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Current
status*:
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Heritage
Act - s.170 NSW State agency heritage register; but not currently included on
Schedule 5 of the Bega Valley Shire Council’s Local Environment Plan.
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Name of
item:
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Bellbird
Creek Bridge.
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Former
name/s:
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RTA
Bridge Number 6000
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Item
type:
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Built
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Item
group/collection:
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Transport
- Land
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Item
category:
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Road
Bridge
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Street
number:
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Street
name:
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Princes
Highway (4.63 km north of Eden)
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Suburb/town:
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Eden
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Local
Government Area:
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Bega
Valley Shire
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Property
description:
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(Lat: 37° 01'
30"S Long: 149° 54' 25"E)
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Owner
category:
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State
Government
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Current
use:
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Bridge
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Former
use/s:
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Bridge
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* Refers
to the site's inclusion in Schedule 5 of the Local Environment Plan.
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Statement
of significance:
This
bridge is a minor component of the historically significant route of the
Princes Highway. It is a simple functional structure constructed, as were
many others, in the 1930s by the Department of Main Roads (DMR) as part of
the State Highways improvement programme aimed at bringing the State's roads
up to a standard suited to motor vehicle traffic, a programme which as a
whole was a significant activity in the State's cultural history. The bridge
is of a highly unusual design and has some social significance as its
construction was energetically sought by the community.
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Level
of significance:
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Local
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Description:
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Designer:
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Main Roads Board
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Builder:
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Messrs
Denhlom and Davison
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Physical
description:
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The
bridge spans a stream at the bottom of a steep valley which remains heavily
wooded, with bellbirds still a dominant sound. The structure is a single span
reinforced concrete bridge consisting of a slab which chamfers twice to join
with the vertical abutment walls, effectively creating an arch. The roadway
fill runs across the structure to a depth of approximately 1 m, with stone
pitching to retain it. The bridge has been widened in similar form to the
existing, giving increased width on the upstream side. This widening is not
topped by stone pitching. Guardrail runs in the fill across both sides of the
bridge, and the close growth makes its existence almost unnoticeable.
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Physical
condition:
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In
2003 the structure was described as being in in good condition “…although
there is some abutment fill on the downstream side which appears to have
moved towards the waterway, but without constricting it. Approximately 30 m
downstream of the existing bridge there are stone mounds which may have
formed part of the approaches to the previous wooden culvert.”
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Construction
date/s:
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1934
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Modifications
and dates:
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Widened
in 1979.
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Further
comments:
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Historical
notes:
A
road route linking the settlements on the south coast of New South Wales
between Wollongong and Eden was well established by the mid-nineteenth
century, appearing on an 1858 Post Office Department map of postal roads.
(DMR, 1976, p. 37) The approximate route of the current Princes Highway was
declared the 'Main South Coast Road' through the Local Government Extension
Act of 1906. An 'opening' and naming of the Princes Highway took place at
Bulli in 1920. (DMR 1976, pp. 64 and map opposite) Between 1932 and 1939 the
Princes Highway between Sydney and Batemans Bay (174 miles) had been
completely reconstructed and surfaced in bituminous macadam. Work on the
section between Batemans Bay and the Victorian border, including around
Moruya, was well underway by 1939, but not yet complete. Several extensive
deviations had been constructed, adding 35 miles of completely new road and
many new concrete bridges (as many as 22 concrete bridges between Nowra and
Batemans Bay). (DMR 1976, p. 160-1) It was in this context that the bridge
over Bellbird Creek was constructed in 1934. This bridge was one of more than
1,000 bridges built by the DMR between 1925 and 1940, a period in which their
engineers were adapting existing standards of bridge design to meet the
requirements of improved motor vehicle performance - they were generally
wider than previously with an improved load capacity. The principal types of
bridges constructed in this period were: concrete slab; reinforced concrete
beam; steel truss on concrete piers; and timber beam bridges. (DMR, 1976,
pp.169) Concrete was favoured in many instances because it was perceived to
be a low maintenance material. In July 1933 a move was made by the Eden
Advancement Committee for the renewal of the culvert of Bellbird Creek. The
culvert had been swept away by a flood sometime previously and it was
suggested that action be taken to remedy the situation, as the crossing was
proving very troublesome to the mail and other cars, and if much rain fell
they would be isolated. A Main Roads Board official had stated the previous
year that it was the worst hill between Sydney and the border, with the
exception of Bulli Pass. In September 1933 the bridge remained unrepaired and
many tourists complained about the delay in commencing construction of a
bridge at Bellbird Creek. (Bega Valley Historical Society, RTA File
1/32.1202) Searches of the Eden Magnet by the Bega Valley Historical Society
indicate a high level of community concern about the crossing between July
1933 and July 1934, and much relief following the completion of this small
bridge and others that had been damaged during the same period of flooding.
In December 1933 tenders were invited for the construction of a reinforced
concrete bridge and paved earthwork approaches to Bellbird Creek near Eden
and in January 1934 it was reported that Messrs Denholm and Davison had
secured the contract and were arriving during the week to commence work. In
June 1934 final touches were being given to Bellbird Creek Bridge and
approaches by Messrs Denholm and Davison. In July 1934 it was reported that
the replacement of the old flood-destroyed wooden culvert at Bellbird Creek near
Eden, with a modern reinforced concrete structure, had removed one bugbear to
travellers on the road. (Bega Valley Historical Society)
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Themes:
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Australian
theme:
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New
South Wales theme:
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Local
theme:
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3.
Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies
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Commerce-Activities
relating to buying, selling and exchanging goods and services
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3.
Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies
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Transport-Activities
associated with the moving of people and goods from one place to another, and
systems for the provision of such movements
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Application criteria:
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Historical
significance
SHR
criteria (a)
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The
limited historical significance of the bridge over Bellbird Creek is related
to its role as a minor component of the historically significant route of the
Princes Highway. It is a product of the general upgrading of the road system
that took place in NSW in the mid-twentieth century when more than 1,000
bridges were upgraded to cope with increased vehicular traffic on NSW roads.
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Aesthetic
significance
SHR
criteria (c)
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Modest,
although the multiple chamfers are suggestive of an arch.
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Social significance
SHR
criteria (d)
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Correspondence
to the Eden Magnet for the year July 1933 to July 1934, indicates a high
level of community concern about the crossing and much relief following the
completion of this small bridge and others that had been damaged during the
same period of flooding.
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Rarity
SHR
criteria (f)
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No
exact equivalent in New South Wales. Guthries Creek, Charlottes Pass (RTA
Bridge No. 6206) is similar but with only one chamfer per side.
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Representativeness
SHR
criteria (g)
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Representative
of modest crossing of the period.
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Integrity:
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Moderate,
widened in like style to original.
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Heritage
Listings:
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Heritage
Act - s.170 NSW State agency heritage register
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Information
sources / bibliography :
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RTA
General File 1/32.1202
Eden
Magnet
The Roadmakers, Department of
Main Roads, 1976
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Author and date:
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All
information taken from NSW State Government listing, database No. 4309550
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http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/heritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=4309550 |
