We'd all been concerned about the big trucks using Gebbies and Dyers Passes since the post-quake closure of Evans Pass. And the accident waiting to happen happened in January this year on the tight bend heading out of Governors Bay towards Lyttelton. Fortunately no one was hurt.
What was generally not known was that the truck turned on a very special historic bridge. The bridge, adjacent to the then Travellers’ Rest Hotel, was built in 1863 by locals Samuel Hall and William Cowlin. Known as Forster’s Bridge (so called after William Forster, the proprietor of The Travellers' Rest) and is acknowledged as a ‘Listed Heritage Place’. Prior to the recent truck accident which damaged the bridge, Heritage Christchurch reported that:
This is a good example of a nineteenth century stone arch bridge, the likes of which are rare in New Zealand. The reason for their rarity is often attributed to a lack of suitable stone and masons at the time of early settlement…The bridge cannot be seen from the road and instead must be viewed from private property. This allows the viewer to appreciate the engineering that went into the design of the bridge and the symmetrical features which give the bridge an aesthetically pleasing appearance. [The bridge] is a testament to the technological skill of its designer and the craftsmanship of its original builders.
Now the bridge is being repaired and, thanks to the intervention of local residents, its significance is known to Fulton Hogan and the stonemasons. The keystone carrying the date 1863 has just been fitted back in place.
Here are the stonemasons of 2014 working on the job.
If anyone has a photo of the bridge taken from below, prior to the accident, and showing the arch in its full glory, I would love to know.
