The MacRobertson Bridge is a road bridge that carries Grange Road from

Toorak Toorak () is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area. Toorak recorded a population of 12,817 at the 2021 census. The name ...

on the south bank into

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

, over the

Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, (Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower st ...

and the

Monash Freeway The Monash Freeway is a major urban freeway in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, linking Melbourne's CBD to its south-eastern suburbs and beyond to the Gippsland region. It carries up to 180,000 vehicles per day and is one of Australi ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The first river crossing at the site was Twickenham Ferry, which conveyed passengers and was founded by waterman Jesse Barrow in 1880. it was named for the

Twickenham Ferry The Twickenham Ferry, sometimes known as Dysart's Ferry, was a historic ferry crossing of the River Thames in what is now the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. The ferry connected a location just downstream to Eel Pie Island in t ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The ferry survived until 1934, when it was replaced by the MacRobertson Bridge, financed by Sir

Macpherson Robertson Sir Macpherson Robertson Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, KBE (6 September 185920 August 1945) was an Australian philanthropist, entrepreneur and founder of chocolate and confectionery company ''MacRobertson's''. He was als ...

. The bridge was opened on October 31, 1934, although a plaque on the bridge places this date as November 5 in the same year. When built the bridge was one of two bridges in the world to be the first to use welded steel trusses. As built the bridge only spanned the Yarra, but in 1967 the

South Eastern Arterial The Monash Freeway is a major urban freeway in Victoria, Australia, linking Melbourne's CBD to its south-eastern suburbs and beyond to the Gippsland region. It carries up to 180,000 vehicles per day and is one of Australia's busiest freeways. ...

was built, running under the northernmost span. The bridge got a minor upgrade when the freeway was widened as part of the CityLink project.

References

External links

* Photo
Twickenham ferry
* Photo
Model of the bridge
* Photo

{{Authority control Bridges over the Yarra River 1934 establishments in Australia Bridges completed in 1934 Bridges in Melbourne Transport in the City of Yarra Buildings and structures in the City of Yarra Transport in the City of Stonnington Buildings and structures in the City of Stonnington