The Jervois Bridge is a bridge in

Greater Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

, Australia that crosses the

Port River The Port River (officially known as the Port Adelaide River) is part of a tidal estuary located north of the Adelaide city centre in the Australian state of South Australia. It has been used as a shipping channel since the beginning of European ...

. Construction of the original Jervois Bridge from

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

Ethelton Ethelton is a north-western suburb of Adelaide from the CBD, on the Lefevre Peninsula, in the state of South Australia, Australia. It is a residential suburb within the local government area of City of Port Adelaide Enfield, adjacent to the s ...

commenced in July 1875, using components manufactured in England by

Westwood, Baillie Westwood, Baillie and Co was a Victorian engineering and shipbuilding company based at London Yard in Cubitt Town, London. The company was set up in 1856 by Robert Baillie and Joseph Westwood, previously managers of Thames Ironworks and Shipbui ...

. It was the first

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 ...

in Australia, with mechanical equipment provided by William Armstrong & Co of

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

.Jervois Bridge
SA History Hub Built to carry

pedestrian A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically. The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with ...

, rail and road traffic, it was officially opened on 7 February 1878 by the

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-gene ...

William Jervois Lieutenant General Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois (10 September 1821 – 17 August 1897) was a British military engineer and diplomat. After joining the British Army in 1839, he saw service, as a second captain, in South Africa. In 18 ...

, after whom it was named. By 1924, it had ceased to be used by rail traffic, after the line had been diverted. Operation of the swing bridge passed from the

South Australian Railways South Australian Railways (SAR) was the statutory corporation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Austr ...

to the Harbours Board in December 1924. In 1937, the control tower and its support gantry were elevated to allow use by double-decker

AEC 661T The AEC 661T was a two-axle double deck trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus System ...

trolleybuses A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

. The original bridge closed in August 1966 to make way for a new bridge. It was later demolished with the control tower and supporting gantry moved to Nile Street, where it remained as an entrance to the

Fishermen's Wharf Market Fishermen's Wharf Market, also known as Wharf Shed 1, is a large enclosed building that used to host Sunday markets in Port Adelaide. It is located in the Inner Harbor of Port Adelaide adjacent to the Birkenhead Bridge. History In the 1930s ...

car park until 2016, when the carpark was partially redeveloped for a new office building. The control tower and supporting gantry were removed to the Council depot for restoration, with the intention of finally moving it to the

Hart's Mill Hart's Mill is a former flour mill complex located on a bend in the Port River, in the north-western corner of Port Adelaide, South Australia. Now partially restored, it has become the suburb's cultural hub. It has been listed as a state h ...

site, close to its original location. The remnants of the original bridge received a Historic Engineering Marker from

Engineers Australia Engineers Australia (EA) is an Australian professional body and not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance the science and practice of engineering for the benefit of the community. Engineers Australia is Australia's recognized org ...

as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program. The new four-lane bridge was constructed on an alignment a short distance upstream, opening on 28 July 1969. Upstream (south) of the Jervois Bridge lies the

Jervois Basin Ships' Graveyard The Port River (officially known as the Port Adelaide River) is part of a tidal estuary located north of the Adelaide city centre in the Australian state of South Australia. It has been used as a shipping channel since the beginning of European ...

, and beyond that the railway bridge carrying the

Outer Harbor railway line The Outer Harbor railway line is a suburban branch line in Adelaide, South Australia. It runs from Adelaide station through the north western suburbs to Port Adelaide and Outer Harbor. It is 21.9 kilometres in length, and shares part of its ru ...

References

{{Port Adelaide landmarks, state=collapsed Bridges completed in 1969 Buildings and structures in Adelaide Lefevre Peninsula Road bridges in South Australia 1969 establishments in Australia