Melbourne & Australian Architecture Topics

Came across some really nice old bridges up the yarra further out from the city, including a few I didn't know about.
Does anyone know the history behind these great bridges ?


Church Street Bridge.


Underneath a big old bluestone bridge between Richmond and Hawthorn.


The same bridge, showing the old ornamental ironwork on top for the tram overhead wires.


An old bluestone railway bridge with Victorian pediments.


The pedestrian arch of the same railway bridge ...


(not a bridge) ... a view from Studley Park Kew, just for all the skyscraper lovers.

Church Street Bridge



Built in 1920-24
Architects: Harold Desbrowe-Annear and TR Ashworth.

Annear and Ashworth's bridge design won first prize in a 1920 competition.
The bridge is composed of three reinforced concrete arches with arcaded infills above.
The architectural theme is flamboyant Edwardian Baroque.
The bridge was built by the Reinforced Concrete and Monier Pipe Construction Company (John Monash's firm) and
opened by the then Governor, the Earl of Stradbroke, on 8 July 1924.

The concrete also appears to be decaying quite substantially in places ... perhaps someone should think about doing some restoration work on it. It is a beautiful bridge - probably my favourite behind Princes Bridge and Sandridge Rail Bridge.

What I'm impressed by in Church St. Bridge is that it's amazing that a truck hasn't slammed into the arch which straddles the Monash Freeway.

Yeah, it's also uneven to walk on, in the 4 weeks I was working in Cremorne (walking from South Yarra station) I tripped twice over two uneven footpath surfaces on it - I should have complained, but I have no idea which council to go to - Stonnington or Yarra?

Another beautiful bridge - Morell near the Botanical Gardens / South Yarra.
I think this is an 1880s bridge, it has some nice stonework with carvings of dragons in it.
It is closed to traffic - now pedestrian only.

Morell Bridge was built a bit later, about 1898-99. Supervising its construction was John Monash. I have heard that the river was diverted around it during its construction.

If you ride further up the Yarra River bike path to Johnson Street in Abbotsford, there remains on the east bank the bluestone abutment of the earlier Johnson Street Bridge that came down in the 1950s to make way for the present concrete bridge.