Historical information

The Arundel Road Bridge is one of the most historically significant river crossings in Melbourne’s west, a rare surviving timber trestle bridge directly tied to the Closer Settlement movement and early agricultural development in Keilor.

In 1991, the Keilor Council decided to demolish the bridge due to the high restoration and annual maintenance costs. After significant backlash from the community, the Council reversed their decision later in the same year.

Its story spans construction challenges, floods, community activism, restoration, closure, and finally its destruction in the 2022 Maribyrnong floods.

Significance

These photographs were taken shortly before the new concrete bridge opened just upstream in 1989. They offer a rare glimpse of vehicles using the old timber trestle bridge in its final years.

Physical description

Digital scans of black and white negatives

Inscriptions & markings

Arundel Road Bridge Keilor 537.2