Clarence Town Bridge over Williams River

Item details


Name of item:	Clarence Town Bridge over Williams River
Type of item:	Built
Group/Collection:	Transport - Land
Category:	Road Bridge
Location:	Lat: -32.5808494145 Long: 151.7822642230
Primary address:	Main Road 567, Clarence Town, NSW 2321
Local govt. area:	Dungog
Local Aboriginal Land Council:	Worimi

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
Main Road 567	Clarence Town	Dungog			Primary Address

Owner/s

Organisation Name	Owner Category	Date Ownership Updated
Transport for NSW	State Government

Statement of significance:


	The Clarencetown bridge is an Old Public Works Department (Old PWD) type timber truss road bridge, which was completed in 1880, and was completely rebuilt in 1926/7. In 1998 it was in a fair condition. As a timber truss road bridge, it has many associational links with important historical events, trends, and people, including the expansion of the road network and economic activity throughout NSW, and William Bennett, the Commissioner for Public Works responsible for construction of many of the bridges. Old PWD trusses were the first in the five-stage development of NSW timber truss bridges. Constructed from timber to conform with the 1861 parliamentary decree that local materials should be used in public works, the trusses took advantage of the high quality hardwood that was available in NSW. The design is essentially a copy of the European timber truss bridges that had their origins in the work of the 16th century Italian architect Andrea Palladio. Clarencetown Bridge is located in the Hunter region, which has 15 historic bridges each constructed before 1905, and it gains heritage significance from its proximity to the high concentration of other historic bridges in the area. In 1998 there were 2 surviving Old PWD trusses in NSW of the 147 built, and 82 timber truss road bridges survive from the over 400 built. The Clarencetown bridge is the oldest surviving timber truss bridge in NSW. The Clarencetown bridge is a representative and rare example of Old PWD timber truss road bridges, and is assessed as being Nationally significant, primarily on the basis of its technical and historical significance.
	Date significance updated: 12 Sep 05
	Note: The State Heritage Inventory provides information about heritage items listed by local and State government agencies. The State Heritage Inventory is continually being updated by local and State agencies as new information becomes available. Read the Department of Premier and Cabinet copyright and disclaimer.

Description


Designer/Maker:	Public Works Department
Builder/Maker:	J K McKenzie
Physical description:	Clarencetown Bridge is an old PWD type timber truss road bridge. It has two timber truss spans, each of 30.5m (100ft). There are 3 timber approach spans at one end and 1 at the other giving the bridge an overall length of 115.8m (380ft). The main spans are supported by twin cast iron cylindrical piers braced with iron stiffeners and provides a single lane carriage way. The minimum width of the carriage way is 4.6m. A timber post and rail guard rail extends the full length of the bridge. At the time of the study Bailey trusses were located on the bridge for temporary support during major repairs. Cables have been retro-fitted to strengthen the bridge structure.
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	Fair
	Date condition updated:12 Sep 05
Modifications and dates:	Completely rebuilt 1926/7. Cables have been reto-fitted to strengthen the bridge structure.


Current use:	Bridge
Former use:	Bridge

History

Historical notes:

Timber truss road bridges have played a significant role in the expansion and improvement of the NSW road network. Prior to the bridges being built, river crossings were often dangerous in times of rain, which caused bulk freight movement to be prohibitively expensive for most agricultural and mining produce. Only the high priced wool clip of the time was able to carry the costs and inconvenience imposed by the generally inadequate river crossings that often existed prior to the trusses construction.

Timber truss bridges were preferred by the Public Works Department from the mid 19th to the early 20th century because they were relatively cheap to construct, and used mostly local materials. The financially troubled governments of the day applied pressure to the Public Works Department to produce as much road and bridge work for as little cost as possible, using local materials. This condition effectively prohibited the use of iron and steel, as these, prior to the construction of the steel works at Newcastle in the early 20th century, had to be imported from England.

Timber truss bridges, and timber bridges generally were so common that NSW was known to travellers as the "timber bridge state".

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Transport-Activities associated with the moving of people and goods from one place to another, and systems for the provision of such movements	Engineering the public road system-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Transport-Activities associated with the moving of people and goods from one place to another, and systems for the provision of such movements	(none)-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Transport-Activities associated with the moving of people and goods from one place to another, and systems for the provision of such movements	Bridging rivers-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Utilities-Activities associated with the provision of services, especially on a communal basis	Building Bridges-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Utilities-Activities associated with the provision of services, especially on a communal basis	Roadways between Inland Settlements-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	Through the bridge's association with the expansion of the NSW road network, its ability to demonstrate historically important concepts such as the gradual acceptance of NSW people of American design ideas, and its association with William Bennett, it has historical significance.
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	The bridge exhibits the technical excellence of its design, as all of the structural detail is clearly visible. In the context of its landscape it is visually attractive. As such, the bridge has moderate aesthetic significance.
SHR Criteria d) [Social significance]	Timber truss bridges are prominent to road travellers, and NSW has in the past been referred to as the "timber truss bridge state". Through this, the complete set of bridges gain some social significance, as they could be said to be held in reasonable esteem by many travellers in NSW. The Clarencetown bridge is valued by the people of the Hunter region.
SHR Criteria f) [Rarity]	Highly rare- two Old PWD bridges survive from 147 built
SHR Criteria g) [Representativeness]	Highly representative of once prolific form of construction
Integrity/Intactness:	Intact, but completely rebuilt, and under-cables added
Assessment criteria:	Items are assessed against the State Heritage Register (SHR) Criteria to determine the level of significance. Refer to the Listings below for the level of statutory protection.

Procedures /Exemptions

Section of act	Description	Title	Comments	Action date
CMP-Endorse	Conservation Plan submitted for endorsement	Clarencetown Bridge CMP - revised	Revised CMP submitted for consideration 21 November 2003.
57(2)	Exemption to allow work	Standard Exemptions	ORDER UNDER SECTION 57(2) OF THE HERITAGE ACT 1977 Standard exemptions for engaging in or carrying out activities / works otherwise prohibited by section 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977. I, the Hon James Griffin MP, Minister for Environment and Heritage, pursuant to subsection 57(2) of the Heritage Act 1977, on the recommendation of the Heritage Council of New South Wales do by this Order, effective at the time of publication in the New South Wales Government Gazette: 1. revoke the order made on 9 November 2020 and published in the Government Gazette Number 318 of 13 November 2020; and 2. grant the exemptions from subsection 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977 that are described in the attached Schedule. The Hon James Griffin MP Minister for Environment and Heritage Signed this 2nd day of June 2022. To view the standard exemptions for engaging in or carrying out activities / works otherwise prohibited by section 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977 click on the link below.	Jun 17 2022

Standard exemptions for engaging in or carrying out activities / works otherwise prohibited by section 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Heritage Act - State Heritage Register		01462	20 Jun 00	-	-
Heritage Act - s.170 NSW State agency heritage register	Roads & Traffic s.170

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title	Internet Links
Tourism		2007	Clarence Town Bridge over Williams River	View detail
Tourism	Attraction Homepage	2007	Clarence Town Bridge over Williams River	View detail
Written	Eco Images	2008	Clarence Town Bridge capacity improvement works : archival photographic recording of heritage item
Written	RTA		Proposed rehabilitation and strengthening works on Clarence Town Bridge over the Williams River South of Dungog, NSW : statement of heritage impact
Written	RTA Environmental Technology Branch.	2003	Clarencetown Bridge conservation management plan

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

(Click on thumbnail for full size image and image details)

Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Heritage NSW
Database number:	5051362
File number:	S91/01630

Every effort has been made to ensure that information contained in the State Heritage Inventory is correct. If you find any errors or omissions please send your comments to the Database Manager.

All information and pictures on this page are the copyright of Heritage NSW or respective copyright owners.