The Redesdale Bridge is one of the oldest iron lattice-

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 ...

s in

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in Au ...

. The Redesdale Bridge is a wrought iron and timber structure with

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 ...

abutments, located over the

Campaspe River The Campaspe River, an inland intermittent river of the northcentral catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the lower Riverina bioregion and Central Highlands and Wimmera regions of the Australian state of Victoria. The he ...

near the town of

Redesdale Redesdale is a valley in western Northumberland, England. It is formed by the River Rede, which rises in the Cheviots and flows down to join the North Tyne at Redesmouth. Redesdale is traversed by the A68 trunk road, which enters Scotland vi ...

History

The bridge was completed in January 1868, despite a carved commemoration stone having the date 1867. In early 2015, the name of Redesdale Bridge was adopted by the Office of Geographic Names and formally gazetted in the Victorian Government Gazette on 19 March 2015. The trusses for the bridge were originally imported for the

Hawthorn Bridge The Hawthorn Bridge crosses the Yarra River, east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, connecting Bridge Road and Burwood Road. It is the oldest extant bridge over the Yarra River and is one of the oldest metal bridges in Australia. It was con ...

over 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 ...

connecting the suburbs of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

and

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

in 1859.National Trust Register citation B1541
Retrieved2015-04-01" The ship '' Herald of the Morning'', at the end of its second voyage to Australia in 1859, whilst bringing 419 immigrants and a mixed cargo that included the wrought iron trusses, caught fire and sank in

Hobsons Bay Hobsons Bay is a small open bay in Victoria, Australia, and is the northernmost part of the larger Port Phillip Bay. Its western and eastern boundaries are marked by Point Gellibrand in and Point Ormond in respectively, and defines the coas ...

. As a result, the Hawthorn bridge was delayed for several years while new trusses were made and shipped out to Australia. Ten years later the original trusses were salvaged from the ''Herald of the Morning'' at the bottom of Hobsons Bay and sold privately to the Melbourne foundry Langlands & Co. The wreck was advertised for sale on 29 November 1859."Advertising" ''The Argus'' 24 Nov 1859: 2. Web. 3 Aug 2012
/ref> Two hundred tons of ironwork were purchased by the goldfields shires of McIvor and Metcalfe for £1000. Prominent Melbourne engineer T B Muntz designed the bridge and a contractor named Doran won the construction contract. The final cost of the bridge was £6274. The bridge was constructed with a divided-lane through-truss design created specifically for the difficult river crossing and unique in Victoria. The trusses were originally intended for a deck truss design, but were adapted to allow their use as through trusses with stiffening arches connecting them above the roadway. Two separate roadways with an intervening stone pillar separating them have caused problems for modern traffic. The road deck is made with longitudinal timber planks on large timber cross girders that are supported on the lower chords of the trusses.

Similar bridge

Whereas the huge lattice truss girders of the Redesdale Bridge had been imported from England in 1859, the colonial engineering works which had in the meantime developed to service reef and deep lead mining were quite capable of supplying such products for the Central Victorian,

Glenmona Bridge Glenmona Bridge is a riveted wrought iron lattice-girder deck-truss road bridge on the old route between the Ararat and central goldfields over the Bet Bet Creek at Bung Bong, Victoria. History The bridge was built in 1871 to replace an 1857 t ...

, by 1870.

References

External links

* Rasmussen, C. "A Tale of Two Bridges: The Hawthorn Bridge Controversy 1929-30", '' Victorian Historical Journal'', Vol 63 No 1, June 1992. Melbourne, Victoria:

Royal Historical Society of Victoria The Royal Historical Society of Victoria is a community organisation promoting the history of the state of Victoria, Australia. It functions to promote and research the history of that state after settlement, and as an umbrella organisation for m ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Redesdale Bridge Road bridges in Victoria (Australia) Victorian Heritage Register Bridges completed in 1868 1868 establishments in Australia Truss bridges in Australia

History

Similar bridge

See also

References

External links