The Arapuni Suspension Bridge is located just downstream from the

Arapuni Power Station Arapuni Power Station is a hydroelectric power station on the Waikato River, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is owned and operated by Mercury Energy, and is the seventh and penultimate hydroelectric power station on the Waikato River. It ...

on the

Waikato River The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...

in the

South Waikato District South Waikato District is a local government district in the Waikato Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located between the cities of Hamilton to the north, Rotorua to the east, Taupo to the south and Ruapehu District to the west. ...

of New Zealand. The suspension bridge in the bush-lined gorge was built in the mid-1920s to allow workers from the village of Arapuni to access the power station construction site.

History

The bridge spans the Arapuni gorge about downstream from the Arapuni Dam. As it was a relatively simple ancillary structure associated with what at the time was New Zealand's largest civil engineering project, the suspension bridge itself received little mention in progress reports and media accounts.http://www.historic.org.nz/TheRegister/RegisterSearch/RegisterResults.aspx?RID=4168 Historic Places Trust website on Arapuni Suspension Bridge. Retrieved 16 January 2010 Construction started in May 1925 and finished sometime in the three months after April 1926. The bridge does not seem to have had a formal opening function. The bridge connected "top camp" (which eventually became the Arapuni township) with the western side of the gorge. "Top camp" accommodated the workmen employed on construction of the

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure th ...

, powerhouse and

penstock A penstock is a sluice or gate or intake structure that controls water flow, or an enclosed pipe that delivers water to hydro turbines and sewerage systems. The term is inherited from the earlier technology of mill ponds and watermills. H ...

. The bridge was registered a Category II historic place by the Historic Places Trust on 21 April 1994.

Engineering

The bridge was designed by David Rowell & Co. from

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

, London. The structure is likely to have been shipped prefabricated from England, and was erected by the British contractors for the Arapuni dam and power station project,

Armstrong Whitworth Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles and ...

. It is one of the longest suspension footbridges in the country.Bridging the Gap: Early Bridges in New Zealand 1830 to 1939, pages 4, 208 The bridge has a span of and is higher when measured from true left (i.e. the left side when looking downriver) to true right. It has a high steel lattice tower on the true left. On the true right, the bridge footing is cut into the side of the river bank and the foundation for the suspension cables is built on top of the cliff.

Today

The bridge is a popular tourist destination. The site can be accessed via a walkway starting on Arapuni Road opposite Rabone Street. Bridge users are rewarded with views of the scenic gorge. Geological features can be seen, and the cliffs on the true right of the landing are of volcanic origin and formed by

ignimbrite Ignimbrite is a type of volcanic rock, consisting of hardened tuff. Ignimbrites form from the deposits of pyroclastic flows, which are a hot suspension of particles and gases flowing rapidly from a volcano, driven by being denser than the surro ...

blocks, which are vertically fissured by cooling stresses. The bridge is sometimes incorrectly called the Arapuni

Swing Bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...

, for example on signs along the walkway to the bridge. The term 'swing bridge' is in popular use in New Zealand for suspension bridges that act as footbridges. The Waikato River Trails, which is under construction as part of the

New Zealand Cycle Trail The New Zealand Cycle Trail project (Māori: ''Nga Haerenga'', "The Journeys") is a New Zealand government initiative, co-funded together with local councils and charitable trusts, which is to build and operate a network of cycle routes throug ...

, will pass the bridge on the true right of the Waikato River. Waikato River Trails website about the Arapuni village to Arapuni dam trail. Retrieved 16 January 2010 PC277731_Arapuni_Swing_Bridge

References

External links

* New Zealand Historic Places Trust {{commons category, Arapuni Suspension Bridge Suspension bridges in New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Category 2 historic places in Waikato Bridges completed in 1926 Bridges over the Waikato River Bridges in Waikato Tourist attractions in Waikato 1926 establishments in New Zealand 1920s architecture in New Zealand