A-Bridged Version Traditional Cache
Bunjil: Unfortunately there has not been a response (or regular update) from the cache owner within the period requested and, as per the original advice, this cache is now being de-listed (Archived) as abandoned.
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This beautiful bridge, known to the locals as the ‘A Frame Bridge’, is listed on the Victorian Heritage register.
It is on the Albert River Road, Hiawatha, in Wellington Shire. The bridge is situated at the foot of the Strezlecki Ranges in South Gippsland, on a tributary of the Albert River, in what is now the Shire of Wellington.
The bridge was built in 1933 and was designed without a centre pier, to avoid the debris and floating logs damaging the structure during floods.
According to the Heritage Victoria website,
“The bridge is formed by a pair of A frames, one on each side of the deck constructed from two large logs, joined at the apex and with their bases encased in concrete on each bank of the stream. The frames are also braced with cross stays. A heavy steel rod hanger is suspended from the apex of each A frame, and these rods carry a large steel joist. The steel joist, suspended over the centre of the stream, carries the ends of the substantial timber stringers, on which the standard 1930s CRB motor deck is carried.
The Hiawatha A Frame Bridge is of historical significance as the last surviving example of an innovative type of timber bridge which were particularly numerous in Gippsland. The design was never used on main roads and highways, and therefore has close historical associations with the Developmental Roads Scheme, which helped open up remote areas to settlement. It is also historically significant as an economic design response to the exigencies of the Depression years of the early 1930s.’
This bridge has a clear span of approximately 18m. The design was developed during the Depression years of the early 1930s, possibly following an early example on the Great Ocean Road, and a full prototype built for £470 on Merriman's Creek in the former Shire of Alberton. The cost was about half that of a traditional truss bridge.”
This bridge is no longer in use for vehicular traffic, but can be accessed by foot from the road. The area around this bridge does not appear to be maintained and when we were there, there was long grass and weeds to walk through, but the bridge is still in good shape.
The cache is a 1 litre sistema container with a few swaps, a logbook, cachenote and pencil
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