Page:Ashburton•Scotter•1972.pdf/61

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

Settlement, 1853–78

professional engineers. Dobson experimented with wooden piles in the river, was convinced of the value of White’s methods and produced plans for what he called a ‘locomotive ferry’ which could later be adapted for the railway. He also estimated that a substantial cart bridge could be built for £20,000.[1]

In 1869 the Provincial Government called tenders for a cart bridge and White signed a contract at about the estimated cost. Within six months he had made a temporary bridge across the river using gas pipes as piles. The official opening of this novel structure took place on 21 March 1870, Mrs Rolleston, wife of the Provincial Superintendent, being the first passenger to cross the river on the bridge tramway. Soon afterwards, Dr A. C. Barker of Christchurch and his family passed over the bridge on their way to their farm at Ohapi. He described the incident in a letter:

We drove down in Dick’s buggy and had the distinguished honour of being the first to cross in a carriage the new Rakaia bridge, just one mile long, which is in process of construction. The trap was placed on a trolley, and we were ignominiously pushed across on a wooden tramway over the open frame-work of the bridge, with our legs dangling over the rushing stream below, a rather nervous proceeding though quite safe. This bridge, which is only a temporary one to facilitate the construction of the permanent one, does vast credit to the ingenuity of its constructor, a plain working man of the name of White. Each piece consists of two two-inch gas pipes driven into the shingle at the bottom of the river and braced together above the level of the stream by timber. . . . It has already stood three severe freshes unhurt . . .[2]

While the cart bridge was still being built, a decision of the New Zealand Parliament completely altered the situation. In 1870 Sir Julius Vogel secured assent to his great development scheme which provided for the raising of large loans to pay for roading, railways and immigration. The Canterbury Provincial Government had its railway plans ready and, with Vogel’s support, was able with little delay to restart construction. Weymouth Roberts, who was soon to be a familiar figure in Ashburton, secured the contract for the extension from Selwyn to Rakaia. He began work early in 1872 and only shortage of materials prevented rapid completion of the section.

A railway bridge was now required. White had already recom-

57
  1. ↑ Proceedings of the Canterbury Provincial Council, Session XXVII 1867, pp.181-7
  2. ↑ A. C. Barker to the Rev. M. Barker, 25 Apr. 1870
This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.