Garratt Road Bridge

Garratt Road Bridge consists of two adjacent bridges over the Swan River, linking the suburbs of Bayswater and Ascot in Perth, Western Australia. The upstream bridge was built in 1935, while the matching downstream bridge was built in 1972. The site was significant prior to the construction of Garratt Road Bridge – it featured in Aboriginal mythology, and was in the near vicinity of 1880s bridges for pedestrians and trains accessing Ascot Racecourse. From that time there were various proposal to provide a vehicular crossing between Bayswater and Bassendean. Interest peaked in 1928, but plans were delayed due to the Great Depression. The first bridge, designed by Main Roads Chief Engineer Ernest Godfrey, was constructed in 1934–35. It allowed two lanes of traffic to cross the Swan River, alongside pedestrians on an adjacent footbridge.

Increasing traffic volume led to the bridge being widened by one and a half metres (5 ft) in 1962. By the end of that decade, a second bridge was being planned to cope with rising levels of congestion. It was constructed during 1971–72, but with only a 40-year design life as it was expected to be redundant once the planned Beechboro–Gosnells Highway (modern-day Tonkin Highway) opened. From the 1970s, Main Roads has maintained the bridges with procedures that vastly extended the bridges' lifespans, including concrete overlays on the decks, and retrofitting of steel girders. The heritage value of the structure was recognised in 1998, and Garratt Road Bridge was included in the City of Bayswater's Municipal Heritage Inventory. Eleven years later, in 2009, it was added to the state heritage list, and a permanent entry was given on 23 March 2010.

Garratt Road Bridge consists of a pair of bridges across the Swan River, between Bayswater and Ascot. The upstream bridge, from 1935, carries southbound traffic, pedestrians, and two pipes, while northbound traffic travels on the 1970 downstream bridge. Both bridges are predominantly constructed from timber, and feature "timber piles driven into the river bed linked with timber cross bracing and double beams top and bottom and then spanned by timber logs which in turn support the wooden decking". The original bridge is at a lower height, and some of its beams have been replaced by Rolled Steel Joists. While both bridges have modern steel safety rails, the original white-painted wooden rail is still present along the pedestrian path. The original bridge has approximately 38 spans over 37 piers, along a 238-metre (781 ft) length.

Main Roads Western Australia maintains and controls Garratt Road Bridge. The road is designated Highway H37, while the bridges are designated Structure Number 950 (upstream) and Structure Number 952 (downstream). The original bridge has 38 spans over a length of 236.4 metres (776 ft), a width of 8.75 metres (28.7 ft), and a deck area of 2,068.50 square metres (22,265.1 sq ft). The road width is 8.35 metres (27.4 ft), while the footpath width is 1.3 metres (4 ft 3 in). The newer bridge has similar measurements: 38 spans over a length of 237.7 metres (780 ft), width of 8.65 metres (28.4 ft), deck area of 2,056.11 square metres (22,131.8 sq ft), and road width of 8.21 metres (26.9 ft). The longest spans of each bridges are 12.1 metres (40 ft) in length.

Garratt Road Bridge is the longest timber bridge still in existence in Western Australia. It may have been the longest ever built in the state, and the downstream bridge was probably the last wooden bridge to be built in Perth.

Before European colonisation, the area around the Garratt Road Bridge site was inhabited by the Mooro people to the north of the Swan River, and the Beeloo people to the south. Beeloo territory included the Martagarup flats, immediately south-west of the bridge site, one of their fishing grounds. The area also features in Aboriginal mythology. It is believed that the Swan River was created by the meanderings of the Wagyl, a snakelike being from Dreamtime, and that scales shed from the male Wagyl remain visible in the riverbank at Ascot.

Following the establishment of the Swan River Colony in 1829, European settlers James Birkett and James Henty received 1,000 acres (400 ha) blocks containing the modern-day bridge site. Birkett's land was north of the river, and following his death it was sold to James Drummond in 1839. Henty's land was south of the river, and changed hands multiple times in a short timespan – Henty preferred the north side of the river, and so sold his block to Philip Dod, who disliked the marsh-like quality of the land, and traded it to John Wall Hardey, founder of the Wesley Church in Perth. Hardey expanded his land, which he named Grove Farm, by buying neighbouring riverside lots.

Hardey was influential in the development of the Belmont area, as he took on the roles of Justice of the Peace, magistrate and member of the Legislative Council. Harvey lobbied for river crossings to be constructed in 1837; The Causeway was built in 1843, and a crossing over the Helena River soon followed. Horse racing began on Grove Farm in 1848, and roads were constructed using convict labour to improve access from the road to Guildford (modern-day Great Eastern Highway). In 1850 the races moved to the current site of Ascot Racecourse. With the advent of horse training facilities in 1856, a horse pulley system was set up to provide a river crossing – close to the modern-day Garratt Bridge site, but east of the racecourse. Bridges were constructed in the 1880s to improve access to the races – a mechanical drawbridge for pedestrians opened in 1881, and a railway bridge was built in 1885. The bridge, later known as the Belmont railway bridge, carried a spur of the Perth–Guildford line that terminated south of the racecourse, but only operated on racing days.