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Bunbury Bridge

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East Perth and surrounds, c.1935
Bunbury Bridge, c.1930

Bunbury Bridge was a single-track, timber railway bridge in East Perth in Western Australia. The bridge crossed the Swan River near Claise Brook and was built for passenger and freight traffic to Bunbury on the South Western Railway, and was also part of the Armadale railway line.

The Bunbury Bridge (then called the Swan Bridge) was built in 1892 by Atkins and Law. Construction was delayed due to troubles with sinking the Jarrah piles into the soft riverbed: they were intended to be sunk 42 feet (13 m) below the water level, but reached this depth under their own weight as soon as they were put in position. Ultimately, they had to be driven to 85 to 96 feet (26 to 29 m) before a solid footing was found.

The bridge was opened as part of the Perth to Bunbury Railway which was officially opened on 8 September 1893 by Governor Robinson. Following concerns for its safety, a so-called "temporary" replacement bridge was built between 1930 and 1932.

After 63 years of use, the temporary structure was closed when a new concrete railway bridge opened in 1995. The old timber bridge was demolished in early 1996. The 1995 concrete dual-track Goongoongup Bridge was built as part of the electrification of Perth's suburban railways. Windan Bridge (opened April 2000) is immediately adjacent and carries road traffic from the Graham Farmer Freeway.

Locals referred to the Bunbury Bridge as "Big Bunna", and the smaller bridge which crossed the nearby Burswood Canal at Riversdale (Rivervale) as "Little Bunna". This bridge was a single-span steel beam construction carried on a tall concrete pier at each end, unlike the "Big Bunna" which was an all-timber structure.

A wooden road bridge on the east side of the "Little Bunna" carried Goodwood Parade across the canal on to the Belmont Racecourse. Immediately on the west or Causeway side of this bridge was a wharf with bollards to which were secured a partially sunk hopper barge which was one of a fleet that had been used to deliver oyster shells dredged from the Swan River for use in manufacturing cement at the old Swan Cement Company's works further southward up the railway line, near the Rivervale station. With a high lime content these shells were valuable for this process and over 3 million tons of shell were dredged from the river from the late twenties to the mid-fifties. At the end of this period, two or more barge hulks could be seen lying rotting among the reeds along the river banks to the south of the canal's entrance . One of these hulks, carrying a rusting and now long-gone vertical steam boiler, was one of the dredges. Today, it's remnants are still visible there at low tide, some fifty metres upstream from the Goodwood Parade boat ramp.

There was also a small jetty for fishing between these bridges on the canal's south bank, which was reached by a a track running back uphill to Goodwood Parade. This all disappeared when the dual track rail line was extended from the Rivervale Signal Box formerly at the northern end of the Rivervale Station down to beyond where the canal had been.


See also

References

  1. ^ "The South-Western Railway: Mr Neil McNeil's Picnic". The West Australian. Perth. 19 December 1892. p. 2. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
  2. Gunzburg, Adrian; Austin, Geff (2008). "Table Construction of the W.A Government Railways network, 1879-1931". Rails through the Bush: Timber and Firewood Tramways and Railway Contractors of Western Australia. Perth, Western Australia: Rail Heritage WA. pp. 208–210. ISBN 978-0-9803922-2-7. OL 12330925W.
  3. "City of Perth". Australian Town and Country Journal. NSW: National Library of Australia. 14 October 1893. p. 19. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  4. "Perth-Bunbury Railway Bridge Over The Swan River". The Inquirer & Commercial News. Perth: National Library of Australia. 28 April 1893. p. 1 Supplement: The Inquirer and Commercial News. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  5. "Chapter 21" . History of West Australia. 1897. p. 339 – via Wikisource.
  6. "New Bunbury Bridge Commenced". The Sunday Times. Perth: National Library of Australia. 15 June 1930. p. 5 Section: Second Section. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  7. "New Bunbury Bridge". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 22 January 1932. p. 20. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  8. "New Bunbury Bridge". Western Mail. Perth: National Library of Australia. 19 June 1930. p. 23. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  9. Bunbury Bridge, East Perth – history of the bridge built in 1932 and plans for its replacement Westrail News, April 1993, p.5
  10. Bunbury Bridge, East Perth – $10m contract awarded to Transfield Constructions for new bridge construction Westrail News, Feb. 1994, p.1,6
  11. "Official opening of Goongoonup Bridge (sic)". Govt. of Western Australia. 24 July 1995.

31°56′53″S 115°52′58″E / 31.94794°S 115.88286°E / -31.94794; 115.88286


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