Bridges of the Central Coast

BridgesOF THE CENTRAL COAST

Chances are, you’ve never thought of the Central Coast as a place of interesting bridges. But did you know that the oldest convict-built bridge still in use in mainland Australia, as well as the second oldest bridge and the fourth oldest bridge are all in our region? (The latter two are now without their roadways, and only their sandstone abutments remain.)

Phil Houghton Bridge, Piles Creek

THOMAS JAMES BRIDGE, Settlers Road, near Dharug National Park

The oldest bridge, the Thomas James Bridge, can be found on the north side of the Hawkesbury River between Wisemans Ferry and the Devines Hill entrance to Dharug National Park on the old Great North Road (now Settlers Road). It was built in 1830 by 25 convicts under the supervision of Thomas James. Look beneath the bridge to see its massive sandstone abutments.

© CONOLLYB AT ENGLISH WIKIPEDIA Thomas James Bridge

CLARES BRIDGE, Old Great North Road, Dharug National Park

Just beaten as the oldest bridge by a matter of months, the second oldest, Clares Bridge, also built by Thomas James in 1830, is a little more off the beaten track, but still part of the old Great North Road. To find it you’ll have to bushwalk through the Dharug National Park, 1km north of the Ten Mile Hollow camping grounds.

Even without a road deck, its sweeping design makes Clares Bridge one of the most visually impressive of all the old bridges along the old Great North Road.

Both Thomas James Bridge and the Clares Bridge are part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing of Australian Convict Sites. »

Clares Bridge

© ANTHONY DUNK

© KEVIN MORGAN, MAGIC LIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY Hawkesbury Rail Bridge

© JACK HUBBARD Mooney Mooney Creek Bridge HAWKESBURY RIVER RAILWAY BRIDGE, near Brooklyn

Another heritage-listed bridge is the 1889-built Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge built across the Hawkesbury. The Union Bridge Company of New York won the contract to construct the bridge but sub-contracted the actual work. The crossing was hailed as a symbol of Federation, and Sir Henry Parkes, made much of this when he opened the bridge.

Just 12 months after its completion, faults were discovered in a number of piers, not helped by the fact that the double-lane bridge was the only point at which north and southbound trains could pass each other on the otherwise single track. By 1925, the deck of the bridge had to be strengthened and, by 1938, severe cracking was found in the southern pier, caused by the depth of river sediment, which had made it difficult to anchor the pier in bedrock. The bridge was then carrying 100 trains a day and the speed across the bridge was gradually reduced to a traffic-crawling 6km per hour while a replacement bridge was designed and built – considered an urgent requirement in wartime Australia.

The old sandstone and concrete piers and abutments still stand beside today’s train bridge, which was opened in 1946 (and is also on the NSW Heritage Register).

MOONEY MOONEY CREEK BRIDGE, Mooney Mooney Creek (aka The Big Dipper)

Opened in 1986 by Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, the 75-metre-high bridge is, surprisingly, a twin bridge, each having a main span and two approach spans. Its carriageway is the main link carrying Pacific Motorway (M1) traffic between Sydney and Newcastle and all points north. Its simple, clean lines were designed specifically not to detract from the natural bushland surrounds.

The original two-lane steel truss bridge from 1930, downstream from the newer bridge, still carries traffic on the old Pacific Highway. »

© SHAUN DENCH Phil Houghton Bridge

© KEVIN MORGAN, MAGIC LIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY Paradise Botanical Gardens Bridge

PHIL HOUGHTON BRIDGE, Piles Creek, Brisbane Water National Park near Somersby

The Phil Houghton Bridge, also part of the old Great North Road, was built in 1998 after an older bridge – still visible a little upstream – was partially washed away by floodwaters. The footbridge can hold eight people, and is said to be quite stable even though, as a suspension bridge, it sways as you cross. PARADISE BOTANICAL GARDENS BRIDGE, Kulnura

The Roman arch-style bridge across a spring-fed creek is constructed from local rock and was built after the previous owner of the gardens, Bob Cherry, acquired the property in the 1970s. Stone structures play hide-and-seek with visitors to the gardens, including whimsical stone statues, water channels and a magnificent rubble-stone wall.

Budgewoi Footbridge

BUDGEWOI FOOTBRIDGE to Dunkey Island (aka Budgie Bridge)

The first traffic bridge across Budgewoi Creek was constructed by the Freeman family in 1902-’03. The footbridge, north of that bridge, was built to connect the Dunkey Island recreational area to the mainland.

THOMPSONS BRIDGE, Bucketty

Located between Murrays Run and Laguna, alongside the Great North Road, the bridge is no longer open to vehicle traffic. It was thought to have been built in 1830 by the No.7 Iron Gang but the quality of the work suggests it may have collapsed at some stage and been rebuilt to lessen the bend in the road.

CIRCUIT FLAT BRIDGE, Bucketty

The old Great North Road joins the St Albans to Bucketty road near the Mogo campground in Yengo National Park where a walking track takes you 5.5km down the old road to the stone buttresses and Bucketty Wall, which are all that remain of the once-impressive, convict-built Circuit Flat Bridge. Reported to be the fourth oldest bridge in mainland Australia, and built in 1831 under the convict-gang overseer, William Barratt, it once linked Sydney to essential farmlands in the Hunter Valley.

CUNNEENS BRIDGE, Wollombi

Cunneens Bridge was named after the landowner on whose property the bridge was built: Patrick Cunneen (or Cuneen) was a tailor who emigrated from Ireland in 1841 and worked for a time as a farm labourer before moving to Sydney as a tailor, then to Wollombi where he purchased land at the junction of Wollombi Brook.

A modern Cunneens Bridge was built in 2020, and the old bridge was listed for demolition in 2021-22.

© WEBBOYDOTNET Cunneens Bridge

BRIDGING OUR COMMUNITIES

Ourimbah Creek Bridge, built in 1906, was the first direct road link between Wyong and The Entrance.

The single-lane wooden The Entrance Bridge opened in 1934, was replaced by the concrete bridge in 1969.

The steel-trussed Peats Ferry Bridge, completed in 1945, carries Pacific Highway vehicles across the Hawkesbury River. Alongside it, the 1973-built Brooklyn Bridge, better known as the Hawkesbury River Bridge, carries Pacific Motorway traffic.

The Rip Bridge across Brisbane Water, first connected Booker Bay to Daleys Point and the Coast’s popular beaches in 1974.

Toukley Bridge to Gorokan, opened in 1985, replacing the old two-lane wooden bridge built in 1939.

And how could we omit the Spike Milligan Bridge for pedestrians and cyclists in Woy Woy, and named after the town’s favourite adopted son in 2008.

Circuit Flat Bridge

© ANTHONY DUNK Spike Milligan Bridge

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