Princes Bridge, originally Prince's Bridge,
[, ''...he wished that it might be distinguished by the name of "Prince's Bridge," in honour of the Prince of Wales, whom he hoped would yet be the Sovereign of their colonies...''] is a bridge in central
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 ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
that spans 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 stre ...
. It is built on the site of one of the oldest river crossings in the city, and forms a gateway into the central city from the south. The bridge connects
Swanston Street
Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is one of the main streets of the Melbourne central business district and was laid out in 1837 as part of the original Hoddle Grid. The street vertically ...
on the north bank of the Yarra River to
St Kilda Road
St Kilda Road is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is part of the locality of Melbourne which has the postcode of 3004, and along with Swanston Street forms a major spine of the city.
St Kilda Road begins at Flinders Street, in ...
on the south bank, and carries road, tram and pedestrian traffic. The present bridge was built in 1888 and 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 ...
.
Because of its position, Princes Bridge is often a focal point for celebratory events in Melbourne such as the
Moomba
Moomba (also known as the Moomba Festival) is held annually in Melbourne, Australia. Run by the City of Melbourne, it is Australia's largest free community festival. The Melburnian tradition is celebrated over four days, incorporating the Labo ...
Festival,
New Year's Eve
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...
and many celebrations taking place on the Yarra River where it flows through the city.
History
First bridge
When the first European settlers settled in Melbourne in 1835, there was no permanent crossing point of the Yarra River. Over time various
punt and ferry operators set up business to ferry people and other traffic across the river. The colonial government in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
was unreliable in providing funds for the construction of a bridge, resulting in most of Melbourne’s early infrastructure being provided by private enterprise. On 22 April 1840, a private company was formed to construct a bridge across the Yarra. Traders in
Elizabeth Street vied with those in
Swanston Street
Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is one of the main streets of the Melbourne central business district and was laid out in 1837 as part of the original Hoddle Grid. The street vertically ...
to have the through traffic that would be generated by a bridge. On the south bank of the river,
St Kilda Road
St Kilda Road is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is part of the locality of Melbourne which has the postcode of 3004, and along with Swanston Street forms a major spine of the city.
St Kilda Road begins at Flinders Street, in ...
was still a dirt track.
The Superintendent of the
Port Phillip District
The Port Phillip District was an administrative division of the Colony of New South Wales from 9 September 1836 until 1 July 1851, when it was separated from New South Wales and became the Colony of Victoria.
In September 1836, NSW Colonial Sec ...
,
Charles La Trobe
Charles la Trobe, CB (20 March 18014 December 1875), commonly Latrobe, was appointed in 1839 superintendent of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales and, after the establishment in 1851 of the colony of Victoria (now a state of Australi ...
, favoured an Elizabeth Street crossing, but despite such official pressure the private company favoured the construction conditions at Swanston Street, which had become regarded as the growing town's main street. In 1844, a wooden trestle bridge was built across the river, and was a toll bridge colloquially known as Balbirnies Bridge.
[Some significant dates in the History of the City of Melbourne]
",
City of Melbourne
'' The bridge was built for £400 from June-Oct 1843 just to the East of where Princes Bridge stands today. Described as "a primitive construction of piles & planking, 120ft. in length & with a road-way 17ft. wide, flanked on one side by a railed-off footpath", it was in use for 5 years, 1843-48. Tolls were leased to Mr. R. A. Balbirnie, whence the name derived. In disuse from 1848, it was demolished Oct 1852, although famed chronicler of early Melbourne, the journalist "Garyowen" reported some remnant piles from the bridge could still be seen the Yarra's waters as late as 1883.
Second bridge
The foundation stone for a new bridge was laid in 1846,
and the bridge was opened in on 15 November 1850. The opening was incorporated amongst extensive celebrations for the Royal Assent to the Australian Colonies Act. This Act enabled separation from NSW of the Port Phillip District, establishing Victoria as a separate colony effective on 1 July 1851. The bridge was a single-span 150 ft (46 m) bluestone and granite arch bridge, with a rise of only 24 ft (7 m).
[Port Phillip Gazette, 1850, Vol 49, Wednesday 20 Nov 1850, Page 985. "Return of Public Works" David Lennox.] At its building, it was one of the longest, flattest stone arch bridges in the world. Paid for with government funds, the bridge was designed by
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 ...
and built by James Linacre. It was opened on 15 November without tolls.
At the foundation-laying ceremony, Superintendent La Trobe named the structure "Prince's Bridge" in honour of
Albert, Prince of Wales.
It seems also to have been known as "Lennox’s Bridge," after its designer.
Third (current) bridge
Within a year of the bridge's opening, gold was discovered in country Victoria and Melbourne saw a massive increase in population. In addition to the increase in traffic crossing the bridge, there was also a need to handle increased shipping traffic on the Yarra River, and the river was widened to cope with this. By that time the Yarra River had been heavily modified both upstream and downstream, and the major floods of the early years were becoming less common. In the late 1870s it was decided to replace the 1850 bridge, and a competition was held in 1879. This was won by architect and engineer John Grainger, only recently arrived in Adelaide, in partnership with local architect Mr Jenkins, with a design largely as eventually built. Jenkins was likely included simply as a local representative, with the design mainly by
John Grainger
John Grainger (1830, Belfast– 1891) was an Irish cleric and antiquarian.
Grainger was educated at Belfast Academy and Trinity College, Dublin. After gaining a Doctorate of Divinity he became Rector of Broughshane, County Antrim. He was an in ...
(1855–1917),
[Tibbits, G. R. and Beauchamp, D]
John Harry Grainger: Engineer and Architect
at ''3rd Australasian Engineering Heritage Conference 2009''. Retrieved 2013-01-15. who already had experience with bridges, and who was working alone by the time the bridge was completed. (Grainger was the father of the Australian composer
Percy Grainger
Percy Aldridge Grainger (born George Percy Grainger; 8 July 188220 February 1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist who lived in the United States from 1914 and became an American citizen in 1918. In the course of a long an ...
.) Construction was delayed over funding and other issues, and it was not until 1884 that the old bridge was disassembled and replaced by a temporary structure. The stones were lettered and numbered and neatly stacked, to allow future re-erection at another location. In the event this did not occur, as the materials were instead reused in the replacement bridge.
David Munro & Co. supplied the winning bid for the construction of £136,998 9s.9d.,
incorporating reused materials from the old bridge and ironwork fabricated by
Langlands foundry
Langlands foundry was Melbourne's first foundry and iron shipbuilder (1842–97). It was established in 1842 (only 8 years after the founding of the colony) by two Scottish immigrants, Robert Langlands (son of John Langlands, baker, of Dundee) and ...
in Melbourne. (Munro was also responsible for the construction of
Queens Bridge and the nearby
Sandridge Bridge
The Sandridge Bridge is a historic bridge, originally carrying a railway, over the Yarra River in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs diagonally to the river's banks and is long. In 2006 it was redeveloped as a pedestrian and cycle path fe ...
.)
The foundation stone of the new bridge was laid on 7 September 1886, and a memorial stone with a suitable inscription was built in over its position in the west end of the south abutment. The new bridge was opened on 4 October 1888,
in time for the second
International Exhibition
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
to be held in Melbourne. As with many historic Melburnian buildings and bridges, the bridge is built on solid
bluestone
Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including:
* basalt in Victoria, Australia, and in New Zealand
* dolerites in Tasmania, Australia; and in Britain (including Stonehenge)
* felds ...
and concrete bulwarks with plenty of cast iron. The abutments, piers and wing walls are built of solid bluestone.
In 1924, the bridge was reinforced to take the weight of the electric trams which were soon to replace the previous cable trams along St Kilda Road and the side-streets. The name of the bridge is now rendered as Princes Bridge, in line with the policy that possessive apostrophes are not used in place names.
Princes Bridge was also the name of a
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
located on the northern side of the river, to the east of the bridge, on the current site of
Federation Square
Federation Square (colloquially Fed Square) is a venue for arts, culture and public events on the edge of the Melbourne central business district. It covers an area of at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets built above busy ra ...
. It was linked to
Flinders Street station
Flinders Street railway station is a train station located on the corner of Flinders Street, Melbourne, Flinders and Swanston Street, Swanston streets in the Melbourne city centre, central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria (Austral ...
by the railway tracks that run underneath the northern approach to the bridge.
Until about June 2013 there were two vehicle lanes and a tram lane across the bridge in each direction; the wide footpaths on each side were divided for pedestrians and bicycles. At that time the bicycle lanes were moved to the road surface and the number of vehicle lanes was reduced to a single lane in each direction - starting with the Western (in-bound) side.
New bicycle lane on Princes Bridge opens with minimal traffic mess
, By Jessica Evans, 19 June 2013, HeraldSun
Traffic
Pedestrians account for the majority of traffic over the bridge, but other forms of traffic include motor vehicles, trams, buses and bicycles, as well as an occasional tourist-orientated horse-drawn carriage. The destination of pedestrian traffic is two way, with many commuters parking at the Arts Centre and going to work in the CBD, as well as visitors to the Melbourne Arts Precinct
The Melbourne Arts Precinct is home to a series of galleries, performing arts venues and spaces located in the Southbank district of Melbourne, Victoria, in Australia. It includes such publicly-funded venues as Arts Centre Melbourne, National ...
on the Southbank side.
Design
Princes Bridge is 30 metres (99 ft) wide and 120 metres (400 ft) long, with Harcourt granite squat half columns resting on the bluestone piers that support the three iron girder arch spans. The coat of arms on the bridge belong to the municipal councils who contributed towards the cost of construction. Other design features include an elaborate balustrade
A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...
along the top of the bridge, and lamp standards crowning each pier.[ ]
The bridge design bears a close resemblance to the earlier Blackfriars Bridge
Blackfriars Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, between Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge, carrying the A201 road. The north end is in the City of London near the Inns of Court and Temple Chu ...
over the River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, a resemblance which was noted at its opening. Princes Bridge is wider, 30 metres compared with 26 metres, but with 3 spans of 33 metres and an overall length of 131 metres, it is much shorter than Blackfriars Bridge's 5 spans with a central span of 61 metres. Both are excellent surviving examples of Arch Bridge
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...
design in the late 19th century.
The bridge underwent a restoration before the 2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...
.
Gallery
Image:Princes Bridge, Flinder Street Station, Federation Square and St. Paul's Cathedral and Melbourne CBD on the background from the Yarra river.JPG, Princes Bridge and the Melbourne CBD
The Melbourne central business district (also known colloquially as simply "The City" or "The CBD") is the city centre and main urban area of the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, centred on the Hoddle Grid, the oldest part of the city lai ...
from 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 stre ...
Image:Princes Bridge (Melbourne) underside.jpg, Underside of the iron girder arches
Image:Princes Bridge Melbourne lamp.jpg, A lamp on the bridge
Image:Eureka Tower and Yarra River - Melbourne.jpg, Southbank with Princes Bridge in the foreground
See also
*Crossings of the Yarra River
The Yarra River is a river in southern Victoria, Australia; which flows through the city of Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria ...
References
External links
Federation Square web site
History of the Federation Square site, including a PDF file documenting some of the history of Princes Bridge.
Panoramic virtual tour from Princes Bridge
{{Yarra River Crossings
Bridges in Melbourne
Heritage sites in Melbourne
Bridges completed in 1888
Road bridges in Victoria (Australia)
Bridges over the Yarra River
1888 establishments in Australia
Former toll bridges in Australia
Landmarks in Melbourne
Buildings and structures in the City of Melbourne (LGA)
Transport in the City of Melbourne (LGA)
Southbank, Victoria