Shaky Bridge, completed in 1879, is set in the dramatic rocky landscape to the east of the Central Otago town of Alexandra and stands as a memorial to the pioneers of the gold mining district.
Shaky Bridge was built to provide a link between the growing town and the hinterland to the east of the Manuherikia and Clutha Rivers. Negotiating river crossings was an important concern for both travellers and townspeople. Locals lobbied for a bridge over the Manuherikia and in June 1877 Vincent County Engineer Leslie Duncan Macgeorge surveyed the proposed site and drew up plans for a 'horse bridge'. Locals called for a traffic bridge and in early 1878 tenders were opened. Local contractors Grant and McKellar's tender of £974 10s was accepted. The bridge is recorded as being completed without approaches towards the end of April 1879. In May 1880 the Tuapeka Times reported that the 'bridge over the Manuherikia river is all but completed, and is a handsome structure' and looked forward to a grand opening. For twenty years the suspension bridge was the sole town crossing of the Manuherikia River. The construction of a road rail bridge in 1906 made the existing structure redundant. In 1906 the bridge was sold to local settlers at a nominal sum.
The structure fell into disrepair, earning the name 'Shaky Bridge'. When it seemed likely that Shaky Bridge would either fall down or be demolished, the local community formed the Pioneer Bridge Committee to preserve the bridge as a monument to the early pioneers. In 1952 a plaque describing the bridge as a memorial to the pioneers of the region was fixed to one of the towers. In 2008 Shaky Bridge provides pedestrian access from the residential area of Alexandra to the sparsely inhabited areas on the east of the river.
Shaky Bridge is a single span suspension bridge reaching across the Manuherikia River. A set of stone towers stand on either side of the bridge, with the suspension wires arching between them. The approaches to the bridge are built up in stacked stone. The deck of the bridge has been altered from a traffic bridge to a footbridge. The pedestrian-width deck has wooden rails and chain link fencing for its length. Shaky Bridge's towers are built of local schist, and sit amidst the barren rocky landscape characteristic of the Alexandra area.
Shaky Bridge has Shaky Bridge has aesthetic, historic and technological significance. The modest suspension bridge is set amidst the dramatic landscape of Alexandra. Historically the development of roads and bridges in New Zealand is a major strand of history. Bridges were a vital link to the wider world, particularly when the Alexandra's history is so bound with the powerful rivers running in the gorge below the town. As a suspension bridge, Shaky Bridge illustrates the nineteenth century technologies typical of the period.
Shaky Bridge was built to provide a link between the growing town and the hinterland to the east of the Manuherikia and Clutha Rivers. Negotiating river crossings was an important concern for both travellers and townspeople. Locals lobbied for a bridge over the Manuherikia and in June 1877 Vincent County Engineer Leslie Duncan Macgeorge surveyed the proposed site and drew up plans for a 'horse bridge'. Locals called for a traffic bridge and in early 1878 tenders were opened. Local contractors Grant and McKellar's tender of £974 10s was accepted. The bridge is recorded as being completed without approaches towards the end of April 1879. In May 1880 the Tuapeka Times reported that the 'bridge over the Manuherikia river is all but completed, and is a handsome structure' and looked forward to a grand opening. For twenty years the suspension bridge was the sole town crossing of the Manuherikia River. The construction of a road rail bridge in 1906 made the existing structure redundant. In 1906 the bridge was sold to local settlers at a nominal sum.
The structure fell into disrepair, earning the name 'Shaky Bridge'. When it seemed likely that Shaky Bridge would either fall down or be demolished, the local community formed the Pioneer Bridge Committee to preserve the bridge as a monument to the early pioneers. In 1952 a plaque describing the bridge as a memorial to the pioneers of the region was fixed to one of the towers. In 2008 Shaky Bridge provides pedestrian access from the residential area of Alexandra to the sparsely inhabited areas on the east of the river.
Shaky Bridge is a single span suspension bridge reaching across the Manuherikia River. A set of stone towers stand on either side of the bridge, with the suspension wires arching between them. The approaches to the bridge are built up in stacked stone. The deck of the bridge has been altered from a traffic bridge to a footbridge. The pedestrian-width deck has wooden rails and chain link fencing for its length. Shaky Bridge's towers are built of local schist, and sit amidst the barren rocky landscape characteristic of the Alexandra area.
Shaky Bridge has Shaky Bridge has aesthetic, historic and technological significance. The modest suspension bridge is set amidst the dramatic landscape of Alexandra. Historically the development of roads and bridges in New Zealand is a major strand of history. Bridges were a vital link to the wider world, particularly when the Alexandra's history is so bound with the powerful rivers running in the gorge below the town. As a suspension bridge, Shaky Bridge illustrates the nineteenth century technologies typical of the period.
