A bridge condemned and reprieved

Press, 22 December 1987, Page 13

A bridge condemned and reprieved

The opening of White’s Bridge across the Waimakariri nearly 125 years ago, was one of the most controversial episodes of

early Canterbury history, Robert Logan has found. As well as threatening to flood Christchurch, the river

was a major obstruction between the city and the rich agricultural and pastoral development to the north.

All traffic on the Main North Road had to be ferried across the river in punts, but for years the Provincial Government shirked the task of bridging such a difficult river. When an enterprising publican and former silk weaver, William White, built a bridge over the south branch, the Provincial Government was delighted to have the problem solved. But the province’s engineering professionals viewed his design and construction with scorn. James Wylde reported to his superior, Edward Dobson, that the workmanship was “of the roughest and most slovenly description.” Dobson agreed and demanded the whole thing be removed and the banks restored to their original condition. In the uproar which followed, especially from impatient intending users, “The Press? of the day chided Dobson, slying

“the idea of Old White being required to pick up his bridge before it was opened for traffic and cart it away was so ludicrous that no-one could imagine the motive for such an

eccentric recommenuauun. The impasse was solved by Superintendent Samuel Bealey, who arrived at the scene with his horse and carriage and drove over the bridge in style. The district engineer, George Thornton, immediately certified it as fit for use and the collection of toll fees, whereupon the public streamed across with much shouting and cheering. White’s Bridge had the last word in all this, Robert Logan says. It justified its amateur designer by withstanding everything the Waimakariri could throw at it. In the 1868 flood every bridge in North Canterbury was damaged or swept away except White’s. It stood unshaken even when the 1874 flood surged right over it. Although it has been gone more than 100 years, the name still lingers in the public memory for any bridge in the vicinity.