90 Spencer Street Bridge, 61

Steavenson, 90 Stephens, 14 Studley Park Bridge, 28 Sunbury, 19 Sunbury Bridge, 25 Sunday Creek Bridge, 53 Sunday Creek Bridge, 75 Sutherland, 13 Thompson River Bridge, 59 Thompson River Swing Bridge, Sale, 42 Tompkins, 81, 90 Toolern Vale, 19 Tuxen, 90 Tyers, 90 Victoria Bridge Donnybrook, 19 Violet Town, 17 Waddell, 90 Warren, 90 Watson, 90 West, 90 West Gate Bridge, 33, 59, 64 Wildwood, 19 Wilkes, 31, 90 Wilson, 20, 21, 52, 90 Wilson,, 81 Wilson, CAC, 91 Wilson, CCP, 91 Wilson, Charles Corbett Powell, 82 Wimmera River Bridge Quantong, 58 Wingrove, 91 Woady Yallock Bridge, Cressy, 23 Wodonga Creek Hume Highway Bridge, 56 Wollaston Bridge, 24 Wollaston cable suspension bridge, 24 Woodcock, 91 Woods, 32 Woolsthorp Bridge, 30 Zeal, 91 Zeal Bridge, 32

Metal Bridge Study Part 1

Documents

Transcript of Metal Bridge Study Part 1