Katrine Causeway

Parent Place or Precinct

16758 Katrine Precinct

Values

The place is rare as a river crossing point used for over 160 years that retains fabric from the river causeway constructed by convicts, as well as that dating to its continued development as a crossing during the twentieth-century

The place has some rarity as a river crossing in use from the early days of the Swan River Colony

The place is associated with convict development of transport infrastructure

The place is a representative example of a small rural concrete bridge

Physical Description

Katrine Causeway is a single lane concrete road bridge over the Avon River at Katrine, along Katrine Road as it intersects with Northam-Toodyay Road. The bridge is approximately 28m long and 6.5m wide. The trestle bridge consists of three spans constructed between a rubble masonry abutment to either side of the river (east-northeast and west-southwest). The bridge is of recent construction (1991), consisting of reinforced concrete slabs sitting on concrete piles. The southern edge of the east-northeast bank has been reinforced with steel sheet piling. The underside of the bridge is a featureless concrete face. The surface of the bridge consists of a bituminised road with low metal safety barriers and a concrete kerb at the edge of the road. The handrails consist of a tubular steel, connected via steel brackets to the concrete slab. The Municipal Inventory for the Shire of Northam (2012) notes that the alignment and crossing still remains very much in its original form of nearly 150 years ago. It is an interesting example of the skill of the early convict road builders, their supervisors and the engineer responsible for the design and construction. It still retains its original position and some original fabric. The riverine environment has been altered to some degree as a result of the Avon River Training Scheme of the 1960s, but it retains most of the surrounding landscape. The causeway has been maintained as a full integral part of the local road system, capable of meeting the needs of modern road traffic.1

History

Northam is located in the fertile Avon Valley, which is the country of the Balardong people who populated the area in relatively large numbers prior to European settlement. The open bushland created by 'fire-stick farming' was found most suitable for grazing sheep and the area was soon inhabited with pastoral properties after the mid-1830s, displacing the Balardong people and their traditional lifestyle.2 Land for three townsites (York, Newcastle and Northam) was set aside along the Avon River. One such grant, ‘Location T’ was surveyed in 1832, was owned by Dr James Prendergast Lyttleton, whose wife Sarah was one of the earliest Postmistresses in the fledgling colony. ‘Katrine’ became an early post office on the route to Northam, and soon saw the establishment of a homestead, church and inn by 1850.3 The building of the Causeway started in 1853 on the site of Mrs Slade's crossing (established in 1841) where travellers were forced to ford the river. After an official road survey by F. T. Gregory in 1852, Lieut. Ducane of the 53rd Regiment Royal Engineers was put in charge of road works. The Causeway was built by convict labourers under the Pensioners Guard foreman, Francis Kirk. The works were completed in 1867. It was one of a number of stone causeways that were constructed to link settlements on either side of the Avon River in the district.4 In 1923-1924 a piled wooden bridge 25 yards in length was built, replacing much of the structure of the original stone causeway. In the 1980s exposed rock was concreted over, pipes were installed to divert floodwater and the road surface was bitumenised.5 In 1991-1992, further works were performed on the bridge, upgrading parts of the structure.6

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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