Grafton Bridge, Grafton, New South Wales

The original Grafton Bridge, which spans the Clarence River, is the only double-decker road and rail bridge in Australia. This unusual two level structure has two railway lines on its lower deck and cars above on the top deck. It still sees several trains a day from Sydney to Brisbane (passenger and freight) as well as countless cars on the top deck. Grafton Bridge is affectionately known to locals as the Bendy Bridge as it has a bend at each approach to allow the railway to continue straight while the road diverges.

Long before the first bridge was built across the Clarence in Grafton, a steam punt established in 1859 carried passengers across the 'Big River. The first practical step to bridge the Clarence at Grafton was taken back in 1915 when the Grafton to South Grafton Railway Act authorised the constructoin of a bridge with one pedestrian footway. Fortunately, the wheels moved slowly so that by 1922 the Department of Public Works had adopted a much more progressive proposal - a bridge for vehicles as well as trains and with two pedestrian footways.

Several sites for the bridge were considered with the final choice narrowed down to the Wilson's Hill site, another crossing Susan Island and a third at Mountainview. Wilson's Hill won the day because the river at this point was suitable for foundations and it was relatively narrow. A bonus was that a bridge here could more easily link with existing railway lines. The bridge design was amended to provide a bascule span for shipping with a navigable fairway of 23 metres and a depth of 13.4 metres of water. The bridge thus approved was unique in the Southern Hemisphere with provision for trains, vehicles, ships and pedestrians. Seven concrete piers were put down to foundations on solid rock at depths ranging from 9 metres to 23 metres below high water level.



Officially opening the bridge on 19th July 1932, the Governor-General, Sir Isaac Isaacs, referred to "the stamp of originality" evident in the design. Mr J.H.S. Angus, a director of the Clyde Engineering Co, said the bridge (which cost $827,346 to construct) was the second largest built in Australia next to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, also opened in 1932. The Hawkesbury River Bridge, although a rival to that across the Clarence, was imported and reassembled in Australia. The same applied to the George's River Bridge in Sydney's south.



After the Governor-General cut a ribbon with a pair of gold scissors, the bascule span was raised. "The Daily Examiner" recorded what followed in these words: "One of the aerial machines which have been flying over Grafton during the carnival was piloted through the passage, occasioning a thrill amongst the huge crowd of spectators. Shortly afterwards the NCSN (North Coast Steam Navigation) Coy's motorship Melinga, gaily decorated with bunting, passed through on her voyage to Sydney and the cheering was renewed with vigour."