David Lennox (1788 – 12 November 1873) was a Scottish-Australian bridge builder and master stonemason born in

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

Personal details

Trained as a stonemason, Lennox worked on

Telford Telford () is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about east of Shrewsbury, south west of Stafford, north west of Wolverhampton and from Birmingham in t ...

Menai Suspension Bridge The Menai Suspension Bridge ( cy, Pont y Borth, Pont Grog y Borth) is a suspension bridge spanning the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales. Designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1826, it was the world's f ...

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and on

Over Bridge Over may refer to: Places *Over, Cambridgeshire, England *Over, Cheshire, England * Over, South Gloucestershire, England *Over, Tewkesbury, near Gloucester, England ** Over Bridge * Over, Seevetal, Germany Music Albums * ''Over'' (album), by P ...

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

before emigrating to Australia following the death of his wife.Lennox Bridge – Lapstone Hill
,
Blue Mountains Info
' He arrived in August 1832 aboard the ship Florentia. Prior to this time, the young colony of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

had no skilled stonemasons, and so it was almost fate that a chance meeting with the Surveyor-General, Major Thomas Mitchell should result in Lennox—by now a Master Stonemason with twenty years' experience—becoming, provisionally, Sub-Inspector of Bridges and later Superintendent of Bridges. Lennoxbridge2

Lennox moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in 1844, to take up a position responsible for bridges in the Port Phillip district. Lennox retired in November 1853 and returned to New South Wales two years later where he lived in

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

. He died on 12 November 1873, and was buried in old St John's cemetery, Parramatta. His grave was never marked so it is not known exactly where he was interred.

Partial list of works

*1832 – Lennox Bridge :In 1832, the year of his arrival in the colony, Lennox was commissioned to oversee the construction of the bridges for the new road over the Blue Mountains including a bridge over Brookside Creek at Lapstone Hill. Construction began in 1832 with Lennox supervising the efforts of twenty convicts who had little, if any, masonry skills. Lennox Bridge is the oldest surviving complete bridge on the Australian mainland (it is predated by Richmond Bridge in Tasmania, completed 1825, and by the foundations of several bridges north of Wisemans Ferry including Clares Bridge on the Great North Road, built in 1830). *1832-1835 – Lansdowne Bridge :Lennox was also responsible for the construction of historic Lansdowne Bridge over Prospect Creek which he was enlisted to build in 1832, with construction beginning the very next year using locally quarried stone. After three years, it was opened in January 1836 and with a toll charged for crossing, the construction costs were soon recovered. *1836 – Liverpool Dam :Lennox oversaw the construction of the Liverpool Dam, one of the first engineered weirs built in New South Wales, which both supplied water to the town of and served as a causeway across the Georges River. Constructed under the supervision of Capt. Christie of the 80th Regiment; assistant engineer and superintendent of Ironed Gangs in the Town of Liverpool. LennoxBridgeParramatta

*1836-1839 –

Lennox Bridge, Parramatta The Lennox Bridge is a heritage-listed sandstone single arch bridge across the Parramatta River, located in Parramatta in Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The bridge was designed by and built under the supervision of David Lennox, ...

:Designed in 1835 as an elliptical arch of span, the bridge over the

Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson. S ...

was ultimately built as a simple stone arch spanning and having a width of . Construction began in November 1836, using the centring from the Lansdowne Bridge, adjusted to the new span, and the work was finished in 1839. It was named Lennox Bridge by the Parramatta Council some 28 years later. *1839 – Parramatta Boundary Markers :Lennox oversaw the installation of 9 carved stones which marked the former parish boundaries of Parramatta. Of the original 9, 4 can still be seen in their original locations. *1844-1853 – Lennox built fifty-three bridges in the nine years he was in the employ of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

,Lennox, David
,
Australian Dictionary of Biography
' including the second Prince's Bridge over the

Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, ( Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower s ...

. The stone arch was the largest built by Lennox and was opened in 1851.Some significant dates in the History of the City of Melbourne
",
City of Melbourne
' It was to last until the river was widened some thirty-five years later, and in 1888 was replaced by the present Prince's Bridge. It is possible that he designed Towrang Bridge (1839) that once carried the Hume Highway. As well as bridges, Lennox was also in charge of roads, wharves and ferries in the Port Phillip district.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lennox, David Australian engineers Scottish civil engineers 1788 births 1873 deaths Bridge engineers Scottish stonemasons People from Parramatta 19th-century British businesspeople