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
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
BIOSIS R E S E A R C H ii
Metal Bridges in Victoria Gary Vines
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
BIOSIS R E S E A R C H iii
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
BIOSIS R E S E A R C H iv
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
BIOSIS R E S E A R C H v
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
BIOSIS R E S E A R C H vi
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
BIOSIS R E S E A R C H 1
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.
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Index – engineers and bridges mentioned in the text
See also Chronology for dates of individual bridges.
A'Beckett, 82 Clayfield, 83
Abery, 82 Cleeland, 83
Ambyne Settlement Bridge, 57 Coane, 83
Anderson, 74 Comer, 84
Anderson C.R., 82 Coode, 42
Anderson L.H., 82 Corrigan, 84
Andrew, 82 Cottman, 58, 75
Arundle Road Bridge, 32 Cowley, 84
Bagg, 82 Craigieburn overpass, 63
Balbirnie’s Bridge, 13 Crawford River Bridge, Hotspur, 27
Banksia Street Bridge, 77 Crawley, 27, 84
Barrow, 83 Cressy Bridge, 49
Barwon Bridge, 19, 46, 53, 68, 82 Creswick Creek Bridge, 26
Bell, 83 D’Ebro, 14
Bell Street Bridge, 60 Dalrymple, 17
Benalla Bridge, 17 Daniel, 84
Boggy Creek Bridge Nowa Nowa, 58 Darbyshire, 37, 84
Bonnie Doon Bridge, 58 Darlington Bridge, 32
Botanic Gardens Bridge, 34 Darwin, 53, 82, 84
Boyd, 83 Davidson, 84
Brady, 83 Dempster, 84
Brees, 24 Devlin, 84
Brown, 24 Djerriwarrh Creek Bridge, 32
Brunel, 37 Dobson, 24, 84
Brunton’s Bridge, 35 Doran, 26
Bryson, 37, 83 Dwyer Lloyd, 84
Bulla, 19 Easlick, 84
Bulla Bridge, 25 Edwards, 84
Burren, 62 Elizabeth Street drain, 44
Butler, 83 Ellerslie Bridge, 30, 32
Byrne, 83 Ewing, 84
Calder, 52, 82, 83 Fairbairn, 67
Callaway, 83 Fairbairn & Sons, 19
Campbell, 83 Falls Bridge, 49
Campbellfield Bridge, 34 Farquahar Brothers, 35, 84
Carter Gummow, 74 Farrer, 85
Catani, 83 Ferguson, 20, 85
Chambers, 83 Fergusons Bridge, 56
Chaplin, 83 first Princes Bridge, 14
Chapman, 61 Flinders Street gully, 44
Cheynes Bridge, 55 Flinders Street Overpass, 58, 62
Chinamans Bridge, 35 Footscray swing bridge, 18
Chinamans Creek Bridge, 56 Ford, 85
Church Street Bridge, 48, 68, 77 Francis, 15, 17, 18, 85
Clarke, 36, 83 Fulton, 69
Gardiner, 85 Langlands & Co, 26

Gay, 85 Larritt, 86
Gibbins, 85 Le Cocq, 86
Gibson, 85 Lennox, 14, 34
Gilchrist, 85 Lindsay, 87
Glenmona Bridge, 26, 31 Lingford, 87
Gore W.H., 85 Little, 87
Gore, Henry, 85 Lock, 87
Goulburn River Bridge, Seymour, 55 Lockwood, 87
Grainger, 14, 42 Lynchs Bridge, 17, 35, 75
Grange Road Bridge, 76 MacCarthy, 87
Green, 85 Mains Bridge, 15
Griffen, 27 Maltby Bypass, 62
Griffith, 85 Manton, 12
Hamilton, 85 Masterton, 87
Harris, 85 Matheison, 87
Harrison, 86 Maughan, 87
Hawthorn Bridge, 28, 73, 75 Maxwell, 87
Haylock, 86 McKillops Bridge, 54, 75
Heale, 86 McMillan’s Bridge, 21
Heidelberg Bridge, 14 McMillans Bridge, 49
Heyington rail bridge, 81 Melbourne Bridge Company, 12, 13, 45
Higgens, 86 Meldrum, 87
Higginbotham, 37, 86 Merri Creek Bridge, 15
Holland, 86 Merritt, 87
Holmes, 86 Mia Mia Bridge, 26, 32, 73
Hotspur Bridge, 32 Mickle, 87
Howe, 14 Mollison, 12
Howlong Bridge, 33 Monash, 74, 82, 87
Hughes Creek Bridge, 17 Monier, 74
Hull, 86 Montgomery, 87
Humble and Nicholson, 21, 23 Moonee Ponds Creek, 15
Iron Bridge at Keilor, 25 Moonee Ponds Creek Bridge, 34
Jarrett, 27 Morris, 87, 88
Jeffrey, 86 Mount Mistake, 63
Jenking and Lewis, 32 Mountain, 88
Johnston Street Bridge, 28 Munro, 14
Jorgenson’s Bridge Clunes, 26 Muntz, 88
Kalkallo, 19 Muntz, F.P., 88
Keilor Bridge, 68 Munz, 26, 88
Kelly, 86 Murphy, 88
Kempson, 86 Murray, 88
Kermode, 28, 86 New Crossing Place’, 16
Kernot, M.E., 86 Nicholson, 88
Kernot, W.C., 73, 81, 86 Nowlan, 88
Kerr, 86 O’Donnell, 82, 88
Keys, 86 O’Hara, 88
Kilmore Creek, 16 Old Broadmeadows Bridge, 19
King Street Bridge, 58, 62, 76 Oliver, 88
Kings Bridge, 33 Opie, 88
Kings Bridge Bendigo, 74 Oughton, 31
Kororoit Cree Bridge South Gisbornek, 25 Ovens River bridge, 17
Kororoit Creek Bridge, Brooklyn, 32 Ozanne, 89
Langlands, 69 Peace Memorial Bridge, 77
Perrin, 61, 89 Steavenson, 90

Perrott, 89 Stephens, 14
Perry, 11 Studley Park Bridge, 28
Pitfield Bridge, 22 Sunbury, 19
Pitfield Bridge, 49 Sunbury Bridge, 25
Platt, 42 Sunday Creek Bridge, 53
Plenty River Bridge, 18 Sunday Creek Bridge, 75
Pollocksford Bridge, 49 Sutherland, 13
Price, 20, 32 Thompson River Bridge, 59
Princes Bridge, 34, 49, 76 Thompson River Swing Bridge, Sale, 42
Princes Highway Bridge Swan Reach, 76 Tompkins, 81, 90
Pykes Creek Reservoir Bridge, 75 Toolern Vale, 19
Queen Street Falls, 13 Tuxen, 90
Rawlinson, 89 Tyers, 90
Read, 89 Victoria Bridge Donnybrook, 19
Rettie, 89 Violet Town, 17
Richardson, 89 Waddell, 90
Richardson River Donald, 27 Warren, 90
Richmond Bridge, 34 Watson, 90
Riddell’s Creek, 19 West, 90
Robertson, 89 West Gate Bridge, 33, 59, 64
Robinson, 89 Wildwood, 19
Rooney, 89 Wilkes, 31, 90
Rosson, 14 Wilson, 20, 21, 52, 90
Rowand, 82, 89 Wilson,, 81
Russells Bridge, 49 Wilson, CAC, 91
Ryley, 89 Wilson, CCP, 91
Saltwater River Railway Bridge, 68 Wilson, Charles Corbett Powell, 82
Sambell A.K.T., 89 Wimmera River Bridge Quantong, 58
Sambell L.H., 89 Wingrove, 91
Sando, 89 Woady Yallock Bridge, Cressy, 23
Scott, 90 Wodonga Creek Hume Highway Bridge, 56
Seabrook, 89 Wollaston Bridge, 24
Shaw, 90 Wollaston cable suspension bridge, 24
Shelford Bridge, 20, 82 Woodcock, 91
Shelford Bridge, 49, 68 Woods, 32
Short, 90 Woolsthorp Bridge, 30
Speed, 90 Zeal, 91
Spencer Street Bridge, 61 Zeal Bridge, 32

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Metal Road Bridges in Victoria

Part 1 - HISTORY OF METAL ROAD BRIDGES IN

National Trust of Australia (Victoria)

George Deutsch George Deutsch Consulting Pty Ltd

Matthew Churchward Museum Victoria

Maurice Lowe VicRoads

Max Lay RACV

Peter Mills Heritage Victoria

Geoff Sutherland Heritage Victoria

Figure 1: cover: Old Barwon Bridge Geelong

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

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

Stage Two is intended to involve the actual assessment of significance and

Scope and definition

Historic Bridge Survey

PART I: HISTORY OF METAL ROAD BRIDGES IN VICTORIA

Explorations and pioneers

Beginnings of route development

Short-lived convict settlements at Sorrento in 1803 and Corinella in 1824 produced no

In 1824 Hamilton Hume and William Hovell were commissioned by Governor

Figure 2: Map of explorers routes

The contemporary settlements of Port Fairy and Portland also determined

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

Pre Gold Rush Bridges

The routes were:

There are also listed details of:

Bridges mentioned amongst ‘Other Works’ included:

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

Surveys and release of land

• village reserves within each rural parish

As well as the ad hoc creation of settlement at river crossing places, specific

Transport and Communication

St. Kilda Road

A private entity, the Melbourne Bridge Company was formed by Melbourne

Figure 4: Lennox’s Princes Bridge in 1855.

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

Western and Northern hinterland

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

Geelong & Western District,

Figure 8: Shelford Bridge over the Leigh River.

Figure 9: McMillans Bridge in about 1974.

Figure 10: Pitfield Bridge

Figure 11: Cressy Bridge

Figure 12: Old Iron Bridge over the Maribyrnong at Keilor

Cross Country Routes

Figure 13: Mia Mia Bridge near Redesdale

Figure 14: Hotspur Bridge in the 1870s.

Mail and coach routes

The establishment of settlement in Victoria preceded the development of almost all

down stream of Seymour), he was confronted by a group of Aborigines including the

Figure 16: Glenmona or Bung Bong Bridge

Wide flood plains

The pioneering nature of bridge building in Victoria (as elsewhere in Australia)

reliable communication to the mining centres was developed in attempts to maintain

Post Gold (industrial boom)

Export and trade

Settlement by Anglo-Europeans in the mid-nineteenth century in Victoria gave the

Specific Government policies were implemented in order to encourage the occupation

Roads and railways

Table 1: Years of opening of main rail lines

Line Year constructed

Table 2: Government funding to road and rail

Year Railway funding Road funding