McMillans Bridge, is a riveted

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...

open web

truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

, located over the

Woady Yaloak River The Woady Yaloak River is a perennial river of the Corangamite catchment, located in the Western District Lakes region of the Australian state of Victoria. Location and features The Woady Yaloak River rises below Black Hill, west of Ballarat ...

on the Rokewood-Skipton Road between Rokewood and Werneth on a historical route between Geelong and the 1850s goldfields at Ararat and Streatham. McMillans Bridge was originally constructed in 1856 with stone abutments and timber truss, by the Victorian

Central Road Board The Central Road Board was the first dedicated body for administering the construction of roads and bridges in Victoria, Australia. It came into being in 1853 when the Victorian Legislative Council passed ''An Act for making, and improving Roads i ...

to a design of Charles Rowland, a student of prominent colonial engineer

David Lennox David Lennox (1788 – 12 November 1873) was a Scottish-Australian bridge builder and master stonemason born in Ayr, Scotland. Personal details Trained as a stonemason, Lennox worked on Telford's Menai Suspension Bridge at Anglesey in Wales ...

. In 1888-9 the timber span was replaced with a riveted wrought iron truss designed be Charles Anthony Corbett Wilson by for the Shires of

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

and Grenville. Wilson was a particularly prolific Victorian shire engineer who was influenced in this and Pitfield Bridge by the lightweight and efficient metal truss designs of Professor W. C. Kernot of

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

.Alsop, P. F. B, 1999, A History of McMillans Bridge over Mt Misery Creek on the Rokewood-Skipton Road in the Shires of Leigh and Grenville Victoria The 1889 wrought-iron spans were fabricated in Geelong at the Humble and Nicholson

Vulcan Foundry The Vulcan Foundry Limited was an English locomotive builder sited at Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire (now Merseyside). History The Vulcan Foundry opened in 1832, as Charles Tayleur and Company to produce girders for bridges, switches, crossi ...

and comprise two double-intersection deck-trusses, connected by iron cross bracing, and seated on the 1856 abutments of red sandstone. These abutments were originally made for a timber truss superstructure, which lasted only 33 years. The timber deck has a single layer of longitudinal planking on timber cross beams, which are bolted to the flanges of the truss top

chords Chord may refer to: * Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously ** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning * Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve * Chord (as ...

. The single span is 29 metres long with a deck 6.1 metres wide, later widened to 7.3 metres. The wrought-iron lattice-girder trusses are of unusually light construction. The Bridge is listed on the

Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. H ...

References

;Notes * Colin O'Connor, Spanning Two Centuries, Historic Bridges of Australia. University of Queensland Press, 1985. p. 103 Road bridges in Victoria (state) 1856 establishments in Australia Bridges completed in 1856 Bridges completed in 1889 Victorian Heritage Register Truss bridges in Australia {{VictoriaAU-struct-stub