King's Bridge is a wrought-iron bridge crossing the

South Esk River The South Esk River, the longest river in Tasmania, is a major perennial river located in the northern region of Tasmania, Australia. Location and features The South Esk springs from the eastern foothills of the Ben Lomond plateau near Mathi ...

at the mouth of the

Cataract Gorge The Cataract Gorge is a canyon, river gorge in Launceston, Tasmania, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia, approximately 1.5 km from the city centre. It is one of the region's premier tourist attractions with Cataract Gorge boat tripleaving from ...

in Launceston,

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. Construction of the bridge began in 1864. The bridge span was constructed in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and was transported to Launceston for final assembly. At the time it was named the Cataract or South Esk Bridge and it was the only form of vehicular crossing of that river in Launceston. In 1904, a second, parallel span was added to widen the bridge. This span was almost identical to the original span, but was fabricated locally in Launceston, instead of overseas.

Engineering heritage award

The received a Historic Engineering Marker from

Engineers Australia Engineers Australia (EA), known formally as the Institution of Engineers, Australia, is an Australian professional body and Non-profit organization, not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance the science and practice of engineerin ...

as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.

References

1864 establishments in Australia Bridges completed in 1864 Bridges completed in 1904 Road bridges in Tasmania Launceston, Tasmania Recipients of Engineers Australia engineering heritage markers {{australia-bridge-struct-stub