Lansdowne Bridge

This article is about the bridge in New South Wales. For the bridge in Pakistan, see Lansdowne Bridge Rohri.

Lansdowne Bridge
Lansdowne Bridge with its modern duplicate carrying the Hume Highway over Prospect Creek
Coordinates	33°53′25″S150°58′02″E / 33.8902156386°S 150.9672223120°E / -33.8902156386; 150.9672223120
Carries	Hume Highway Motor vehicles Pedestrians
Crosses	Prospect Creek, New South Wales
Other name(s)	Lennox Bridge
Named for	Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne
Characteristics
Design	Arch bridge
Material	Sydney sandstone
Total length	58 metres (190 ft)
Width	9.1 metres (30 ft)
Longest span	34 metres (110 ft)
Clearance above	9.1 metres (30 ft)
History
Designer	David Lennox
Construction start	1 January 1834 (1834-January-01)
Construction end	1836
Opened	26 January 1836 (1836-January-26)
New South Wales Heritage Register
Official name	Lansdowne Bridge
Type	State heritage (built)
Criteria	undefined
Designated	20 June 2000
Reference no.	01472
Type	Road Bridge
Category	Transport – Land
Builders	David Lennox
Location
References
[1] [2] [3] [4]

The Lansdowne Bridge is a heritage-listed road bridge that carries the northbound carriageway of the Hume Highway (route A22 at this point) across Prospect Creek between Lansvale and Lansdowne. Situated in southwestern Sydney it is located on the boundary of the Fairfield and Canterbury-Bankstown local government areas. The bridge was named in honour of Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne (1780–1863), an Irish Whig politician of the British Parliament (at that time all of Ireland was under British rule and was represented in the British parliament) and associate of the NSW Governor of the day, Sir Richard Bourke.

The bridge is owned by the state of New South Wales and is managed by the agency of Transport for NSW. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 20 June 2000. ^[5]

Description

The bridge is described in the NSW Heritage Register as: "A large sandstone arched bridge spanning the Prospect Creek. The single arch has supporting buttresses. The clear span is 110 feet (33.5 m) while the clearance above mean water level is 76 feet (23 m) at the centre. It has curved abutments and approaches, while the parapets and mouldings are simple and devoid of unnecessary ornamentation. Some of the radiating voussoirs are quite large in size measuring up to eight feet (2.4 m) in length." ^{[5] [6]}

History

Lansdowne Bridge was designed and built from 1834 to 1836 by David Lennox.

Born in Ayr, Scotland in 1788, David Lennox was trained as a stonemason. He worked on the Menai Suspension Bridge at Anglesey in Wales and on Gloucester, United Kingdom Bridge, where he learnt the sound construction principles he used on his later projects in NSW.

He emigrated to Australia in 1832. ^[5] and immediately found employment as a mason with the government. While working on the Legislative Council Chambers in Macquarie Street, Sydney, Lennox met the Surveyor-General, Thomas Mitchell. ^[5] The Surveyor-General lost little time in submitting Lennox's credentials to the Governor of NSW Sir Richard Bourke, describing him as "a very well qualified person recently arrived in the Colony."

Lansdowne Bridge and Bowlers Bridge

Acting on Mitchell's recommendation, Bourke provisionally appointed Lennox as a Sub-Inspector of Bridges at a salary of £120 ($240) per annum. Lennox's appointment was confirmed by London as Superintendent of Bridges in June 1833. ^[5] In 1832 Mitchell commissioned Lennox for a sum of £1,083 ($2,166) ^[7] to build a bridge "at the intersection of Prospect Creek and Southern Street", ^{[5] [8]} which would replace the nearby "Bowler's Bridge", named after a local innkeeper. ^[9]

The Hawkesbury sandstone used in building the bridge was quarried on the bank of George's River at present day East Hills, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) from the proposed site of the bridge, allowing workers to row a punt to transport the stone to the construction site. ^[5] The bridge was constructed entirely by unskilled convicts, despite Lennox's numerous requests to Mitchell for skilled labourers. ^[9]

In July 1833 Lennox told Mitchell of a mutiny that had occurred at the quarry while he had been away on an inspection tour. Some of the convicts had rebelled and had consumed the contents of a nearby liquor still. Returning to the camp drunk they threatened to kill the supervisor and destroy the camp and quarrying equipment. The police from Liverpool were called and arrested the offenders. Retribution at Liverpool Court was swift and savage; those who were spared the chain gang received up to fifty lashes of the "cat". ^[5]

On 1 January 1834, Governor Bourke visited the site of the bridge to lay the foundation stone. Within hours of the laying of the inscription plate it was stolen. Lennox made arrangements to obtain a duplicate plate but the original was found and restored to the bridge. ^[5]

On 7 June 1834, Lennox applied for more labourers, the bridge being at a stage where the centring could commence. This was the construction of a rigid timber frame to hold each stone in place until the arch became self-supporting. It was a critical process and any inaccuracies would cause instability or collapse the arch. ^[5]

The bridge was completed a year later in late 1835. Upon being advised that the bridge was nearing completion, Governor Bourke selected 26 January 1836 for the official opening date, as this coincided with the 48th anniversary of the colony's foundation. The opening ceremony was held in front of a crowd of around 1,000. ^{[8] [9]} However the bridge was not opened to traffic for several more months as the toll house was not complete. Once tolls started to be collected, however, the bridge soon recovered its cost, and in 1844 annual receipts were £685/1/4. ^{[5] [10]}

Later, Governor Bourke wrote that the bridge had cost only £1,000 to build, compared to the £7,000 it would have taken to build a bridge of the same quality in England. ^[9]

In 1956, rather than employ the reinforced concrete beam bridge design that the Department of Main Roads normally used at that time, the DMR commenced construction of a duplicate bridge in the form of a concrete arch to carry southbound traffic on the Hume Highway. This bridge, completed in 1958, is a testament to the architectural and historical value of the original bridge. ^[11] Both bridges remain in use.

In 1973 the Lansdowne Bridge was recognised as being "one of the finest examples of Colonial Architecture in Australia". ^[8] In 1990, the Environmental Management Committee of Fairfield Council confirmed that the Lansdowne Bridge had the largest span of all masonry bridges in Australia and in 1992 that it was an example of excellent construction, which should be preserved. ^{[8] [12]}

It is listed on the Register of the National Estate ^[13] and on the National Historic Engineering Landmark list, ^[9] which states:

"Lansdowne Bridge is considered to be one of the finest examples of Colonial Architecture in Australia as well as David Lennox's masterpiece of design. ^[6] Lansdowne Bridge was built by convicts during 1834 to 1836. The sandstone arch has the largest span of any surviving masonry bridge in Australia. The size, appearance and durability make this bridge an outstanding example of colonial engineering." ^{[5] [14]}

Heritage listing

It was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 20 June 2000, the register stating: ^[5]

"The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales.

Lansdowne Bridge is considered to be one of the finest examples of colonial architecture in Australia as well as David Lennox's masterpiece of design. ^[6] Lansdowne Bridge was built by convicts during 1834 to 1836. ^{[5] [14]}

The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.

The sandstone arch has the largest span of any surviving masonry bridge in Australia. The size, appearance and durability make this bridge an outstanding example of colonial engineering." ^{[5] [14]}

See also

• Transport portal
• Engineering portal
• New South Wales portal
• Australian roads portal

• Boothtown Aqueduct
• List of bridges in Sydney
• Lennox Bridge, Glenbrook
• Lennox Bridge, Parramatta

References

1. "The Laytons, Female Emigrants". The Sydney Monitor . Vol. VIII, no. 633. New South Wales, Australia. 3 January 1834. p. 2 (MORNING). Retrieved 11 September 2016– via National Library of Australia.
2. "DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE". The Sydney Herald . Vol. III, no. 227. New South Wales, Australia. 30 December 1833. p. 2. Retrieved 30 December 2016– via National Library of Australia.
3. "The Sydney Herald". The Sydney Herald . Vol. VI, no. 442. New South Wales, Australia. 21 January 1836. p. 2. Retrieved 10 September 2016– via National Library of Australia.
4. Historic buildings vol III Liverpool and Campbelltown. Cumberland County Council. 1963. pp. 47–51. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
5. "Lansdowne Bridge". New South Wales State Heritage Register . Department of Planning & Environment. H01472. Retrieved 2 June 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence .
6. Sheedy, D (1973). National Trust Classification Card - Lansdowne Bridge.
7. "Votes and Proceedings". The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser . Vol. XXX, no. 2192. 11 October 1832. p. 3 – via National Library of Australia.
8. "Lansdowne Bridge over Prospect Creek". New South Wales Department of Roads and Maritime. 7 July 2014. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
9. "Lennox's Lansdowne Bridge" (PDF). The Institution of Engineers Australia. March 1986. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
10. George 1982, p. 121.
11. The Roadmakers, A History of Main Roads in New South Wales. NSW: Department of Main Roads. 1976. p. 221. ISBN   0-7240-0439-4.
12. "Historical Archaeological Sites – Lansdowne Bridge" (PDF). Fairfield City Council. 15 July 1992. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
13. Australian Heritage Commission (1981). The Heritage of Australia: the illustrated register of the National Estate. South Melbourne The Macmillan Company of Australia in association with the Australian Heritage Commission. p. 2/24. ISBN   978-0-333-33750-9. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
14. Environmental Management Committee. Fairfield Council, 1990

Bibliography

• "Lansdowne Bridge". 2007.
• Attraction Homepage (2007). "Lansdowne Bridge".
• Environmental Management Committee - Fairfield Council (1990). Heritage Conservation in Fairfield City - Meeting notes.
• George, Vance (1982). "The Lansdowne Bridge". Fairfield: a History of the District. pp. 115–122.
• Sheedy, D. (1973). National Trust Classification Card - Lansdowne Bridge.

Attribution

This Wikipedia article contains material from Lansdowne Bridge , entry number 01472 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence , accessed on 2 June 2018.

External links

Media related to Lansdowne Bridge, Sydney at Wikimedia Commons