Historic bridges of New South Wales facts for kids

Sydney Harbour Bridge

This article is about old bridges in New South Wales, Australia. It lists bridges for cars, trains, and people walking. Most of these bridges were built before World War II (1939).

Building Bridges in New South Wales

Building bridges in New South Wales started because the first settlers needed them. Over time, bridge building got much better. At first, people didn't have many tools or materials. But as time passed, they learned new ways to build. They also found better materials. This helped them cross bigger rivers and reach new areas.

The NSW Public Works Department was in charge of building roads and bridges. The government didn't have much money. So, they wanted bridges built as cheaply as possible. The cheapest bridges were often made of local timber. These were called timber truss bridges.

Every bridge is special. How a bridge is built depends on the tools, skills, and materials available. It also depends on where people need to go.

When Australia was first settled in 1788, it was far from Europe and North America. This meant new building ideas and materials like cast iron were hard to get. Builders in NSW had to be clever and use what they had.

New South Wales has tricky rivers. They can have very little water most of the year. But then, big floods can happen about once every ten years. Early settlers often built simple bridges. But these would often wash away in heavy rain. The government realized this was stopping the area from growing.

To fix these problems, NSW builders learned from others. They also found ways to make new ideas work for Australia's unique conditions. For example, some amazing 19th-century railway bridges were built. These were designed by British engineers working far from home. Today, NSW also has modern cable-stayed bridges.

Australia grew around towns near the coast. Roads to inland towns were very basic. Early bridges often used 18th-century European ideas. These included masonry arches (stone arches) and cast iron. But cast iron was new and not made much in NSW.

In the early days, NSW had many convict labourers. There was a big need to build things quickly. Since there was a lot of timber, basic wooden bridges were common. But as the colony grew, people wanted stronger bridges. As skills for cutting and shaping stone improved, stone bridges were designed. Metal materials had to be imported. So, iron bridges were rare. They were only used for very important crossings.

Timber truss bridges were so common that NSW was known as the "timber bridge state."

The list below shows how bridge building in New South Wales changed over time. It starts with the oldest bridges and moves to newer ones.

Historic Bridges in New South Wales

Sorted by when they were built

Built	Name	Location	Image	Construction type	Length	Use	In use	Comments	Ref	Coords
1833	Lennox Bridge	Glenbrook		stone arch	6 metres (20 ft)	Road	Yes		see article	33°45′15″S 150°37′56″E / 33.75417°S 150.63222°E / -33.75417; 150.63222
1836	Lansdowne Bridge	Lansvale		stone arch	33.5 m	Road	Yes	Largest stone arch bridge in Australia.		33°53′24″S 150°58′01″E / 33.89000°S 150.96694°E / -33.89000; 150.96694
1839	Lennox Bridge	Parramatta		stone arch	27 metres (89 ft)	Road	Yes			33°48′39″S 150°00′16″E / 33.81083°S 150.00444°E / -33.81083; 150.00444
1858	Pyrmont Bridge	Darling Harbour		Ironbark timber with steel centre swing span	369 metres (1,211 ft)	Road	Yes	One of the largest swing bridges in the world when built. It was also one of the first to use electricity. Now for people walking and bikes only.		33°52′14″S 151°12′02″E / 33.87056°S 151.20056°E / -33.87056; 151.20056
1863	Picton Viaduct	Picton		stone arch		Rail	Yes	Crosses Stonequarry Creek.		34°10′40″S 150°36′42″E / 34.17778°S 150.61167°E / -34.17778; 150.61167
1863	Menangle Railway Bridge	Menangle				Rail	Yes		see article	34°07′05″S 150°44′37″E / 34.11806°S 150.74361°E / -34.11806; 150.74361
1867	Victoria Bridge	Penrith		wrought iron girder		Road	Yes	Also known as Nepean River Bridge.	see article	33°44′46″S 150°40′54″E / 33.74611°S 150.68167°E / -33.74611; 150.68167
1867	Knapsack Viaduct	Lapstone		stone arch		Rail (Later road)	Yes	Now for people walking only.	see article	33°46′00″S 150°37′00″E / 33.76667°S 150.61667°E / -33.76667; 150.61667
1867	Prince Alfred Bridge	Gundagai		underslung wrought iron Warren continuous truss & timber approaches	921 metres (3,022 ft)	Road	No	Possibly the oldest iron truss bridge in NSW.		35°04′25″S 148°06′26″E / 35.07361°S 148.10722°E / -35.07361; 148.10722
1869	Zig Zag Viaducts	Clarence		Stone		Rail	Yes			33°28′19″S 150°11′43″E / 33.471939°S 150.195326°E / -33.471939; 150.195326
1869	Farmers Creek Viaduct	Bowenfels		Stone		Rail	No			33°28′22″S 150°07′38″E / 33.472773°S 150.127141°E / -33.472773; 150.127141
1870	Marrangaroo Creek Viaduct	Marrangaroo		Stone		Rail	No			33°26′17″S 150°06′44″E / 33.438177°S 150.112180°E / -33.438177; 150.112180
1870	Denison Bridge	Bathurst		steel American Pratt truss		Road	Yes	Now for people walking only.	see article	33°25′02″S 149°35′31″E / 33.41722°S 149.59194°E / -33.41722; 149.59194
1870	Mudgee Road Bridge	Wallerawang		Stone		Road	Yes (private)			33°24′47″S 150°05′54″E / 33.412946°S 150.098262°E / -33.412946; 150.098262
1870	Coxs River Bridge	Wallerawang		Stone		Rail	No			33°24′20″S 150°04′59″E / 33.405507°S 150.083188°E / -33.405507; 150.083188
1874	Windsor Bridge	Windsor				Road	Yes			33°36′11″S 150°49′20″E / 33.603163°S 150.822183°E / -33.603163; 150.822183
1881	Nowra Bridge	Nowra		Steel Whipple Truss	342 metres (1,122 ft)	Road	Yes		see article	34°51′51″S 150°36′07″E / 34.86417°S 150.60194°E / -34.86417; 150.60194
1881	Gladesville Bridge (the 1881 bridge)	Drummoyne				Road	No	Taken down when the new road bridge opened in 1964.	see article	33°50′32″S 151°08′35″E / 33.84222°S 151.14306°E / -33.84222; 151.14306
1881	Dubbo Rail Bridge	Dubbo		wrought iron lattice girder bridge		Rail	Yes			32°14′38″S 149°35′39″E / 32.24389°S 149.59417°E / -32.24389; 149.59417
1882	Peel River Bridge	Tamworth		iron lattice girder	main 159ft - over 3000ft	Rail	Yes			31°05′06″S 150°55′23″E / 31.084959°S 150.923141°E / -31.084959; 150.923141
1885	Como Bridge (formerly Como Railway Bridge)	Como - Oatley spanning Georges River		lattice girder bridge		Pedestrian, Viaduct (formerly Rail)	Yes	This bridge is important because it was the longest single track lattice girder bridge in NSW. It helped open up Sydney's southern suburbs in the 1880s. It now carries a water pipeline and is a path for people walking across the Georges River.		33°59′42.3″S 151°04′14.8″E / 33.995083°S 151.070778°E / -33.995083; 151.070778
1886	three trestles	Main North Line		timber Queen post truss viaduct on wooden trestles		Rail	No	Three of only five bridges built.		29°38′17″S 151°46′50″E / 29.638055°S 151.780665°E / -29.638055; 151.78066529°34′55″S 151°48′09″E / 29.581967°S 151.802520°E / -29.581967; 151.80252029°12′01″S 152°01′00″E / 29.200395°S 152.016721°E / -29.200395; 152.016721
1886	Meadowbank Bridge	Meadowbank		Truss Bridge		Rail	Yes	Now for bikes and people walking only. A new John Whitton Bridge was built in 1980.		33°49′19″S 151°05′20″E / 33.82194°S 151.08889°E / -33.82194; 151.08889
1888	Brewarrina Bridge	Brewarrina		wrought iron lift bridge with timber beam approaches	91 metres (299 ft)	Road	Yes	Now for people walking only.		29°56′51″S 146°51′48″E / 29.94750°S 146.86333°E / -29.94750; 146.86333
1888	Mulga St Bridge	Oatley		Double stone culvert		Road	Yes	The stonework is still visible from Myles Dunphy Reserve, even though it's covered by a modern road.		33°58′49.8″S 151°4′40.0″E / 33.980500°S 151.077778°E / -33.980500; 151.077778
1888	Sunnyside	Tenterfield		timber Queen post truss viaduct on stone trestles		rail	no			28°59′08″S 151°56′58″E / 28.985426°S 151.949414°E / -28.985426; 151.949414
1891	Murrumbidgee River Rail	Wagga Wagga		wrought iron lattice truss		Rail	No	Removed in 2007.	see article	35°6′56.53″S 147°22′58.16″E / 35.1157028°S 147.3828222°E / -35.1157028; 147.3828222
1895	Wilcannia Bridge	Wilcannia		steel truss bridge		Road	No	You can still visit it. It used to carry the Barrier Highway over the Darling River.		31°33′36.7″S 143°22′46.7″E / 31.560194°S 143.379639°E / -31.560194; 143.379639
1895 Mar	Tharwa Bridge	Tharwa		wooden Allan Truss		Road	Yes		see article	35°30′31″S 149°04′14″E / 35.508579°S 149.070539°E / -35.508579; 149.070539
1895 Nov	Hampden Bridge	Wagga Wagga		wooden Allan Truss	100.5 metres (330 ft)	Road	Yes	Closed to the public. It was planned to be taken down in 2013.	see article	35°6′2.53″S 147°22′6.68″E / 35.1007028°S 147.3685222°E / -35.1007028; 147.3685222
1897	Victoria Bridge	Picton		wooden Allan Truss	80 metres (260 ft)	Road	Yes	Tallest trestle (support structure) in NSW.	see article	34°10′49″S 150°36′38″E / 34.18028°S 150.61056°E / -34.18028; 150.61056
1897	Wallaby Rocks Bridge (Turon River)	Wallaby Rocks		Allan timber truss	106.7 metres (350 ft)	Road	Yes			33°04′26″S 149°38′59″E / 33.07389°S 149.64972°E / -33.07389; 149.64972
1898	Hampden Bridge	Kangaroo Valley		suspension with sandstone turrets		Road	Yes		see article	34°43′40″S 150°31′16″E / 34.72778°S 150.52111°E / -34.72778; 150.52111
1898	Morpeth Bridge	Morpeth		Allan truss	820 feet (250 m)	Road	Yes		see article	32°43′26″S 151°37′36″E / 32.7237684729°S 151.6265683110°E / -32.7237684729; 151.6265683110
1901	Hinton Bridge	Hinton		Allan truss	178.6 metres (586 ft)	Road	Yes			32°42′51″S 151°38′52″E / 32.71417°S 151.64778°E / -32.71417; 151.64778
1901	De Burghs Bridge (the 1901 bridge)	West Pymble				Road	No	Replaced by a new road bridge in 1967. The old bridge was destroyed by a bushfire in January 1994.	see article	33°46′32.8″S 151°8′12″E / 33.775778°S 151.13667°E / -33.775778; 151.13667
1902	Gundagai Rail Bridge	Gundagai		timber Howe deck trusses	819 metres (2,687 ft)	Rail	No	Crosses over the Murrumbidgee River.		33°04′23″S 148°06′17″E / 33.07306°S 148.10472°E / -33.07306; 148.10472
1903	St Albans Bridge	St Albans		DeBurgh timber truss		Road	Yes			33°17′39″S 150°58′22″E / 33.29417°S 150.97278°E / -33.29417; 150.97278
1903	Maldon suspension bridge	Maldon				Road	No			34°12′08″S 150°37′56″E / 34.202084°S 150.632313°E / -34.202084; 150.632313
1911	Scabbing Flat Bridge	Dubbo		timber 'dare type' truss		Road	Yes			32°25′50″S 148°48′36″E / 32.430650°S 148.809958°E / -32.430650; 148.809958
1914	Mungindi Bridge	Mungindi		timber 'dare type' truss		Road	Yes	A new bridge is being built to replace it.		28°58′33″S 148°59′05″E / 28.97583°S 148.98472°E / -28.97583; 148.98472
1916	Rawsonville Bridge	Dubbo		timber 'dare type' truss		Road	Yes			32°11′28″S 148°26′59″E / 32.191235°S 148.449709°E / -32.191235; 148.449709
1918	Fullers Bridge	Chatswood West				Road	Yes		see article	33°47′34″S 151°09′25″E / 33.79278°S 151.15694°E / -33.79278; 151.15694
1924	Mulwala Bridge	Mulwala		Steel Pratt Truss		Road	Yes		see article	36°00′15″S 146°00′15″E / 36.00417°S 146.00417°E / -36.00417; 146.00417
1924	Roseville Bridge (the 1924 bridge)	Roseville Chase				Road	No	Replaced by a new road bridge in 1966. It was used as a pedestrian bridge until it was taken down in 1974.	see article	33°46′27″S 151°12′18.5″E / 33.77417°S 151.205139°E / -33.77417; 151.205139
1927	Subway Lane bridge	Homebush				Rail	Yes			33°51′58″S 151°05′02.5″E / 33.86611°S 151.084028°E / -33.86611; 151.084028
1929	Tom Uglys Bridge (the 1929 bridge)	Blakehurst		Truss bridge	499 metres (1,637 ft)	Road	Yes		see article	34°00′12″S 151°06′48″E / 34.00336111°S 151.1133778°E / -34.00336111; 151.1133778
1932	Sydney Harbour Bridge	Sydney		steel through arch bridge		Road	Yes		see article	33°51′29″S 151°12′39″E / 33.85806°S 151.21083°E / -33.85806; 151.21083
1932	Grafton	Grafton		Bascule		Road (upper deck) and Rail (lower deck)	Yes		see article	29°41′52.6″S 152°56′31.5″E / 29.697944°S 152.942083°E / -29.697944; 152.942083
1935	Ryde Bridge (the 1935 bridge)	Ryde		lift bridge		Road	Yes		see article	33°49′25″S 151°05′42″E / 33.82361°S 151.09500°E / -33.82361; 151.09500
1939	Long Gully Bridge (Northbridge)	Northbridge		concrete arch		Road	Yes	This bridge was rebuilt and replaced an older bridge from 1892.		33°48′59″S 151°12′44″E / 33.81639°S 151.21222°E / -33.81639; 151.21222

Allan Truss Bridges

The Allan truss bridge is named after Percy Allan. He was a famous Australian engineer. His bridge design used both timber (wood) and iron parts. The timber parts were designed to be pushed together (compression). The iron parts were designed to be pulled apart (tension).

Allan's design came after a lot of testing. Professor Warren and his students at Sydney University tested Australian hardwoods (strong timbers). They found that ironbark wood was very strong.

Other good things about Allan's design:

• It needed less maintenance later on.
• It was easier to replace parts.
• The trusses were built in pairs. This meant workers could fix one part without needing to support the whole bridge. This was a big improvement from older timber designs.
• Allan's design was also very cost-effective, meaning it saved money.

The Hampden Bridge in New South Wales was one of the first larger bridges built using Percy Allan’s design. The Tharwa Bridge was built even earlier using his design.

Dare Truss Bridges

Harvey Dare was another important engineer in New South Wales in the early 1900s. He worked for the Public Works Department. He designed bridges and created the "Dare Truss."

The Dare Truss was similar to the Allan Truss. But it had improvements that made it stronger. It was also easier to maintain. These changes were a big step forward in timber truss bridge design. This makes Dare trusses very important in engineering history.

In 1998, 27 out of the 40 Dare trusses built in NSW were still standing. Overall, 82 timber truss road bridges were still around, out of more than 400 that had been built.