August 1, 2008
Two bridges spanning the Port River in the port-side region of Adelaide (the capital city of the state of South Australia) were inaugurated. Both of these bascule bridges (bridges that can move to allow passage for vessels traveling through the area) were built by the Australian construction company Abigroup.
One of these structures is the Mary MacKillop Bridge, which carries the Australian Rail Track Corporation’s Dry Creek-Port Adelaide railway line over the Port River. Mary Helen MacKillop (1842-1909), a religious sister who became best known during her lifetime as Mother Mary of the Cross, was born in the present-day state of Victoria. As one of the founders of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, she played a key leadership role in carrying out a wide range educational services and other quality-of-life efforts in the vicinity of Adelaide. She is now a saint of the Catholic Church.
The other bridge is the Tom “Diver” Derrick Bridge, which carries the four-lane Port River Expressway for motor vehicles. Thomas Currie “Diver” Derrick (1914-1945) was born in the Adelaide suburb of Medindie. He developed a strong love for sports early on in life and earned the nickname “Diver” for his diving exploits in the Port River. As a soldier in the Australian Army during World War II, Derrick was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery in a military assault on Japanese forces in New Guinea. He died from bullet wounds incurred while fighting Japanese troops on Tarakan, an island off the coast of Borneo.
The Mary MacKillop Bridge and Tom “Diver” Derrick Bridge were each officially opened by Michael Rann (born in 1953), who was premier of South Australia from 2002 to 2011. Rann took time that day to highlight the strong Adelaide connections of the individuals for whom those bridges were named. (The accompanying photo taken in 2010 features the Mary MacKillop Bridge and — in the background — the Tom “Diver” Derrick Bridge.)
Photo Credit: Bilby (licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en)
For more information on the Mary MacKillop Bridge, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_MacKillop_Bridge
For more information on the Tom “Diver” Derrick Bridge, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_%27Diver%27_Derrick_Bridge
Additional information on the same-day openings of both bridges is available at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-08-01/official-opening-for-new-port-bridges/460074
Transportation History 
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