| Historical notes: | Taree is located on the North Coast of New South Wales on the northern bank of the Manning River, approximately ten miles from the coast. In 1818, surveyor John Oxley traversed the area on his way south from Port Macquarie. Settlers began to arrive in the Manning Valley region in the late 1820s. The Hunter Valley to the south had become crowded with small farmers and their families by the mid nineteenth century, and young farmers were happy to move north for 30 to 40 acres. Taree stands on a land grant made to William Wynter. The first permanent settler on the Manning, Wynter took up residence about 1831. A private town was laid out by Henry Flett, Wynter’s son-in-law in the early 1850s. The name Taree is believed to be an abbreviation of ‘tarrebit’ the Aboriginal word for a fig native to the area. The Australian Agricultural Company, formed in 1826 in London, took up their first large grant in the Manning Valley, centring their operations around the Gloucester River, and were a strong presence in the second quarter of the nineteenth century, introducing cattle, sheep, tobacco and wheat to the area. In 1830 the new county of Macquarie was opened up land as far as the Hastings River following the scaling down of the penal settlement at Port Macquarie. Pastoralism developed here, though cattle eventually became dominant. Following the collapse of the wheat industry in the 1860s due to rust, maize became the staple crop of the Manning Valley area; though sugar cane was re-introduced successfully in both the Manning and Hastings River districts, following earlier failed attempts. Sawmilling and dairying gained prominence in the later nineteenth century around Taree, while timber cutting, particularly cedar, had been a major activity in the Port Macquarie area since first settlement.
The general decline in dairying in the latter twentieth century led to rural depopulation and the conversion of land around Taree to beef cattle, while coastal centres such as Port Macquarie have been revived as holiday resorts. Coastal tourism accelerated in the 1960s and the north coast has also become popular as a retirement destination and a haven for 'sea-changers' seeking an alternative to the congestion and stresses of life in Sydney. (Regional Histories, 1996, pp. 52-4, 59-63)
The development of roads north of Newcastle was closely linked to the activities of the Australian Agricultural Company. By 1840 a well defined road had been established through its million-acre estate which stretched from Port Stephens to the Manning River and was bounded by the Pacific Ocean. The road linked the company’s headquarters at Stroud to its various stations including Gloucester. This route formed an early alignment of the North Coast Road that later became the Pacific Highway. Between 1862 and 1889 work was carried out on the North Coast Road, commencing at Hexham and linking the towns of Stroud, Taree, Port Macquarie and beyond. One of the first works undertaken by the Main Roads Board when it began operations in 1925 was the construction of a more direct road link between Sydney and Newcastle. Originally proclaimed as the Great Northern Highway in 1929, two years later the whole length of the coastal highway between Sydney and the Queensland border was renamed the Pacific Highway. Between 1932 and 1939 pavement reconstruction and the provision of dust-free surfaces was undertaken on sections of the Pacific Highway where traffic volumes warranted such work, including areas near Taree, where Martin Bridge over the Manning River was opened in 1937; and Port Macquarie, Kempsey, Coffs Harbour, Grafton, Maclean, Ballina and Murwillumbah. In 1925 there had been thirteen unbridged stream crossings between Sydney and Tweed Heads which were crossed by ferry. The bridge was one of more than 1,000 built by the Department of Main Roads between 1925 and 1940, which saw engineers adapting standards of bridge design in order to meet the requirements of having increased traffic and heavier vehicles on the roads (Heritas Architecture, 2003, pp. 9, 11, 19; DMR, 1976, pp. 116-123, 161; Main Roads, February 1935, p. 38; DMR, 1976, p. 82).
Various improvements in the alignment and condition of the Pacific Highway took place over the years, including a new route between Newcastle and Taree in the mid-1950s. In the post-war period improvements were needed to cope with the rapid rise in the number of private motor vehicles, and especially heavier commercial vehicles, including timber trucks, using major routes such as the Pacific Highway. After the war, the railways could not adequately cope with the movement of goods interstate, and so the overflow was transported by road hauliers. (Broomham, 2001, p. 145; DMR, 1976, p. 193-194) In the 1970s, in conjunction with a program to complete the bituminous surfacing of State Highways, the Department carried out considerable reconstruction to provide for pavement strengthening and widening. For heavily trafficked routes such as the Pacific Highway, the Department adopted a minimum pavement width of 24 feet. (DMR, 1976, p. 231)
The Martin Bridge, which carries traffic across the Manning River, is approximately 300 metres upstream of the former vehicular ferry crossing at Pulteney Street, and is the ‘gateway’ of the town. Construction commenced in early 1938 and was carried out in four sections or contracts. The first was for the manufacture, supply and delivery of metalwork and machinery for the superstructure which was carried out by Clyde Engineering Co. Ltd., at 31,103 pounds. The second was for the construction of the entire bridge substructure which comprised of fourteen piers and two abutments, the construction of concrete decks on the footway and carriageway as well as concrete counterweights. This work was undertaken by Monier Industries Ltd, at the cost of 42,018 pounds. The third contract was the construction of the approaches to the bridge and the fourth was for a road connection on the east side of Manning River from the State Highway and Tinaonee. (Main Roads, August 1939, p. 136; Main Roads, May 1940, pp. 102-103.) The bridge was named after the late L.O Martin, M.L.A for Oxley, Minister of Justice and Minister for Works and Local Government.
The electrically operated vertical lift span provided a horizontal clearance for shipping of 50 feet between fenders, and a vertical clearance of 85 feet above high tide. A petrol motor was installed which was to be used for emergencies. The fabrication of the steel was carried out by the Clyde Engineering Company Ltd and the construction of the bridge by Monier Industries Ltd’ DMR, AR 30-6-1940. Pedestrian access is via a cantilevered footway on the downstream side of the bridge. (RTA Regional File 10/426.1230;1; Report on Proposed Pipe Crossing at Manning River, Manning District Water Supply for Public Works Department, McMillan, Britton & Kell Pty Ltd, Consulting Civil Engineers, March 1984).
On 8th July 1977, the southern downstream end post was damaged when it was hit by a wide load carried by a lorry. The post was ‘twisted around through 45 degrees, displaced 75mm at the point of impact and suffered severe local deformation.’ The bearing was not damaged but there was some distortion of the truss. Emergency repairs were undertaken the following day, which included the clamping of timber splints on the upstream and downstream faces of the damaged post as well as bracing it in the north-south direction by using two timber struts and two tie rods, anchored to the adjacent vertical truss member. Full repairs were completed later in the year. (RTA Regional File 10/426.1230;1, M. Wilson Engineer report, 25/07/77).
During the 1970s, the bridge was no longer needed as a lift span bridge, and the concrete counterweights were removed. At this time there were several requests to widen the bridge, due to the increased traffic levels and larger vehicles finding it difficult to pass. There were also requests, mostly by parents of young children, for guard rails to be installed to allow safe pedestrian access. However, the response by the divisional engineer to the Town Clerk, who had forwarded on these concerns, was that there was no need for such rails, as the bridge was on a straight alignment, with a kerb and gutter between pedestrians and traffic. He also argued that because there was no history of accidents on the bridge and traffic speeds were generally slow, there was no need for widening. Concerns were also raised about the appearance of the bridge, which had peeling paint rusting underneath the carriageway, with several newspaper articles raising the issue of the condition of the bridge. In late 1977 Kada Painting Contractors were awarded a contract valued at almost $120,000 for repainting of the bridge and in the 1980s rectangular hollow section rails were added. (RTA Regional File 10/426.1230/1; Main Roads, September 1977, pp.32, 95.) |