NEW BRIDGE ACROSS RAKAIA

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume LX, Issue 24, 28 March 1939, Page 2

NEW BRIDGE ACROSS RAKAIA

Fine Road Structure Completed

Old One Link With Early Days

Work of Canterbury Provincial Council

(Specially Written for The EHesmere Guardian)

Symbolical of the advance made in transport in Canterbury during the last half century are the two bridges which now, side by side, span the mile-wide shingly bed of the Rakaia river at the main road—one the narrow wooden combined rail and road bridge, barely giving passing room for two vehicles, requiring careful driving to negotiate safely, and the other the broad white way of the new ferro-concrete structure, wide enough to admit the free passage of two of the largest vehicles likely to use it. The change-over from a bridge which, while it had long years of useful service to its credit, had become more of a hindrance to traffic than a facility and a convenience, to the new structure giving a free and unrestricted right-of-way to vehicular traffic for every hour of the day, will not only be appreciated by^everyone who uses the bridge, but by affording easier communication between North and South Canterbury will play a not unimportant part in the future development of two fertile parts of the province.

Work of Provincial Council

made for spending £35,000, the sum of £15,000 each on the northern and southern railway and the balance on the Southbridge line. The railway line southwards had reached Selwyn. The route had been laid out as far as the Rakaia and it was anticipated that by the time the bridge was built construction would have reached such a stage that the line could be opened as far as Rakaia township.

The old bridge, which has served the province and the South Island faithfully for over sixty years, is a link with the days of the old Canterbury Provincial Council. Whatever else might be said of that body, there is no doubt that in the vigorous manner in which it endeavoured to extend road and transport facilities as well as other public works, it fully justified its existence and Served its day and generation faithfully and well, while the present generation is enjoying the good fruits of its labours. Especially under the guidance of Mr W. S. Moorhouse, in his terms of office as superintendent, were the public works of the council imbued with activity. He was the second superintendent of the province, succeeding Mr J. C. Fitzgerald in 1857. He was re-elected in 1861, resigned, was again elected to office in 1866, where he remained until 1868 when he was succeeded by Mr W. Rolleston. Mr S. Bealey awas superintendent between the two terms served by Mr Moorhouse.

Just here it i 3 interesting to know that the original intention of the Provincial Council in regard to the Southbridge branch was to link up with the main line at Selwyn and to run via Leeston to Southbridge. It was then thought that there would be no difficulty in obtaining private enterprise to carry out the work, a proposal being made to offer contractors £5000 and guaranteeing receipts from tolls for a fixed period of years. The contract for the Rakaia bridge, which was to be for both road and rail traffic, it was proposed, should be let on the same principle. The contractor was to be paid £10,000 and authorised to collect tolls for the use of the bridge for a number of years. The successful contractor was Mr William White, who had previously built the toll tfridge over the Waimakariri at Kaiapoi under a similar guarantee. EHesmere district was greatly interested in the construction of the bridge which, for a young community, represented a considerable undertaking. Timber for the structure was cut in the bush at Kaituna and Little River, ferried across Lake Ellesmere by an old steamer, and landed at Lakeside at the place I known as the Timberyard, and now forming part of the Lakeside domain. Part of the boiler of the steamer lies rusting on the reserve. The engineer of this old paddle steamer was the late Mr G. F. Simpson, of Milltown, the father of Messrs Jas. Simpson, of Milltown, and J. S. Simpson, Springston. From therf the timber was hauled across country to the bridge site. After the completion of the bridge the rail head slowly but steadily crept south over the plains, until, amidst scenes of much rejoicing in 1874, it reached Ashburton and the line opened to traffic. [ ■ | The Old Bridge [ Built on iron bark piles, the old bridge originally consisted of 224 ; spans of 20 feet each, but in 1882 river conditions rendered it necessary |to lengthen it, the extension bring- | ing the distance up to 5940 feet, or I 297 spans. During its long life its sturdy timbers have stood up to many a severe testing by flood, the upriver faces of existing piles showing ample evidence of the battering received. Much of the original structure has, in the course of time, been renewed, but there must be a considerable extent

Considering the small population of the province, a great deal of work was done in the early period in opening up the district for settlement, especially in building roads and railways. The period between 1854 and 1868 was an active one, some of the necessary revenue being provided from the sale of land for settlement which was taking place freely on the widespread plains. Between the dates mentioned £1,806,000 was spent on roads, railways, and surveys, which, considering the size of the population was a very large sum. Not only was the Lyttelton tunnel built, but the main south road was made as far as Waitaki, 138 miles. By 1864 the road northwards was opened as far as Hurunui, 65 miles; the road to Hokitika over Arthur Pass was completed in 1866; a great engineering feat. The distance was 149 miles and the cost £150,000. Roads were also built around Christchurch, opening up the country to further settlement, while swamps, including extensive areas at Rangiora, Papanui, and Halswell were drained.

In the matter of railways activity was not less marked. The line was steadily pushed southwards and had reached Selwyn, while a beginning had been made with the northward route.

Depressions were not unknown in the colony in those days and such a period of financial stringency existed between 1864 and 1868. When the session of the Provincial Council commenced in November of the latter year, one of the works mentioned by the superintendent as being worthy of special consideration was the bridging of the Rakaia river. On December 11 a Bill authorising its construction was passed. The arranging of the necessary financial wherewithal was a matter of some difficulty, but finally provision was

of original woodwork still doing service. Splendid Road Bridge Two chains down stream, from the old combined bridge has been built the new road bridge, providing a broad highway 24 feet wide across the river. Strictly utilitarian in design, yet withal neat and pleasing in appearance, it is 5722 feet in length, about two hundred feet shorter than the old bridge. Thus the Rakaia will still retain its reputation of being spanned by the largest bridge in New Zealand. There are 143 spans of 40 feet making up the bridge, each pier being seated on four hexagonal concrete piles 30 feet long. Built of reinforced concrete, there were approximately 7343 tons of concrete used and 925 tons of steel, excluding the massive steel-work required for the construction of the piles. These were built on the site. Excellent progress was made by the contractors with the work and apart from a little delay over steel-work at the beginning, construction has gone ahead with great rapidity, the bridge being completed under schedule time. The roadway is wide enough for two lines of traffic and while no special provision has been made for pedestrians, alcoves have been provided at intervals as places of refuge from passing motor traffic. The cost of the bridge is given at £65,000. With the completion of the bridge the work was not finished, for approaches had to be built up at both ends, especially the EHesmere one, where some extensive filling was required as well as a small diversion of the road. More work in the neighbourhood of the bridge will be necessary, including the erection of an overhead bridge over the railway crossing, but traffic will not be interfered with and with the opening of the new bridge vehicular traffic will speed along it without any delay. New Railway Bridge About a chain upstream the new railway bridge is steadily taking shape. The speed has not been so rapid, due to a variety of reasons, including shortage of steel work and the design of the structure. Here there are also 143 spans, each of 40 feet, a distance of 5720 feet and upon the foundation of concrete piles massive piers have been erected to carry the long steel girders which are slowly creeping across the river f roir the southern end. This steel work i 3 being fabricated in New Zealand, and while the construction of the piers is being done by contract, the rest of the construction is being carried out by the Railway Department's staff. The rail bridge will, it is expected, be ready for traffic in June and here again alterations to the existing lines on both sides of the bridge and especially between the southern bridge end and Rakaia railway station will be necessary. Work was commenceji on -the bridge towards the end of January, 1937, and the cost is expected to be in the vicinity of £85,000. RAKAIA DISTRICT PROGRESS OF SETTLEMENT j What effect the new bridge will have upon the fortunes of the town of Rakaia is difficult to predict, but the affording of an easy crossing compared with that of the old structure, will facilitate communication between the district on either side of the river and further afield. When the first settlers made their uneasy way across the plains their only means of crossing the river was by bullock dray, not always an easy task and frequently accomplished with much danger. Settlement in the Rakaia district began in the early sixties before the bridge was an accomplished fact, but the fertile lands were more than worth the effort and the danger, and those hardy pioneer settlers soon established themselves in prosperous condition, grain-growing, sheep and stock-raising being, of course, the essential occupations followed. With the opening of the bridge there came a larger stream of settlers, improved transport facilities proving once more to be essential to greater development. Many settlers in the EHesmere district were tempted to try their luck across the river and most of them made good and became prosperous settlers. The land was held in large areas at first and during the closing decades of the century settlement continued apace. Rakaia land was then, as

now, noted for its capacity to fatten sheep and cattle. On the higher country the need of water was early recognised and on the large Springfield estate, near Methven, the first irrigation scheme in Canterbury was brought into being, extending ultimately to 40 miles of water races:* The experiment was a great success and led to others being adopted. Large scale farming, on a degree un-. known today was practised on this,* estate before it was cut up for closer settlement. On one occasion there were 5500 acres under wheat and 1200 under oats. One hundred men were employed there all the year round and double that number in harvest time. One hundred horses were constantly in use, while at Lyndhurst railway station a special barn to accommodate 90,000 bushels was built for the use of the estate. At its' greatest the property consisted of 21,000 acres. Other large holdings nearer Rakaia were Holmslee, of 8000 acres, which had at one time 2500 acres in grain and 800 acres in turnips; Auchenflower, one of the earliest purchases in Rakaia. district, 3350 acres; Acton estate, which formed part of what is now known as Doric. Moat of the land was taken up in the late sixties and early seventies, and many of the pioneers are represented by the names of wellknown .and prosperous farmers who are still living in the Rakaia or adjacent districts.

Early in its existence the town of Rakaia was about half a mile further south than its present position, but the opening of the bridge attracted business nearer the river and it finally centred on its present site. It may not be generally known that as early as 1863 Rakaia possessed a racing club, but it was merged five years later with the Ashburton Racing Club. The extension of the railway to Methven gave a further impetus to settlement and the cutting up of the larger estates. Methven was named by one of the pioneers of the district after his native place in Scotland.

Londoners use more than thirty-six gallons of water per head of the I population every day. Two doctors, alleged to be spies, were sentenced to death by a courtmartial at Leningrad recently for sabotage of the Army's medical services. They were accused of having plotted the mass infection of Russian troops in wartime. One was described as a Russian-born German, the other as a "Trotskyist-Bukharin-ist spy."