The Ocean St bridge is a vital link across Narrabeen Lagoon
Prior to 1928, anyone wanting to get from Ocean St at Narrabeen to North Narrabeen if the lagoon was open to the sea either had to get wet or to walk all the way to the Pittwater Rd bridge.
Manly
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Prior to 1928, anyone wanting to get from Ocean St at Narrabeen to North Narrabeen if the lagoon was open to the sea either had to get wet or to walk all the way to the Pittwater Rd bridge.
And if it hadn’t been for the Salvation Army, it would have taken even longer for the Ocean St bridge to be built.
Not that the Army was acting out of altruism – it owned land north of the lagoon stretching as far north as Mona Vale that it wanted to subdivide and the Ocean St bridge would increase the value of its landholdings.
In 19211, the North Narrabeen Improvement Committee – one of the earliest progress associations in the area – urged Warringah Council to build a footbridge over the outlet of Narrabeen Lagoon.
In 1923 the council asked the Salvation Army to contribute to the cost of a road bridge across the lagoon from Ocean St, given that the Army was subdividing land on the northern side of the lagoon and would benefit from the bridge’s construction.
In 1924, the Salvation Army offered to contribute £1,500 towards the construction of a bridge over the lagoon opposite Ocean Street, provided the work was started within 12 months and was completed within three years.
The council was never going to meet that deadline but the Army had reason to overlook that – s well as wanting the bridge to be built, it also needed the council’s approval to dredge the lagoon to build up the height of some of its low-lying land, to which the council agreed.
In early 1926, Warringah Council again asked the Salvation Army to pay half the cost of building the Ocean St bridge and furnished the Army a plan of the proposed bridge.
The council’s proposal was that the Army would pay the full cost of the work and the council would repay the Army half the cost over 10 years.
By early 1927, plans for the Ocean St bridge had been finalised, along with the Army’s in-principle agreement to pay for the construction and for the council to repay its half of the cost over time, although it was not until June 1927 that the Army formally approved the deal.
The council immediately sought tenders for the work and in August 1927 the council and the Army approved the tender of James Shedden of £2459.12.11 for the construction of the timber bridge, and John McDonald of £3795 for the construction of the approaches north and south of the bridge.
The following month, the Army stated its intention of hold the first auction of its subdivision – the Narrabeen Park Estate – by Christmas.
McDonald was given permission to quarry stone from Narrabeen Headland for use in the construction of the approaches to the bridge.
To oversee the construction of the Ocean St bridge, the council, with the Army’s approval, appointed a Clerk of Works for as long as the council’s chief engineer thought it necessary.
At the same time as the bridge was being built Warringah Council upgraded Ocean St from Pittwater Rd to the edge of the lagoon, which the Salvation Army arranged for what are now Narrabeen Park Pde and Sydney Rd between the northern side of the lagoon to Sheep Station Hill to be widened and upgraded.
The Army also agreed to pay half the cost of tarring the road if the council undertook the work.
The first sale of the Salvation Army’s Narrabeen Park Estate took place on January 28, 1928, even though the bridge was far from finished.
A press report ahead of the sale stated: “This estate is on the high land just north of Narrabeen Beach and has Warriewood Beach immediately in front of it.
“The main Pittwater road passes it and the new road over the bridge closer to the beach runs through the estate.
“Four business sites and 58 residential lots are to be sold in this subdivision, which is on a slope of the hill that gives it wide views of beach and lake.”
The first auction was followed in quick succession by three more.
Once the Ocean Street bridge was completed, the council erected signs at both ends of it” “No Overtaking, nor Parking of Cars on Approaches”.
The decking of the bridge was of heavy timber planks that soon loosened under the onslaught of so many vehicles using the bridge, leading a loud rattling noise that kept locals awake at night.
In 1944, a Warringah councillor took objection to the fact that people were fishing and jumping from the bridge and insisted that the council forbid the practices and erect signs to that effect and within 15 months, two people had been fined for fishing from the bridge.
It’s not known if anyone has been fined for jumping from it – a practice that continues to the present day.
By the early 1960s, the Ocean St bridge was nearing the end of its useful life but it was not until 1966 that Warringah Council sought tenders for the construction of a new bridge.
In July 1967, it was announced that the contract had been awarded to D. G. Sundin & Co, of Pennant Hills, who offered to build a 13.4m-wide concrete bridge for $125,419 – just a few thousand dollars more than the council’s estimate.
With variations to the contract sought by the council and unforeseen “extras”, the final cost of the new bridge was $140,000.
Although the work was not yet complete, the bridge was opened to cars in October 1967 and to buses in December that year.
In 2019, the draft Narrabeen Lagoon Floodplain Risk Management Study for Northern Beaches Council indicated that the northern approaches to the Ocean St bridge encroaches 42m into the lagoon, constricting the outward flow of water from the lagoon to the ocean and stated that removing the northern approaches and extending the bridge proper would lower the risk of flooding in the Narrabeen-Warriewood floodplain but would cost $5.07million excluding GST.
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