Ross Bridge - National Engineering Landmark #40 Ross, Tasmania, Australia
By MavEtJu on 09-Oct-15. Waypoint GA7537

Ross Bridge - National Engineering Landmark #40

The bridge, carrying the old Midland Highway across the Macquarie River at Ross, consists of three segmental arch spans, constructed from local sandstone.  It was built by convict labour and completed in 1836. Important features of this bridge are:

• The close attention to detail in its design and construction.  The curved wing walls on all four corners contain staircases leading to the riverbanks.  The overall proportions of the bridge appear to obey classical rules of aesthetics, giving rise to a pleasing appearance of strength and dependability.  It admirably “fits” into the landscape without any attempt to dominate.
• Individual parapet blocks are meticulously tied with wrought iron dog clamps, carefully caulked with lead,
• All face blocks of the arches are richly and expertly carved, mainly using Celtic motifs and symbolism.  While medieval stone arch bridges often exhibited coats-of-arms or other symbols on the keystones of their central spans, this is, to our knowledge, the only bridge in the world of which every tapered arch block (voussoir) has an intricately carved surface

Contents of the plaque:

ROSS BRIDGE

This bridge on the former Hobart to Launceston Road was designed by Engineer/Architect John Lee Archer. The bridge was constructed by two convict stonemasons, Daniel Herbert and James Colbeck, with a gang of convict labour, under the direction of Captain William Turner, Commandant of Ross. Herbert created the unique ornamentation on the arches. Both stonemasons were emancipated on completion of the bridge, which was officially opened by Lt. Governor Arthur on 21 October 1836.

THE INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, AUSTRALIA 2003

When logging this virtual, please add a photo of yourself or your GPSr at the plaque.

For more information, please see the nomination PDF at the Heritage Register at the Engineers Australia website: Link