1974: The Introduction of Australia’s “Singing Bridge”

April 6, 1974

In the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), a dedication ceremony was held for a concrete box girder bridge crossing the Myall River and connecting the towns of Tea Gardens and Hawks Nest. The Tea Gardens-Hawks Nest Bridge was officially opened by Leon Punch (1928-1991), who served as NSW’s minister for public works from 1973 to 1976.

This bridge, which carries Myall Street over its namesake river, has also become widely known as the Singing Bridge. This is because of the musical sounds that the bridge’s railings produce during strong winds in the area.

Measuring 998 feet (304.3 meters) in length, the Tea Gardens-Hawks Nest Bridge consists of two lanes for motor vehicles; and two pedestrian walkways. This bridge is used not only by humans but also koalas, the teddy bear-like marsupials that are closely identified across the globe with Australia. These animals have been known to cross the Tea Gardens-Hawks Nest Bridge at night.

Photo Credit: Quartl (licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)

For more information on the Tea Gardens-Hawks Nest Bridge (also called the Singing Bridge), please check out https://structurae.net/en/structures/tea-gardens-hawks-nest-bridge