Here are the kiddies at the start of the old Middle swan bridge also known as Whiteman Bridge, was closed yesterday and if the council gets it's way will be pulled down sometime soon. It's a bloody pitty because the old girl is a real ripper .... for a bridge! Nestled in amongst the banksia's the old bridge looks a real beaut, and gives you the feeling for that long lost
time of years ago....And here's Harrison standing on the old bridge with the new bridge in the background, but I reckon the old bridge would of looked like that when it was new..... well maybe not. We walked under the old bridge and had a gander of what keeps the old girl up, and as you can see she's had a fair bit of work over the years. Not as much wood these days as concrete is all the go, in fact the new bridge is pretty much ALL CONCRETE! not a piece of timber in sig
ht yep times have changed. As you can see the new bridge is a friggin' lot higher and longer then the old girl, it was designed that way in case of a 100 year flood event.
And here's the new.... yep like i said times have changed hay
So this is what you get for a cool $78 million... strewth! (trust me there's not any change left over) yep this is the best 2.6km stretch of road in Western Australia, somehow I get the feeling that the old bridge just didn't cost that much.
Here's Sarah with the grand old bridge behind her, come to think of it I should of called this post The Old Middle swan bridge as I've just noticed i've got more photos of the old one.
They just don't make them like they use too.... you know old and falling to bits, but the old bridges give off that grand old rustic feelings of long ago time... of when family's were driven around on horse-drawn wagon's, with their picnic hamper loaded with local cheese, olives, an
d of cause the odd bottle of verdelho or maybe a shiraz. Past roadside farm stalls with jumbo strawberries, juicy rockmelons, vine-ripened tomatoes and of cause the kilo bags of grapes. Down past breweries and wineries which were started in the region by the Croatian and Italian migrants in the 1920's, and most are still owned by their grandchildren. Then suddenly you re
ach and ride over this grand old wooden bridge that reaches over the brownish waters of the Swan river, and goes by the name of Whiteman bridge and is laying amongst sprinkled wildflowers and native bush..... Well until yesterday you could still do that well okay maybe not in a horse drawn wagon but in som
ething with a bit more style and comfort... say a datson 180B!! fairdinkum compared with being pulled by a friggin' horse That's comfort mate! But no longer can we live that old dream of yesteryears, now it's a
quick ride over a lump of concrete and past the womans prison and your their. But while it's still their (not for long) we can get as many walks over the old girl and just let the mind wonder, and yes Oscar that is the NEW BRIDGE. Thanks mate your suppose to be looking at the old one not that concrete thing-eme-bob over their, just look at this grand old wooden masterpiece of construction! You little bugger.