Over and above: 10 of Australia’s great architectural bridges
Australia’s best-known bridges are a mixed bag of heritage and modern treasures.
1 The Hampden wooden suspension bridge in Kangaroo Valley, about 160km south of Sydney, was built to replace a time-worn wooden span that had served mainly dairy farmers, cedar loggers and village folk. Six days after the new bridge opened in 1896, a flood washed away the old one. Today the only surviving timber-decked vehicular suspension bridge constructed in the 19th century in NSW stands as a gateway to the state’s south coast and Southern Highlands. Its Victorian architecture, featuring sandstone towers built in the fashion of a portcullis, is an attraction in itself. Kangaroo Valley is hemmed by sandstone cliffs and the town is a popular weekend destination for day-trippers, campers, caravaners and canoeists; visitnsw.com.
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2 South Australia’s iron lattice Algebuckina Bridge stretches for 587m across the Neales River floodplain about 70km southeast of Oodnadatta and 1100km north of Adelaide. It opened in January 1892, no doubt to the relief of the hundreds of workmen who had toiled through fearsome summers to replace an older ground-level structure prone to washouts. One worker reportedly died of “heat apoplexy” during the construction process, a Chinese gardener was slain in a tomahawk attack and another man was killed in an outbreak of violence among the fettlers. The bridge was once part of the old Ghan rail line before being replaced in 1981 by a shorter route north from Port Augusta. It’s a popular camping stop-off on the Oodnadatta track, which runs alongside; southaustralia.com.
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3 Sea Cliff Bridge, on Lawrence Hargrave Drive north of Wollongong, is a spectacular 665m ribbon of road that sits 41m above the waves crashing into Illawarra’s coast. It was built in 2004-05 to replace the old coast road, which was often closed by rockfalls. It is a mecca for sightseers, photographers, cyclists and whale-spotters and has starred in advertisements for Holden, Ferrari and Honda and insurance company Youi, plus Bollywood movie We Are Family and British motoring show Top Gear. It forms part of the Grand Pacific Drive, which covers 140km from Royal National Park to Shoalhaven, on the NSW south coast.
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4 Perth’s Matagarup pedestrian bridge, 360m long and 72m high, links the city’s CBD and Optus Stadium across the Swan River. Its arches, colourfully lit from sunset to midnight most nights to promote charities and sporting events, have become an Instagram hit. Matagarup is a Whadjuk word meaning “leg deep”, referring to a stretch of the Swan shallow enough to cross on foot. A zipline ride, stadium rooftop walk and bridge climb are all in the pipeline; experienceperth.com.
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5 Built by convict hands out of local sandstone between 1823 and 1825, Tasmania’s Richmond Bridge is the oldest large stone bridge in Australia. A 1963 black-and-white photograph by Max Dupain showing a man, a dog and a horse crossing the Coal River beside the heritage-listed structure is held by Sydney’s Mitchell Library. In 2005, the landmark was recognised as an outstanding historic place and added to the Australian National Heritage List. Nearby is Richmond Gaol, where visitors can sample a spot of solitary confinement on a self-guided tour; discovertasmania.com.au.
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6 Brisbane’s Story Bridge started life as a make-work program for the city’s unemployed men during the Depression. The labourers could not have foreseen the span’s future as a centrepiece in the Queensland capital’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display, nor its popularity as a tourist destination. Story Bridge Adventure Climb has 10 variations of its signature offering, including a night, dawn and twilight climb and abseil. From the top, take in the city skyline and enjoy sweeping views to the Glass House Mountains in the north, Moreton Bay in the east and the Scenic Rim ranges in the south.
storybridgeadventureclimb.com.au.
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7 Stoney Creek Bridge at Kuranda in the hinterland northwest of Cairns was a sensation when it opened in 1890. As the Cairns Post stated, the bridge, designed by JG Gwynneth, presented “an extremely light and elegant appearance”. The newspaper reported the new railway would “put the hitherto tiresome journey to the Barron Falls within the reach even of ladies and nervous old gentlemen”. The railway to the mining town of Herberton was an engineering and labouring feat, requiring the construction of 15 tunnels, 55 bridges and more than 150 cuttings. Today the iron horse takes thousands of visitors each year into the rainforest for a 34km, 1 ¾-hour trip to Kuranda. Thrillseekers can also take the glass-bottomed Skyrail, a 7.5km gondola ride from Smithfield in Cairns above the rainforest and including stops at Red Peak, Barron Falls and Kuranda; skyrail.com.au; ksr.com.au.
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8 The iron in Redesdale Bridge, a rare triple-through truss bridge with stiffening arches, as they are known, was not meant for the Victorian town at all. It was originally destined for a Yarra crossing between Hawthorn and Richmond. Fate intervened in 1859 when the ship on which the iron had sailed from England caught fire and was later scuppered in Melbourne’s Hobsons Bay. Meanwhile, Redesdale and neighbouring Mia Mia were growing, increasing foot and horse traffic across the tricky Campaspe River between the two. A bridge was needed, and there just happened to be a pile of iron, reclaimed from the bay, going cheap in Melbourne. It was duly purchased and the bridge eventually opened in 1868. Such were the fears about the water-damaged iron’s strength that cattle were not allowed to cross. At a 150th anniversary celebration in 2018, six trucks weighing a combined 250 tonnes were parked on the bridge in a show of strength. The span bowed by just 2.7cm. Redesdale, 115km north of Melbourne, boasts several bluestone buildings from the gold rush years and is a popular destination for artists; redesdale.net.
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9 Melbourne’s Webb Bridge crosses the Yarra, linking Docklands Park with the Docklands residential precinct, and is part of the Capital City Trail for walkers and cyclists. Its stunning design recalls eel traps used by the indigenous Koori people. It was built in 2004, giving new life to a decommissioned dock rail bridge of the same name. Much of the original structure has been kept and added to with metal overhead hoops. At the southern end, the bridge is enmeshed in a snaking curve of filigreed metal that leads to the bars, restaurants, shops and venues of Southbank. Designed by artist Robert Owen and architects Denton Corker Marshall, it won the RAIA Joseph Reed Urban Design Award 2005; visitmelbourne.com.
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10 No list of Australian bridges could omit Sydney’s famed coathanger. It is a drawcard gazed at, climbed, traversed, filmed, flown over and photographed by millions. Two thousand men worked for eight years to build it, driving six million rivets into 53,000 tonnes of steel. Its opening in 1932 attracted nearly one million people. The Labor Daily newspaper of March 19, 1932, said “the building of this gigantic bridge is just as much a national milestone as Anzac”. Part of chief engineer JCC Bradfield’s vision was that it be used “at times of national rejoicing”, and the New Year’s Eve fireworks certainly fit the bill. Throughout the year, BridgeClimb Sydney takes visitors to the top of the upper arch for day, night, twilight, dawn and special occasion climbs. Climb the 200 steps to a lookout at the top of the south pylon for more views and an exhibition on its construction and history.