15 Nov The First Calliope River Bridge at the Calliope Crossing
With Betty Laver
In the early 1930’s the first traffic bridge was built over the Calliope River Crossing. This bridge was built of reinforced concrete that was boxed into a culvert type overpass, proving to be a great asset, except during flood time when the bridge was usually submerged.
The official opening was a gala day with a good crowd attending the many celebrations. A highly active young man, Rust Lutton was one of the first to try out the new bridge, taking his T Model Ford for a spin. He lost control of his car on the northern tidal side of the bridge and went over the side. He landed on rocks just at the water’s edge.
With many helpers, they were able to push and shove the car up onto the road where they checked the oil, gave it a couple of turns of the crank handle and it burst into life again. Lutton proudly drove it away and the only damage to be found was the canvas hood was badly torn, the frames bent and the windscreen was broken.
The motor didn’t appear to have any damage. Three people known to have worked on this bridge were John Bryce Kirkpatrick, George Wright and Harold Riding and I am sure there were plenty more.
Photo from Gary & Marguerite Sawyer.
