Bridge 3347, Yallingup Beach Road, Yallingup

Values

• The place is a representative example of a small timber trestle bridge constructed by the Main Roads Department in the inter-war period
• The place is associated with the state government development of Yallingup Cave as a tourism venue in the early twentieth century

Physical Description

Bridge 3347, Yallingup Beach Road, Yallingup is a single lane timber trestle bridge spanning Yallingup Brook, approximately 1km northwest of P428 Caves House (RHP), in the City of Busselton. The bridge is approximately 5m long, 10m wide (including pedestrian path), and sits approximately 1-2m above the creek at its highest point. The bridge is essentially a timber culvert, consisting of a single span constructed along a northeast-southwest axis, overlooking the ocean to the northern side. The bridge abutments consist of rubble masonry walls held together with concrete. The bridge deck rests atop lightly dressed timber log stringers, which rest directly on a dressed timber plank set into the concrete of each abutment. Where the pedestrian access has been provided along the northern side of the bridge, the stringers instead lie directly on a concrete block. One of the stringers has been replaced with a galvanised steel “I” beam. The surface of the bridge consists of bitumen although the original bridge surface can be seen from the side. A galvanised steel safety rail on either side of the concrete kerb. Along the northern side of the bridge, a concrete and bitumen pedestrian access path has been provided, with a timber safety rail along the northernmost edge.

History

In the region around Margaret River the Noongar groups were known as the Wardandi, the “saltwater people.” Groups of families lived in the coastal forests of the region and moved between the beaches and the inland hills to take advantage of the cyclical abundance of various food sources. This way of life began to be disrupted in the 1830s with the arrival of colonists from Britain. In 1832, when the Bussell family found their intended land allotment in Augusta proved unsuitable for farming, the family established their farm at ‘Cattle Chosen’ in 1834. Over the next two decades other British settlers moved into the area, and in time the small township of Busselton began to emerge.

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update