King's Bridge is a wrought-iron bridge crossing the

South Esk River The South Esk River, the longest river in Tasmania, is a major perennial river located in the northern region of Tasmania, Australia. Location and features The South Esk springs from the eastern foothills of the Ben Lomond plateau near Mathinn ...

at the mouth of the

Cataract Gorge The Cataract Gorge is a river gorge in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia, approximately 1.5 km from the city centre. It is one of the region's premier tourist attractions with Cataract Gorge boat tripleaving from Home Point Parade. It is foun ...

in Launceston,

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. Construction of the bridge began in 1864. The bridge span was constructed in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and was transported to Launceston for final assembly. At the time it was named the Cataract or South Esk Bridge and it was the only form of vehicular crossing of that river in Launceston. In 1904, a second, parallel span was added to widen the bridge. This span was almost identical to the original span, but was fabricated locally in Launceston, instead of overseas.

Engineering heritage award

The 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.

References

1864 establishments in Australia Bridges completed in 1864 Bridges completed in 1904 Road bridges in Tasmania Launceston, Tasmania Recipients of Engineers Australia engineering heritage markers {{australia-bridge-struct-stub