The longest wooden bridge structure ever built in Australia spans the mighty Murrumbidgee River at Gundagai.
This is the Prince Alfred Bridge, built in 1866. The bridge was formally opened in October, 1867, although not completed until 1869. The opening drew people from all over the region. North and South Gundagai had always been at loggerheads, but when brought together by the bridge such a scene was created that it took all the local police as well as visiting constabulary and the military to settle the disturbance.
The bridge formed part of the Hume Highway until replaced by the new Sheaham Bridge 110 years later. The bridge, together with the adjacent historic railway bridge, built in 1901 and opened in 1903, has been classified by the National Trust as a structure whose preservation is essential to Australia’s heritage. The railway line closed in 1986. The two bridges provide a special fascination for visitors to Gundagai.
