Hampden Bridge (Kangaroo Valley)

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Hampden Bridge Kangaroo Valley
Hampden Bridge Kangaroo Valley

Hampden Bridge is a suspension bridge across the Kangaroo River, located in the Australian town of Kangaroo Valley, New South Wales. A well-known local tourist attraction, the bridge features four large crenellated turrets made of locally quarried sandstone.

Hampden Bridge is the only surviving suspension bridge from the colonial period in New South Wales.[1] It was designed by Ernest M. de Burgh, the colony's Assistant Engineer for Bridges, to replace the decaying timber truss bridge which originally spanned the Kangaroo River. Construction began in 1895 and the bridge was opened on the 19 May 1898, just six days before floods washed the old bridge away.[2]

The bridge is named after Lord Hampden, Governor of New South Wales from 1895 to 1899. It is 77 metres long (252 ft) and one lane wide.

Hampden Bridge Kangaroo Valley
Hampden Bridge Kangaroo Valley

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