Queens Bridge. Melbourne.Aust.

Queens Bridge which crosses the Yarra at the southern extension of Market Street, replaced an earlier timber footbridge erected in 1860, known as Falls Bridge. The present structure, named after Queen Victoria, was designed by Frederick M Hynes, the Chief Design Engineer for the "Harbour Jetties and Coast Works Department" of the Public Works Department. The chief contractor for its construction was David Munro, who also erected Princes Bridge, and the Sandridge Railway Bridge over the Yarra River. The bridge was officially opened by the Governor, Lord Hopetoun, on 18 April 1890. Queens Bridge is built in a very flat arch, reflecting the minimal rise and fall of the Yarra River. It is a five span structure constructed of wrought iron continuous plate girders. The bridge rests on iron cylinders filled with concrete, in groups of eight, with arched bracing between. The abutments are built in basalt and Stawell freestone. The bridge has an ornamental cast iron balustrade and a series of inverted foliated consoles beneath the balustrade.

How is it significant?

Queens Bridge is of architectural, aesthetic and historical importance to the State of Victoria.