The Hawthorn Railway Bridge is a

steel truss 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 ...

bridge that crosses 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 ...

east of

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 ...

between

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

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 ...

stations on the Alamein, Belgrave and Lilydale railway lines. It was built for the

Melbourne and Suburban Railway Company The Melbourne and Suburban Railway Company was a railway company in Victoria, Australia. The company opened a line from Princes Bridge railway station in Melbourne, Australia to Punt Road (Richmond) and over the Yarra River to South Yarra (then c ...

and is the oldest extant railway bridge over the Yarra River. Completed in 1861, Hawthorn Railway Bridge was designed by

Francis Bell Francis Bell may refer to: *Arthur Bell (martyr) (1590–1643), also known as Francis Bell, Franciscan and English martyr *Dillon Bell (Francis Dillon Bell; 1822–1898), New Zealand politician, father of the New Zealand Prime Minister *Francis Bel ...

. The opening had been delayed due to delays in completion of the bridge with the original iron trusses having been lost at sea. With a span of about , it was one of the last major items of permanent way to be built on the fledgling railway. The contractors were George Cornwell and Co (not Goldsack & Co as recorded in Leo Harrigan's history of Victorian railways). Cornwell had previously been involved as contractor in many other major construction works including the Melbourne and Suburban Railway as a whole, as well as

Melbourne Grammar School (Pray and Work) , established = 1849 (on present site since 1858 - the celebrated date of foundation) , type = Independent, co-educational primary, single-sex boys secondary, day and boarding , denominatio ...

, the Model School, Coppin's Haymarket Theatre, and the Sunbury railway

goods shed A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train. A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built ...

. Subsequently, he was a contractor on

Parliament House Parliament House may refer to: Australia * Parliament House, Canberra, Parliament of Australia * Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament of South Australia * Parliament House, Brisbane, Parliament of Queensland * Parliament House, Darwin, Parliame ...

, Albert Park Station,

Jack's Magazine Jack's Magazine (also known as the Saltwater River Gunpowder Magazine) is located on the Maribyrnong River at Maribyrnong, Victoria. The complex opened in 1878, to provide safe storage for bonded gunpowder and explosives imported into the colony ...

and the Wallaby Creek water supply. It is likely that

Alexander Kennedy Smith Alexander Kennedy Smith (7 July 1824 – 16 January 1881) was a Scottish/Australian engineer and former Mayor of Melbourne. Early life Smith was born in Cauldmill near Hawick, Roxburghshire, Scotland. He was involved in the development of ...

, who had designed the

Cremorne Railway Bridge The Cremorne Railway Bridge crosses the Yarra River three kilometres south-east of Melbourne connecting Richmond and South Yarra stations on the Frankston, Pakenham, Cranbourne, and Sandringham railway lines. History The first bridge on the s ...

for the Melbourne and Suburban Railway Co, was also involved in the design of the Hawthorn Bridge, but was perhaps out of his depth. He ordered trusses which were inadequate for the job, and had to shorten them, suggesting he did not understand the design. The opening of the bridge on 13 April 1861 allowed the Melbourne and Suburban Railway Company to extend its line from Pic Nic railway station (east of

) to Hawthorn. The earliest views of the bridge show it to consist of a deck lattice girder with five intersects. The main span over the river was flanked by segmental stone arch spans on either side. The bridge was duplicated in 1882 by the Railways Construction Branch, and minor works to the bearings and girder ends were made in 1887–8 to lower the levels of its girders by . A new double-track bridge using large double

Warren trusses Warren Errol Truss, (born 8 October 1948) is a former Australian politician who served as the 16th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development in the Abbott Government and the Turnbull Governm ...

was built on its north side in 1912. One of the previous wrought iron lattice trusses was left in place. The bridge was extended westwards in 1938–39 when a new span was added to cross the Yarra Boulevard, which was constructed by

sustenance {{wiktionary Sustenance can refer to any means of subsistence or livelihood. * food * any subsistence economy: see list of subsistence techniques ** hunting-gathering ** animal husbandry ** subsistence agriculture * Any agricultural and natural re ...

workers during the Depression as a scenic drive. In 1971, the original piers were strengthened and a metal girder span added to accommodate a third track.

References

{{Australian railway bridges, state=autocollapse Railway bridges in Victoria (Australia) Bridges in Melbourne Bridges over the Yarra River Bridges completed in 1861 1861 establishments in Australia Transport in the City of Yarra Transport in the City of Boroondara Buildings and structures in the City of Yarra Buildings and structures in the City of Boroondara