Historical information

The Bethanga Bridge was built between 1927 and 1930 as a joint venture between Victoria and New South Wales as part of the Hume Dam project as a key element of the River Murray Waters Agreement.
It consists of nine spans of 82 metres long. Each span is supported between double reinforced concrete pylons and a riveted steel camel back Pratt truss. The overall span of the bridge is a length of 752 metres. It was completed in 1929 at a cost of £194,000.
The road deck was initially constructed from timber but was replaced in 1961 with a concrete waffle slab deck 7.7metres wide. In 1961 the bridge deck and truss structure were raised 300 millimetres to allow for the enlargement of the lake.

The bridge was designed in NSW by road engineer Percy Alan and the trusses were built by the Charles Ruwolt Pty.Ltd. Charles Ruwolt Pty.Ltd. was originally established by Charles Ruwolt as a foundry at Wangaratta in 1902 and transferred its operations to Richmond, Melbourne in 1914. By 1938 it had become one of the biggest engineering companies in Australia. After Ruwolt’s death in 1946, Vickers Ltd. acquired the company and in 1948 the firm became known as Vickers Ruwolt Pty. Ltd.

Because of the Bethanga Bridge’s unique location, over the waters of a dam with the border running down the centre of the body of water, the Bethanga Bridge is the only built structure shared by both Victoria and New South Wales. As the border of New South Wales aligns with the southern bank of the Murray River all of the other bridges along its length are deemed to be in New South Wales.

The Bethanga Bridge is listed on both the New South Wales State Heritage Register and the Victorian Heritage Database.
In 2015 the Bethanga Bridge was nominated for a heritage award by the Institution of Engineering Australia.

Significance

These images are significant because the document the construction of a bridge which links Victoria and New South Wales and has been recognised for its historical, technical and engineering significance.

Physical description

A collection of photos documenting the construction of the Bethanga Bridge which links the States of Victoria and New South Wales as part of the construction of the Hume Dam .