You can just picture it, October 1923 and the main road bridge over the Diamond Creek at Eltham has just collapsed following a substantial flood event which occurred October 13-14.
Reporters swoop in by horse and/or motor vehicle, seeking out the old timers, for they are the ones who hold all knowledge and wisdom, whose wrinkles just reek of historical insight from a life of experience well lived.
“When was the bridge built?” they ask.
“Ooh, it would have had to have been a good 80 years ago now” they proffer.
And so, we document, the original bridge was erected about 1840.
But that is not really the case, is it? One thing we learn as we document our history, as time progresses and more resources become available revealing new evidence, we can fine tune the record and hone the story better.
Those old timers that suggested the bridge was about 80 years old when it collapsed were not completely without fact. We accept that there must have been some form of bridge present as it was marked on the Surveyor General’s 1856 map of the Village of Eltham.
However, that was not the ‘original’ wooden trestle bridge that collapsed in 1923. That bridge was only 66 years old. Tenders for its erection were invited in April 1857 by the Eltham Road District Board, the first form of local government for the district established by proclamation, 24 September 1856.
The bridge was built for the coach road when Cobb & Co.’s coach was the only conveyance between Eltham and Melbourne.
Flooding was a common occurrence. 1918 was a significant flood year. A postcard of the bridge taken circa 1918 shows surrounding orchards submerged in floodwaters.
On October 13 and 14, 1923, the 66-year-old timber bridge collapsed during flooding of the Diamond Creek. Widespread damage was done in Melbourne and surrounding areas by floods resulting from the overflow of the Yarra at many points along its banks.
A temporary bridge was rigged up but severely damaged months later by further flooding of the creek and was closed to vehicular traffic in April 1924.
In September 1924 tenders were invited for the construction of a new reinforced concrete structure bridge over the Diamond Creek. In all, five submissions were received and the tender for £7,970 by the Reinforced Concrete and Monier Pipe Construction Company of Collins House, Melbourne was recommended in November to the Country Roads Board for acceptance.
Demolition of the old wooden bridge structure and construction of the new concrete bridge commenced a year later in November 1925. By December, the remains of the old bridge had been completely removed and excavation work commenced.
By May 1926 all the concrete piles and abutments were in place and the bridge was finally completed and opened for traffic in September 1926, almost three years after it initially collapsed.
In 1984 the bridge was widened with a completely new decking undertaken by the Road Construction Authority in conjunction with reconstruction of Main Road to Mount Pleasant Road. The revised bridge was opened October 26th.
For more images of the bridge over time, please refer to our article – Significant Trees, Main Road Bridge, Eltham
Author: P. Pidgeon, March 2024
Eltham District Historical Society Inc. 