Rakaia Gorge Bridge

The Rakaia Gorge Bridge No. 1 spans and features a wide timber deck and handrail on top of its iron girders and truss. The bridge is thought to be one of the earliest wrought iron bridges in New Zealand, and one of the few 19th century components of the New Zealand state highway network. In September 1985 the bridge was listed as a Category 1 Historic Place by Heritage New Zealand. Bollman wrote about the design: “This bridge has the advantage of great strength and perfect security, with very little weight of metal". For many years, those in the New Zealand engineering community believed the No. 1 bridge to be a Bollman Truss, with the School of Engineering in Christchurch even teaching prospective civil engineers that the bridge followed this design. However, the No. 1 bridge differs from the works of Bollman in that the diagonal ties are anchored at each end by concrete-filled sockets that are tunnelled into the rock outcrops on which the abutments are placed. The bridge also closely resembles the Fink truss bridge design, used commonly throughout US railroad development. These similarities may be attributed to the experience of John Carruthers, an engineer heavily involved in the design who worked in the United States throughout the 1860s, during which time both the Bollman and Fink truss designs were commonplace. == History ==

Ferry and bridge prospects The Rakaia Gorge was an important route for drovers and early settlers during the early 1850's, when it formed a part of the main route to inland Canterbury by settlers travelling from Christchurch. In 1851, the Phillips family constructed an accommodation house at the gorge and began a ferry service across the mouth of the gorge soon after that. John Bryan was an early ferryman who went on to construct a larger accommodation house at the site with his wife, but this house burnt down in 1874. ==References==