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The Sale Swing Bridge is located on the
South Gippsland Highway The South Gippsland Highway is a partially divided highway in Victoria, Australia which connects the city of Melbourne with the South Gippsland region of Victoria, ending in the town of Sale. The highway begins at Lonsdale Street (Princes High ...
Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the mee ...
, 5 km south of the city of
Sale, Victoria Sale is a city situated in the Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria and the council seat of the Shire of Wellington. It had an estimated urban population of 15,682 according to the 2021 census. The total pop ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
and spans the
Latrobe River The Latrobe River (or sometimes La Trobe or LaTrobe) is a perennial river of the West Gippsland catchment, located in the West Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria. The Latrobe River and its associated sub-catchment is an import ...
at its junction with the Thomson River. Designed by John GraingerTibbits, G. R. and Beauchamp, D
John Harry Grainger: Engineer and Architect
at ''3rd Australasian Engineering Heritage Conference 2009''. Retrieved 15 January 2013
and built in 1883 by the Victorian government,City of Sale, Gippsland, Victoria ~ Community Information Website ~ Sale, Gippsland, Victoria, Australia
it was the first movable bridge built in Victoria. Its wrought-iron structure, 45 metres long, pivots on cylindrical steel columns. At its peak, the bridge was opened up to 20 times a day, allowing the movement of steamers between Sale and Melbourne. The bridge underwent major restoration works towards the end of 2003, which were completed by the start of 2006. Since the restoration about 2,500 tourists have visited the bridge each year. The Sale Swing Bridge was used as a set in 2007 for the filming of the 2008 film ''
The Tender Hook ''The Tender Hook'' is a 2008 Australian film noir directed by Jonathan Ogilvie and starring Hugo Weaving, Rose Byrne and Matthew Le Nevez. The film was retitled ''The Boxer and the Bombshell'' for its North American DVD release. Plot synopsi ...
'', starring
Hugo Weaving Hugo Wallace Weaving (born 4 April 1960) is an English actor. Born in Colonial Nigeria to English parents, he has resided in Australia for the entirety of his career. He is the recipient of six Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts ...
and
Rose Byrne Mary Rose Byrne (born 24 July 1979) is an Australian actress. She made her screen debut in the film ''Dallas Doll'' (1994), and continued to act in Australian film and television throughout the 1990s. She obtained her first leading film role i ...
. In April 2017 vandals lodged a block of wood in the gear mechanism, causing an axle to bend and the bottom roller beam to crack. The bridge was re-opened in July 2017 after a $160,000 repair.


Engineering heritage award

The bridge is listed as an Engineering Heritage National Landmark by
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


External links


Video of the bridge in action

Walkabout – Sale

Exhibitions: A Golden Heritage On-line
Swing bridges in Australia Bridges completed in 1883 Road bridges in Victoria (Australia) Steel bridges in Australia 1883 establishments in Australia Sale, Victoria Recipients of Engineers Australia engineering heritage markers Victorian Heritage Register Shire of Wellington {{VictoriaAU-struct-stub