The MacRobertson Bridge is a road bridge that carries Grange Road from Toorak

Toorak, Victoria

Toorak is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district located on a rise on the south side of a bend in the Yarra River. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington...

 on the south bank into Burnley

Burnley, Victoria

Burnley is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra. At the 2006 Census, Burnley had a population of 708....

, over the Yarra River

Yarra River

The Yarra River, originally Birrarung, is a river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river is where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches...

 and the Monash Freeway

Monash Freeway

Monash Freeway is an urban freeway in Victoria, Australia linking Melbourne's CBD to its southeastern suburbs and the Gippsland region. The entire stretch of the Monash Freeway bears the designation...

 in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

The first river crossing at the site was Twickenham Ferry, which conveyed passengers and was founded by waterman Jesse Barrow in 1880. it was named for the Twickenham Ferry

Twickenham Ferry

The Twickenham Ferry, sometimes known as Dysart's Ferry, was a historic ferry crossing of the River Thames in the western suburbs of London, England. The ferry connected a location just downstream to Eel Pie Island in the town of Twickenham on the northern bank of the river with Ham House on the...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. The ferry survived until 1934, when it was replaced by the MacRobertson Bridge, financed by Sir Macpherson Robertson

Macpherson Robertson

Sir Macpherson Robertson KBE was an Australian philanthropist, entrepreneur and founder of confectionery company MacRobertson's.-Early life:...

. When built the bridge was one of two bridges in the world to be the first to use welded steel trusses.

As built the bridge only spanned the Yarra, but in 1967 the South Eastern Arterial

Monash Freeway

Monash Freeway is an urban freeway in Victoria, Australia linking Melbourne's CBD to its southeastern suburbs and the Gippsland region. The entire stretch of the Monash Freeway bears the designation...

was built, running under the northern most span.

External links

• Photo: Twickenham ferry
• Photo: Model of the bridge
• Photo: Construction of the bridge