Historic Significance

Historical Significance or Value As the main link between Cambridge and Cambridge West for most of this century, the Cambridge High Level Bridge is of great local importance. Originally the only connection between the two places was by punt. Then the first bridge was built in 1870/71 at a cost of £1,500. It was built near the river level, and piers to support it were placed in the river. The flood of 17 November 1875 destroyed it, and it was replaced with a second bridge built in 1876. This was a wooden truss girder bridge, 143 feet (43.6m) long and 14ft (4.26m) wide, costing £2345 to build. It was placed at a higher level and was known as 'The Red Bridge'. Both these early bridges were built on the site of the present Fergusson bridge which is upstream of the Cambridge 'High Level' Bridge (Wilkinson: 37). The scheme for a new bridge placed at yet a higher level, was first mooted at a meeting held in Cambridge West in 1899, and a government engineer, C W Hursthouse was commissioned to investigate possible sites. In June 1901, Mr James Keeley of Cambridge West convened a meeting chaired by the Mayor of Cambridge, W F Buckland, and a committee was formed which eventually decided upon the Victoria Street site. But the major catalyst for the construction of the bridge was the visit of Sir Joseph Ward, an important member of Richard Seddon's Liberal Party Government. Ward visited Cambridge in December 1903 to open the Sanitorium at Maungakawa, and councillors took the opportunity to extract a reaffirmation of a previous promise made by Ward when he was Colonial Treasurer to grant £3000 to the people of Cambridge for the purpose of erecting a high level bridge. At this stage the old Red Bridge was showing signs of well-advanced deterioration (Cambridge Borough Council Minute Books; 57), yet negotiations dragged on, with a feasibility report done on the rebuilding of the bridge on the same site. The scheme for the Victoria Street site was not reinvestigated until Mr Buckland regained the mayoralty. With characteristic vigour he had the engineer, James Fulton, appointed and the contract was let to G M Fraser for £5692 while materials costing £5078 were ordered from the United States (correspondence: np). Building commenced in May 1907 and the bridge was finished and officially opened by the Governor General, Lord Plunket, on 21 December 1907. The total cost amounted to £13,000 and was shared by the contributing bodies: the Cambridge Borough Council paid for 30%, the Pukekura Road Board 30%, Waipa County Council 15% and Waikato County Council, 10% (Minute Books: 23). The bridge is therefore the result of considerable collaboration and co-operation between local and regional authorities.

Physical Significance

ENGINEERING SIGNIFICANCE: Although it is not 'the first braced arch bridge in Australasia' (Parker: 23) because that distinction belongs to the Trevalyn Bridge at Launceston, Australia (completed 1904) (O'Connor: 39) - it is the first New Zealand example of this rare method of bridge construction (Progress: 119). Particularly in its use of modern engineering technology and cantilevering, it is a pioneering structure. During the process of cantilevering, the operation only differed from that in the construction of bridges of more conventional design in that anchor I bars took the place of the anchor arm. The junction of the west arm, or half arch, was made after the erection of steel end posts began, and at that time 300 tons (305 tonnes) of steel were placed in position. The floor system of the bridge is composed of an alternating arrangement of deep and shallow I beam stringers, the deep beams spanning a panel unsupported, the intermediate or shallow stringer being supported at mid-panel length by intercostal or secondary floor beams attached to deep stringers. The floor system bears on plate girder floor beams or transoms at every panel post, and is stiffened throughout by a simple arrangement at intersecting angle-bar wind bracing in every panel. The spandrel members of the chords consist of vertical posts and diagonal braces, each of two-rolled channel section laced apart. The intersection of these members with the chords is covered with gusset plates, forming rigidly connected riveted joints. The shore ends of the 42 foot (12.8 metre) approach and the 65 foot (19.8 metre) flank spans are carried on concrete abutments which, during the erection of the arch, acted as anchors for the half arches, or cantilever arms. The thrusts of the ends of the arch is taken on skewback piers extending some 15 feet (4.9 metres) into the river banks, thus having a footing on a solid sandstone formation. The total cost of the bridge was £13,000; the materials alone cost £5078 and were ordered from the United States along with the paint used to protect the bridge against corrosive deterioration, known as 'carbonising coating' (Correspondence: np). From an engineering history point of view the structure is an example of very advanced bridge design and construction practice for its time. TOWNSCAPE/LANDMARK SIGNIFICANCE: Shortly after its opening, the Cambridge High Level Bridge was described as 'a landmark for miles around the excellent agricultural districts it unites' (Progress: 119) and comment was also made that the span of the arch, and the contour of the bridge made the structure appear both 'imposing' and 'graceful'. Its placement at the end of Victoria Street makes it clearly visible from the Cambridge town centre as well as from Leamington on the other side of the river, and it appears on picture postcards of Cambridge as a prominent feature of the town.