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Wildwood Road Bridge over Deep Creek

Other Name Craig Bank Bridge; Deep Creek Bridge Location Wildwood Road,, BULLA VIC 3428 - Property No B7275 File Number B7275 Level State

[1/2] B7275 Wildwood Bridge [2/2] B7275 Wildwood Bridge

Statement of Significance

What is significant? Wildwood Road Bridge is situated on the Wildwood Road over Deep Creek, a tributary of the Maribyrnong River. It is a riveted metal girder bridge on bluestone abutments and central pier erected in 1871 by Sumner & Co under contract to the Shire of Bulla.
How is it significant? Wildwood Road Bridge is significant for aesthetic/architectural, historic and scientific (technical) reasons at a State level.
Why is it significant? The Wildwood Road Bridge is of historical significance as one of the earliest surviving metal and stone road bridges in Victoria reflecting the period of District Roads Board improvements to roads and subsequently the role of incipient Shire Councils, which came with the maturation of rural settlement in the decades following the gold rush period. It is also important in marking the development of the district despite the restrictive effect of the large squatters such as Clarke and Brodie.
It is of technical significance as an early and competently executed riveted wrought iron girder bridge which reflects the maturation of wrought iron bridge engineering in the mid nineteenth century. As such the bridge reflects the development of engineering competence in Victoria that had been established for only a decade or so. Precursors to this bridge can be found only in the road over rail bridges on the Melbourne-Bendigo and Geelong-Ballarat lines and a small group of bridges concentrated around the Ballarat region. Wildwood Bridge is one of about ten riveted wrought iron bridges with masonry abutments and piers dating from the 1870s and 1880s. It is perhaps the best preserved example of its type, and distinguished from the others by an attractive setting, and particularly high clearance.
It is of aesthetic or architectural significance as an attractive and well proportioned bridge, which sits harmoniously in its landscape in a picturesque rural setting among remnant natural vegetation along the steep Deep Creek gorge. The survival of mature Red Gums presents a landscape around the bridge that would be little changed from when it was built. Views to and from the bridge can be both dramatic and intimate, while the associated Martin Dillon Reserve reflects the historical character of the bridge in its exotic plantings.
The bluestone abutments and pier, while coarse in their finish, have aesthetic value for their hand-hewn texture and the way they show an affinity with the surrounding volcanic landscape and exposed geology of the Deep Creek Gorge and Basalt Plains. The axe cut masonry reflects the manual skill of the builders while the subtle forms of sloping piers and curved wingwalls punctuated by subtle string courses and coping, reflect a finely balanced design.
Classified: 08/09/2009