With plenty of drenching rain causing extensive flooding within the shire and surrounding regions over the past few months, many residents have, for the first time, used the New Forbes Road (off Gooloogong Road) for access through to Forbes. This road includes a large bridge, the ‘Gordon Duff Bridge’, which happens to hold a very interesting and fascinating history.
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Grenfell resident, Bob Reynolds, has the original brochure that was handed to residents upon the grand occasion of the official Bridge opening in 1961.
HISTORY OF THE ‘GORDON DUFF BRIDGE’
As council (Jemalong Shire) had previously considered the circular from the Carr Shipping & Trading Co concerning the sale of the Old Iron Cove Bridge, the Shire Engineer, Mr Duff, was instructed to investigate the advisability of its purchase for Turner’s Crossing.
The bridge was dismantled at Iron Cove, however, council needed to consider the cost of haulage by road, therefore needed to purchase the bridge for a reasonable price, as shipping this massive bridge could not be carried out by the Dept of Railways. After much negotiation with Mr Carr, Dept of Main Roads and Dept of Transport Jemalong Shire purchased the whole bridge for 18,000 pounds. Council had decided previously that if the whole of the bridge was purchased, five spans were to be used for Turner’s Crossing, three for Gunning Gap and one for Mafeking Creek, the reason for the bridge at Turner’s Crossing was to provide a flood proof access road from Forbes to Cowra for grain, stock and other cartage during flooding. The bridge at Turner’s Crossing was named the Gordon Duff Bridge in recognition of the services to Council of it’s Engineer. Now came the difficult task of transporting the bridge from Iron Cove to Jemalong Shire as each lattice girder consisted of two pieces 60 and 80 feet long, 12 feet high and weighing 25 tons. The pieces were transported by CW Jones of Forbes with advice from local engineer Eric Leaney and the Police Traffic Branch by road via the Bells Line Of Road through Bilpin and Lithgow, a mammoth task. Once it had arrived came the most involved task of erecting the bridge at the Turner’s Crossing site as, away from the city, there were no cranes to handle such weights.
The whole of the unloading and re-erection was carried out by council employees, who without any experience in this field, carried out the project satisfactorily and efficiently. Today the bridge still stands strong and is still being used as an essential access road during flooding.
Anyone wishing to obtain a copy of the original, detailed brochure can call into the Record office and we will provide you with a photocopy.
