Edith Cavell Bridge is a bridge over the

Shotover River The Shotover River ( mi, Kimiākau) is located in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. The name correctly suggests that this long river is fast flowing, with numerous rapids. The river flows generally south from the Southern Alps ...

in the

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

region in the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

of New Zealand that stands at tall. It is registered by Heritage New Zealand as a Category I heritage structure.

Location

Built at Arthurs Point, between Queenstown and Arrowtown, this single-lane bridge straddles the Shotover River. It is adjacent to the popular Shotover Jet tourist attraction and is often photographed.

Construction

The design was conceived by Frederick Furkert, the inspecting engineer of the Public Works Department, and is a parabolic rib arch truss design. This was the second bridge of this type in New Zealand, the first being the

Grafton Bridge Grafton Bridge is a road bridge spanning Grafton Gully in Auckland, New Zealand. Built of reinforced concrete in 1910, it connects the Auckland CBD and Karangahape Road with Grafton. It spans about 97.6 metres (320 feet), rises 25.6 metr ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. It was built from concrete and steel between 1 November 1917 and 13 February 1919 by Steve Aburn and cost over £8,000. In April 2016, the rock wall of the bridge was struck by a driver who lost control while braking, causing significant damage.

Name

The route improved by the bridge was a well travelled one by gold miners. One old miner, Jack (John) Clark, who lived in a sod hut overlooking the bridge, took it upon himself to name it "The Edith Cavell Bridge" in honour of the famous nurse, who had been executed during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

for helping wounded Allied soldiers escape from occupied Belgium. Clark's suggestion was not popular with the County council; the councillors wanted to name it Cooper's Crossing after the mayor of the time, Warren Cooper, but Clark painted "To Cavell Bridge" on a sign approaching the bridge and also "Edith Cavell Bridge" on the bridge itself. Eventually the name stuck.Knudson, Danny (2012) Edith Cavell, a bridge and bravery, Queenstown and District Historical Society

Heritage listing

On 26 November 1987, the bridge was listed by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (since renamed to Heritage New Zealand) as a Category I historic structure, with registration number 4371.

References

{{reflist Concrete bridges in New Zealand Steel bridges in New Zealand Queenstown-Lakes District NZHPT Category I listings in Otago 1910s architecture in New Zealand Bridges in Otago