The Bridge

Tasman Bridge -  
Photo with kind  permission from
Leesa Shaw

This photo reminded me how important the Tasman Bridge was to the development of the Eastern Shore and thus South Arm. After being able to be reached only by water transport i.e. a succession of ferries, the first  Bridge, proposed almost one hundred years earlier, was finally erected in 1944.
The design was a novel engineering feat- a laterally arched floating bridge with a middle section that could be raised with lifts to allow for shipping.
Unfortunately, the vast increase in traffic, enhanced by the postwar baby boom and increasing affluence which permitted private car ownership, soon meant that the two lane bridge was inadequate. These figures from John Sargent's " Derwent River Connections," (2004: 78) tell the story.

 In 1924 the public ferry P.S. Kangaroo carried 120 vehicles a day, doing doing 14 trips daily,. By 1924 the  S.S. Lurgurena was doing 38 trips daily and carried 250 vehicles. With the opening of the First Bridge, this number had risen to an estimated 400 vehicles a day. By 1954 it was 5,520 and by 1964 it was 20,000 vehicles a day. The population of the Eastern Shore increased commensurately. From a mere 4,978 in 1944 to 12,604 in 1954 and to 28,100 in 1964 (Sargison, p.78) as the small settlements on the Eastern Shore became commuter suburbs.  Soon frequent users of the bridge began to complain of congestion and long delays to allow for shipping. Occasionally severe weather  would wash over the bridge or cause damage to the bridge itself.
In 1964, the beautifully arched high level Tasman Bridge bridge with dual carriageways in both directions was opened. It soon became identified with Hobart, a landmark, an icon, not unlike the Opera House is to Sydney. This joy was not to last.

On the 5th of January 1975, the unthinkable happened. A bulk carrier  the Lake Illawarra, struck one of its pylons in the dark, destroying the bridge and killing twelve people, including three members of the ship's crew. How important the connection to Hobart was became evident immediately. The round trip without the bridge took four hours via the northern crossing at Bridgewater. Ferries quickly jumped into the breech. By December a temporary two -lane bailey bridge was hastily thrown across the river at some distance from the CBD.  With most services such as hospitals and shopping centres located in the city, also most places of employment, large businesses and a medical centre were established on the Eastern Shore.

By the time the new Tasman Bridge was finally opened on the 10th of January, 1977, -not quite as beautiful and symmetrical as the previous one due to the vagaries of the Derwent, but with a wider span for ships and an extra lane for traffic,  the Eastern Shore had become more or less self -sufficient, rather than relying on the city and what people remember most about the disaster is how it brought the community together.Today, the City of Clarence as most of the Eastern Shore is called, has over 50,000 residents and remains one of the fastest growing  areas in the state.