View source for Queens Bridge (Melbourne)

{{other uses|Queen's Bridge (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox Bridge
| image = Queens Bridge Melbourne.jpg
| bridge_name = Queen's Bridge
| locale = [[Melbourne]], Australia
| carries = Road, trams, pedestrians
| crosses = [[Yarra River]]
| open = 18 April 1890
| below = 
| design = 
| mainspan = 
| length = {{Convert|314|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}
| width = {{Convert|99|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}
| heritage = <ref name=qbhr1448>{{Cite VHD|786|Queens Bridge|hr=1448|ho=791|access-date=2011-11-28}}</ref>
| id = 
| id_type = 
| builder = [[David Munro (engineer)|David Munro]]
| replaces = Falls Bridge<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article187645590 |title=[untitled] |newspaper=[[The Age]] |issue=29632 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=18 April 1950 |access-date=16 August 2017 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref name=age1890>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article197014819 |title=The Falls-Bridge: the Old and the New |work=[[The Age]] |issue=10963 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=15 April 1890 |access-date=16 August 2017 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
| coordinates = {{coord|-37.820461|144.961384|type:landmark|display=title,inline}}
}}

The '''Queen's Bridge''' is a historic road bridge over the [[Yarra River]] in [[Melbourne]], Victoria, Australia. The bridge was opened in 1889, and consists of five wrought iron plate girder spans. It is listed on the [[Victorian Heritage Register]].<ref name=qbhr1448 /><ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/rsrc/PDFs/Graffiti/BridgeManagementPlan.PDF
|title=Bridges of Melbourne: Bridge Management Plan
|author=City of Melbourne
|publisher=www.melbourne.vic.gov.au
|access-date=2008-07-08
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080731153409/http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/rsrc/PDFs/Graffiti/BridgeManagementPlan.PDF |archive-date = 2008-07-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article60621684 |title=Opening of the Queens Bridge |newspaper=[[Illustrated Australian News and Musical Times]] |issue=420 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=1 May 1890 |access-date=16 August 2017 |page=19 (New Zealand Edition) |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The bridge was constructed by contractor [[David Munro (engineer)|David Munro]] and replaced a timber bridge built in 1860.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8601119 |title=The New Queen's Bridge |work=[[The Argus (Melbourne)|The Argus]] |issue=13,670 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=17 April 1890 |access-date=16 August 2017 |page=9 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/786|title=VHD|website=vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au|access-date=2019-09-27}}</ref>

The bridge is a very flat [[arch bridge|arch]], and has five spans constructed of [[wrought iron]] [[plate girder bridge|plate girders]]. The bridge rests on iron cylinders in groups of eight, filled with concrete, with arched bracing between.<ref name="her">{{Cite AHPI|VICH1448|Queens Bridge|access-date=2008-07-08}}</ref> It connects [[Market Street, Melbourne|Market Street]] and [[William Street, Melbourne|William Street]] on the north bank to [[Queensbridge Street, Melbourne|Queensbridge Street]] to the south. Trams on [[Melbourne tram route 58|route 58]] also cross the bridge.

In 1910, [[Harry Houdini|Houdini]] leapt from the bridge while shackled, and escaped in less than a minute.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Houdini's death-defying 1910 escape from the Yarra|url=https://pickle.nine.com.au/2016/08/03/15/10/houdini-escapes-from-the-yarra|access-date=2020-08-17|website=pickle.nine.com.au|language=en-AU}}</ref>

==Yarra Falls==
{{Further|Yarra Falls}}
Queens Bridge is situated at the location of the [[Yarra Falls]], a waterfall that had existed on the Yarra River. The [[Aboriginal Australians|Aboriginal]] clans of [[Woiwurrung]] and [[Boon wurrung]] called the falls "Yarro Yarro," which means "it flows" or "ever-flowing"<ref>{{cite web |title=The Yarra Waterfall |url=https://www.museumoflost.com/the-yarra-waterfall/ |website=The Museum of Lost Things |access-date=2025-04-03}}</ref> and used it as a crossing point between their lands.<ref name=maunder>{{cite news |last1=Maunder |first1=Patricia |title=Melbourne dreamtime a reality |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/melbourne-dreamtime-a-reality-20080111-ge6le4.html |work=The Age |access-date=24 April 2019 |language=en |date=11 January 2008}}</ref>

In June 1835, [[John Batman]] arrived at Yarra Falls and recognised the surrounding land as a good site to build a village.<ref name="VILLAGE">{{cite web |title=This will be the Place for a Village . . . |url=https://poi-australia.com.au/this-will-be-the-place-for-a-village/ |website=POI Australia |publisher=POI Australia |access-date=24 April 2019 |language=en-AU |date=8 June 1835}}</ref> The site became the landing spot for ships in Melbourne, because the falls had prevented ships from travelling further upstream, which influenced the overall design of Melbourne.

In 1839, a dam was built on the falls, using convict labour, in order to secure the fresh water supply for the growing city. However, it did not last long, nor did its replacement. In 1845, a bridge was built at the site by a private company, but that was replaced by a government-funded Prince's Bridge in 1850, which stood until the removal of the Falls.<ref name=age1890/>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{commons category-inline|Queens Bridge, Melbourne}}

{{Yarra River Crossings}}

[[Category:Bridges in Melbourne]]
[[Category:Plate girder bridges]]
[[Category:Arch bridges in Australia]]
[[Category:Bridges over the Yarra River]]
[[Category:Heritage-listed buildings in Melbourne]]
[[Category:1889 establishments in Australia]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1889]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in the City of Melbourne (LGA)]]
[[Category:Transport in the City of Melbourne (LGA)]]
[[Category:Southbank, Victoria]]