Dalgety Bridge

Item details


Name of item:	Dalgety Bridge
Other name/s:	Buckleys Crossing Bridge, Barnes Crossing
Type of item:	Built
Group/Collection:	Transport - Land
Category:	Road Bridge
Primary address:	The Snowy River Way, Dalgety, NSW 2628
Parish:	BOBUNDARA
County:	WALLACE
Local govt. area:	Snowy River

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
The Snowy River Way	Dalgety	Snowy River	BOBUNDARA	WALLACE	Primary Address

Statement of significance:


	The Bridge over the Snowy River has been an important item of infrastructure in the history of New South Wales for over 110 years, was designed by noted bridge engineer JA McDonald, has strong aesthetic lines and is a landmark, was a technically sophisticated bridge structure for its time, contributed significantly to the social and commercial development of the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales. It is one of only 7 bridges of this design and the only one to have curved ends. It is an good representative example of this type of bridge.
	Date significance updated: 16 Feb 12
	Note: The State Heritage Inventory provides information about heritage items listed by local and State government agencies. The State Heritage Inventory is continually being updated by local and State agencies as new information becomes available. Read the OEH copyright and disclaimer.

Description


Designer/Maker:	J A Mcdonald
Builder/Maker:	J Gay (builder) Richie (steel) Hain (timber)
Construction years:	1888-1889
Physical description:	Dalgety Bridge is a lattice truss wrought iron and timber bridge set on iron columns which crosses over the Snowy River. It has the distinction of being the only 2-span continuous bridge in John A McDonald's new series, for which the sophistication of the 3-span continuous design has no technical application. The spans of 43m are in the mid-range of the new series. The substructure consists of diaphragm-tied iron piers. The overall length of the Bridge is 169m with a total of 10 timber beam approach spans and it is 4.6m wide between kerbs.
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	Good
	Date condition updated:28 Apr 09
Modifications and dates:	Continuous maintenance using traditional materials


Current use:	Bridge

History

Historical notes:

Iron lattice bridges are the most significant bridges of the colonial period. They were the most expensive bridges of their time and carried the burgeoning road network across many of the major rivers in New South Wales. Whereas the construction of timber truss bridges extended over a long period, from the 1860s to the 1930s, and was associated with three prominent engineers in the Department of Public Works (Percy Allen, E M De Burgh and Harvey Dare), the construction of the iron lattice bridges was confined to a short period, from 1881 and 1893, and all were designed by bridge engineer John A McDonald. The steel supplier was Richie, the timber was supplied by Hains.

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Transport-Activities associated with the moving of people and goods from one place to another, and systems for the provision of such movements	(none)-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Transport-Activities associated with the moving of people and goods from one place to another, and systems for the provision of such movements	(none)-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	The Bridge has a high historical significance. It a large bridge with long spans over a major river, indicative of the then burgeoning road network. It represents the endeavours of 19th century local settlers and their need for safe and reliable access across the Snowy River. It significantly helped open up the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales.
SHR Criteria b) [Associative significance]	One of the works of noted bridge engineer JA McDonald
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	Aesthetically, the Bridge with its long lattice trusses and elegant piers presents an imposing yet attractive reminder of the past. It has strong aesthetic lines that enhances the aesthetics of its environment. The curved ends give a sense of grace and elegance to this design. As such, the bridge has aesthetic significance.
SHR Criteria d) [Social significance]	Because of their limited numbers and quality iron lattice truss bridges gain high social significance. The Bridge also has great significance to the local community, as it is a gateway to the historic village of Dalgety. Dalgety Bridge has contributed significantly to the social and commercial development of the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales.
SHR Criteria f) [Rarity]	Only seven bridges of this design were constructed, all in NSW. The curved ends of this design of McDonald bridge is unique.
SHR Criteria g) [Representativeness]	A fine representative example of an iron lattice truss bridge.
Integrity/Intactness:	Intact
Assessment criteria:	Items are assessed against the State Heritage Register (SHR) Criteria to determine the level of significance. Refer to the Listings below for the level of statutory protection.

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Local Environmental Plan	Snowy River Local Environmental Plan 2013	I128	13 Dec 13
Local Environmental Plan	Amend No 1	57	12 May 00		4053

Study details

Title	Year	Number	Author	Inspected by	Guidelines used
Snowy River Heritage Study	1998	CA.D.02	Tropman & Tropman		Yes
Heritage Sig. of pre 1930 RTA Controlled Metal Road Bridges	2001		Godden Mackay Logan		Yes

References, internet links & images

None

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

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Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Local Government
Database number:	2410001

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