| Historical notes |
The Hexham Bridge, constructed between 1945 and 1952, crosses the North Channel of the Hunter River on the Pacific Highway at Hexham. The Hunter River was named by Lieutenant Shortland, who sought shelter there on his return from an unsuccessful expedition to Port Stephens to apprehend a party of escaped convicts in 1797. Whilst exploring the harbour he noticed coal deposits lying near the waterside, and over the next two years coal was shipped to Sydney, and by 1799 exports of coal began. Good soil and grazing land was discovered during exploration of the river past the present site of Maitland to just beyond Singleton in 1801. The settlement that became Newcastle began as a small convict post established by Governor King at the mouth of the river. The location was considered ideal for a penal settlement for some of the more difficult convicts due to its isolation (there being no roads or tracks) and the suitability of coal mining as a convict occupation. It was abandoned in 1802 but re-established in 1804 and continued to operate until 1819, with convicts engaged in coal mining, cedar getting, lime burning and salt boiling. In 1820 Governor Macquarie decided to open the rich fertile plains along the Hunter River to free settlers, and by 1823 most convicts were removed to Port Macquarie. (Berger, 2003, pp. 2, 3; Regional Histories, 1996, p. 38)
Newcastle experienced a period of decline after the penal settlement was closed and Maitland developed as the commercial centre of the Hunter Valley in the 1820s. The mining industry developed around Newcastle after the Australian Agricultural Company's monopoly on coal mining ended, with James Brown opening the first private coal mine at Four Mile Creek in the 1840s. From then on, other mines operating under private enterprise appeared at Waratah, Lambton, Cardiff, Stockton, New Lambton and Hexham in the 1850s and 1860s. Following BHP's establishment of an iron and steel works at Port Waratah in 1913, the steel and other allied industries, together with the coal exporting industry transformed the entire lower Hunter district and Newcastle became the major city in the region. (Australian Encyclopaedia, Vol. 6, p.310; Heritas Architecture, 2003, p.15)
At the end of World War I, the road system in the Hunter Valley was described as being in a very undeveloped state, with barely 30 miles of road provided with a dustless surface. While many significant crossings had been bridged, punts and ferries were extensively used at tidal streams. As the number of motor vehicles increased, so too did demand for improved roads and this led to the establishment of the Main Roads Board in 1925. One of the first and most significant works undertaken by the Board was the construction of a new road between Sydney and Newcastle. The existing routes were long and road conditions rough and arduous. One route followed the Great North Road to Wollombi then travelled through Cessnock to Maitland; while the other left the Great North Road near Wiseman's Ferry and travelled through Gosford and Swansea. The route for the new section of road on the northern side of the Hawkesbury River ran from Mooney Point to Gosford. When the road was completed the journey time from Sydney to Newcastle was reduced from nine to four and a half hours. Originally proclaimed as the Great Northern Highway in 1929, it was renamed two years later as the Pacific Highway, the coastal highway between Sydney and the Queensland border. (Heritas Architecture, 2003, pp. 16-18)
Waterways were crossed by ferries at twelve locations on the Highway in 1925, causing considerable delays to traffic, but they were gradually replaced with bridges as funds became available. One of these ferry services was located on the Hunter River at Hexham where the crossing is 300 yards wide. Between 1933 and 1939, traffic use of the ferry at Hexham on weekday increased by 97 percent. In that period motor vehicle registrations also increased by 48 percent, outstripping population growth. The ferry crossing at Hexham took almost one hour and the lack of a bridge was also an impediment to industrial development on sites north of the Hunter River between Hexham and Port Stephens. (DMR, 1976, p. 136; Berger, 2003, p. 6; Newcastle Sun, 15 December 1952)Plans for a bridge to replace the ferry service at Hexham were completed in 1940, under the supervision of Bridge Engineer, S. Dennis, who, over a long career had been involved in the design and construction of a number of major bridges in the State. However, war conditions, the necessity to conserve labour and materials for essential industries and the reduction in traffic meant that work could not begin for several years. Immediately after World War II the Department began an intensive maintenance and improvement program for the State's roads, which included a policy of eliminating ferries by replacing them with bridges. Concurrently with road construction of this period, work was begun on a number of important bridges on the Pacific Highway, the largest of these being the 1,256 feet long steel truss and lift-span bridge over the Hunter River at Hexham, which was the ninth major bridge to replace ferry crossings on the Pacific Highway. Vertical lift-span bridges were developed, along with bascule span and swing-span bridges as a solution to the excessive cost of building high-level bridges across coastal harbours and on inland waterways, to allow ships to pass underneath. By the end of 1953 about 25 iron vertical lift-span bridges had been built, of which Hexham Bridge was the largest. (Berger, 2003, p. 7; DMR, 1976, pp. 58, 200; Main Roads, December 1953, pp. 37-38; Newcastle Morning Herald, 18 December 1952)
Hexham Bridge, was one of a number of bridges having major steel spans constructed between 1950 and 1960. Others included those on the Pacific Highway over the Karuah River at Karuah; over the Wollomba River at Nabiac and over the Macleay River at Kempsey. Similar steel span bridges were built on the Princes Highway over the Tuross River at Bodalla and over the Clyde River at Bateman's Bay, the latter also including a vertical lift span. (DMR, 1976, p. 220)The Hexham Bridge is located 780 yards upstream from the ferry, the site selected being a compromise between technical, traffic and developmental requirements. It is situated approximately half way between two wharves from which coal was shipped. The ocean going traffic on the Hunter River was small and the majority of vessels that proceeded upstream past the ferry were colliers. At the bridge site the Maritime Services Board required a horizontal clearance for shipping of 100 feet and a vertical clearance of 100 feet at high water. An opening span was provided to satisfy these requirements and positioned to give the best available run through for ships. (Berger, 2003, p. 6) Construction of the bridge was plagued by difficulties in obtaining labour and materials and recurrent flooding. Two contracts for the work were let in November 1945, one for the fabrication and supply of steelwork, awarded to Thomas C. Pollard, Carrington, Newcastle, however the firm was subsequently released from its contract and the work taken over by the State Dockyard, Newcastle. The second contract, for the construction of the piers, erection of steelwork and laying of the deck, was awarded to J. King & Son of Adelaide. Again, however, following difficulties, in October 1950 the Department assumed responsibility for completing the work, which was completed by day-labour. (Berger, 2003, p. 7; Main Roads, March 1953, p.76; Newcastle Morning Herald, 18 December 1952)The design of the bridge initially provided for nine spans, three of 40 feet each and six of 120 feet each, however it was subsequently lengthened to comprise thirteen 40-foot spans and six 120-foot spans. The decision to lengthen the structure was partly due to the desire to provide a somewhat larger waterway and the inadequacy of the adjacent ground to support the embankments. The 40-foot spans were carried on rolled steel joists and the 120 feet spans were steel trusses, one of which forms the opening span. The carriageway consisted of reinforced concrete. The opening span was operated between towers built on the ends of the two adjacent truss spans. The span is raised and lowered by cables operated from a machinery house in the centre of the span. The substructure consisted of concrete piers founded on reinforced concrete piles. A seven-foot-wide footway was provided on the eastern side of the bridge. It was necessary to construct a considerable amount of embanked approach road to join up with the existing highway and this was carried out by the Department's day-labour organisation. (Main Roads, December 1946, pp. 52-53; September 1949, p. 30; March 1953, p.76; Berger, 2003, pp. 6-7)The Bridge was completed and officially opened by the Acting Minister for Transport, the Hon. George Weir in December 1952. During his speech at the bridge's opening, the President of the Lower Hunter Shire Council, Councillor Monkley, remarked that the bridge would not only open up the Hunter Valley but the whole of the North Coast. As the gateway to the Central and North Coast it would open up food-producing areas and speed delivery of products; and bring the industrial area of Raymond Terrace closer to Newcastle. (Main Roads, March 1953, p.76; Newcastle Morning Herald, 18 December 1952)George Budd was caretaker-operator of the bridge from its opening until his retirement in 1987, working with his offsider, Bill Steeler, under contract to the Department of Main Roads, while both were employed at the Hunter Valley Dairy Company's plant across the road from the bridge. Budd lived in a cottage almost at the base of the bridge. He remembers the heyday of the "60-milers", coastal colliers operating between Hexham and Sydney, when the bridge opened four or five times a day. Nobby's signal station at the entrance to the River, would tell them when a ship was on its way up the river; he then had an hour-and-a-half before the ship came into view of the bridge. On some occasions the fog was so thick that he could not see the ship coming through and had to ask someone on the bank if it was clear before lowering the span. Since the 1980s, however, the bridge was opened only once a week, mainly to test the mechanism and occasionally to let a trawler through. (Newcastle Herald, 22 July 1987) More recently a regular tourist vessel made weekly trips up the river, requiring opening of the bridge. Since its completion the Bridge has undergone routine maintenance, involving repairs to the deck and repainting the truss. By the 1970s inspection reports noted that the Bridge was too narrow for existing traffic and impact damage was a recurring problem, invariably caused by coal trucks travelling empty from the coal loading plant. In 1976 a 450mm diameter water main was attached to the bottom chord of the downstream trusses. (Berger, 2003, p. 11)By the 1980s, industrial developments in the area, particularly the establishment of the Tomago Aluminium Smelter, generated a huge amount of traffic and the bridge was no longer adequate for the demands of road traffic in the area, though its role as a movable bridge is virtually redundant following the demise of coal traffic on the river. In 1987 a new bridge was built over the Hunter River adjacent to the subject bridge to carry northbound traffic. From this time, the existing bridge has carried southbound traffic only. The bridge has recently undergone extensive repairs following an accident which destroyed the drive house, necessitating its reconstruction. (Berger, 2003, p. 11; Newcastle Herald, 18 April 1985) |
