Published Resources Details
Conference Paper
- Title
- Port Power: the hydraulics and mechanics of the Jervois Bridge, Port Adelaide (1878-1969)
- In
- Transactions of the Seventh South Australian Engineering Heritage Conference - Adelaide, 25 May 2018
- Imprint
- Engineers Australia, South Australia Division, Adelaide, 2018, pp. 89-114
- Abstract
In the 1870s, the South Australian Government finally succumbed to demands to replace the "rickety, shickery" timber bridge which crossed the upper reaches of the Port River at the western end of St Vincent Street. Mariners and the community were adamant that the bridge needed to be capable of opening to allow the passage of vessels, even though there was then little development upstream. The size of the required openings were specified but the actual design of the bridge was left up to the London agent who in turn put it in the safe hands of hydraulic expert, Sir William Armstrong. The result was a marvel of 19th century engineering which exceeded their expectations (and the budget). Despite its tendencey to jam in hot weather, the bridge served the community for nearly 90 years. Recently a report was prepared at the request of John Woodside (principal of J Woodside Consulting Pty Ltd) to record the history of the old Jervois Bridge prior to the restoration of its surviving remnant, the bridge keeper's gallery and box. The research uncovered details of the bridge's extraordinary hydraulic and mechanical systems and the fascinating proposal that the bridge be powered, operated, and controlled ... by water!
Related Published resources
isPartOf
- Transactions of the Seventh South Australian Engineering Heritage Conference - Adelaide, 25 May 2018 edited by Venus, Richard (Adelaide: Engineers Australia, South Australia Division, 2018), 116 pp. Details