Hawthorn Bridge
| Hawthorn Bridge | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Coordinates | 37°49′12.4″S 145°0′55.0″E / 37.820111°S 145.015278°ECoordinates: 37°49′12.4″S 145°0′55.0″E / 37.820111°S 145.015278°E |
| Carries | Bridge Road |
| Crosses | Yarra River |
| Locale | Melbourne, Australia |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Wrought Iron truss |
| Total length | 98 metres (322 ft) |
| Width | 14.3 metres (47 ft) |
| Longest span | 45.7 metres (150 ft) |
| History | |
| Opened | 1861 |
The Hawthorn Bridge is a wrought iron truss bridge across the Yarra River, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The bridge connects Bridge Road and Burwood Road. It is a substantial riveted, wrought-iron, lattice-truss bridge with bluestone abutments and piers, designed by Francis Bell and is the oldest extant bridge over the Yarra River and is one of the oldest metal bridges in Australia. This crossing was one of the earliest Yarra River crossing points and a major communication route in early Melbourne. The present bridge was constructed in the early wave of major new infrastructure funded by the gold rushes.
Tenders were called on 21 April 1857 by the Board of Land and Works, for erecting the piers for a new bridge, and in the following month, the tender of J. McKenzie was accepted at ₤10,000. A slight alteration had been made to the proposed site to obtain better foundations, while the estimated cost with cuttings being made from both Burwood Road and Church Street, was ₤40,000. The specified date set for completion of the bluestone piers and abutments was December 1857, but they were not finished until February 1858, and the actual cost was ₤10,065. The wrought-iron truss components were ordered from Britain. However, the ship Herald of the Morning, while engaged in carrying this large bridge to Melbourne as deck cargo in 1859, caught fire in Hobsons Bay before it could be unloaded, and was scuttled to extinguish the fire. That original consignment of British wrought-iron bridge materials weighed some 350 tons, and together with its erection cranes had cost ₤10,500, so the sinking of Herald of the Morning represented a disaster for Melbourne's metropolitan bridge scene. The contractors for the bridge were allowed an extension of time to import similar bridge-works from Britain. Another set had to be ordered, made and delivered, delaying completion of the bridge until November 1861.
A newspaper account gives some further details:
Whilst at Sandridge we paid a visit to the wreck of the Herald of the Morning, a ship which some months ago was burned to the water's edge, and scuttled in Hobson's Bay, In it was a large iron bridge, intended to be erected over the Yarra River at Hawthorn, but it being supposed that it would be entirely destroyed by the fire, the contractors sent home to England for another bridge. The wreck was purchased by Ingles, Adams, and Gresham, of Sandridge, and exertions were made to raise it, but it was not until after weeks of hard labour that success attended their exertions. The hulk was then towed to a pier, and, at length, not only the bridge, but other iron articles, have been redeemed, very slightly injured.
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