Themotmhislorical Society In

1 TheMotmHislorical Society In In December 1906 the state government created the Municipal Tramways Trust (MTT), the main purpose of which was to replace Adelaide's existing horse tram system with a network of electric trams. The proposed Adelaide to Henley Beach tram line, which for much of its length would travel along Henley Beach Road, presented special difficulties. From the beginning of European settlement in South Australia much of the central and western parts of Henley Beach Road - as it was called from the 1860s - and widespread surrounding areas had been subject to regular and sometimes disastrous flooding from the River Torrens. In April 1889 for example the Advertiser noted that because of early winter flooding estates at Fulham were 'entirely submerged ... and the stormwaters are still flowing in a steady stream'. In June 1898 a press report observed that in the same general area 'vast sheets of water [are] covering what were only twenty-four hours before luxuriant grazing paddocks'. There were alarmingly regular reports of people 'boating on the Henley Beach Road'. And press coverage of September 1909 lamented that 'it is intolerable to the residents of Fulham, Lockleys and the surrounding districts that every winter the place should be turned into a lake'. When the MTT was charged with the task of building the Adelaide to Henley Beach tramline its key problem was that of how to keep the trams running as effectively as possible during the inevitable flood times - electric trams did not handle flood conditions as well as horse trams, and at certain flood times even the horse trams couldn't operate. The MTT decided that part of the solution was to build a series of bridges across the most flood-prone sections of Henley Beach Road route at Mile End (bridge A); across the Breakout Creek at Fulham Park (bridge B, to be known as Moore Farm Bridge and which later became Kidman Bridge); and bridge C at Fulham (later John White Bridge). When it came to a half-mile (c.800 metres) stretch of Henley Beach Road west of a prominent bend in the road known locally as Lewis's Corner - today this section of Henley Beach Road lies between Burnley Street and Military Road, Henley Beach South - the Trust decided that rather than the tramline following the road it would be more effective to build a viaduct (a narrow tram bridge) over adjoining land. This route, bypassing two small bends in Henley Beach Road, would be slightly quicker than a tram route along the road. Strengthening the argument for a viaduct in the area was the Trust's knowledge that this part of Henley Beach Road, which was near the point where the Torrens began to split into several smaller distributaries, was especially flood-prone during winter. A press account of May 1908 for example reported the area as being under five feet (1.52 metres) of water and 'a perfect sea of water glistened out in the bright moonlight'. The Trust proposed that the viaduct would run from Lewis's Corner to the intersection of Henley Beach Road and Military Road (stop 22 of the new Henley Beach line). Today's HMAS Australia Road, Henley Beach South covers almost precisely the route eventually taken by the viaduct. The terminus of the Henley Beach line would be located opposite Henley Square and the Ramsgate Hotel; the line was extended slightly to Henley North in November 1919. The viaduct would pass through as an expansive area known locally as White's Paddock. The paddock, owned by grazier George Gilmore White (1885-1920) of The Oaks, Fulham, covered about 325.5 acres (c.l32 hectares) and took up parts of sections 194, 523 and 524, Hundred of Adelaide. In 2 July 1908 the MTT compulsorily acquired from White the land needed for the viaduct - a narrow corridor of White's Paddock, covering 1.73 acres (c.0.7 hectares). The MTT paid £395 for the land. The strip of land was approximately 945 yards (c. 864 metres) long and a little under 27 feet (c. 8.10 metres) wide. Construction of the viaduct by tramway contractors Messrs T. Smith and J. Timms of Victoria Square Adelaide began in late October 1908 - one newspaper called the viaduct 'the most remarkable structure of the tramways scheme'. The first step in the process was to acquire from Cowell Brothers and Company, timber merchants of Grote Street, Adelaide the 40 feet (c.12.2 metres) Jarrah support columns (called 'piles') needed as the base of the structure. Carters, including Wally Satterley's father Bill, transported the timber from Port Adelaide to the construction site. Once at the site the piles, which were sharpened at one end, were driven 26 feet (c.7.9 metres) into the ground until they reached a limestone base. Mr Teesdale Smith was in charge of the pile driver. Local resident Lancelot Hurcombe later recalled that as a youngster he and others were fascinated to watch the machine in action. In all 354 piles, an average of about twelve feet (c. 3.7 metres) apart, were used as the base of the viaduct. The piles created 159 separate bays under the viaduct. The next step in construction was the laying of the wooden crosspieces and longitudinal girders which were, said a press report, 'remarkably solid, the latter being about twelve inches by nine inches' (30.5 cms by 22.9 cms)'. The redgum sleepers and iron rails were laid last. A small branch of the Torrens ran through the middle of the course the viaduct would take. The MTT decided to incorporate into the viaduct a small bridge, called by the MTT Bridge D, which would pass over the waterway. The steel girders used in the bowstring.single span bridge were 70 feet (c.21.3 metres) long and weighed 8 tons (c.7.3 tonnes). When travelling west on the line the viaduct curved to the northwest in the vicinity of the bridge - the only major bend in the line. The construction of the viaduct was not without problems. Construction was almost complete when heavy floods in May 1909 washed away £50 worth of timber. The local press noted mildly that the timber 'has been distributed over a considerable distance' and had caused damage to nearby fences. Some of the timber ended up as far away as the Port River. The viaduct was completed a few weeks later. It ran for approximately 860 metres (c.0.53 miles) and was an average of about 7.5 feet (c.2.3 metres) above ground level. (Using flood records the MTT had calculated that floodwaters were unlikely ever to get this high - the calculation proved to be an underestimate). Elevated sidings were placed at both ends of the viaduct so that trams had to travel slightly uphill to gain access to it. Cattle grids were also installed at both ends of the viaduct to discourage motorists and animals from entering. Initially the viaduct was a single track line, but in the wake of public demand for more tram services most of the Henley Beach line, including the viaduct, was duplicated from late August 1910. Messrs F.A. McCarty and Company of Melbourne carried out the contract. After delays in securing timber from Western Australia the job was completed in June 1911. Also incorporating a dividing gangway about four feet (1.2 metres) wide the viaduct was now approximately 20 feet (c.6.1 metres) in width. It's difficult to determine the exact cost of building the viaduct but the total cost of constructing the four bridges in the system plus the viaduct came to just over £12,000. 3 The Thebarton to Henley Beach tram line officially opened on Thursday 23 December 1909 and from this time the viaduct was in daily use. (A tram service linking Thebarton with the city did not begin until March 1910). Early on it became clear that the view of White's Paddock from the viaduct during flood times was spectacular - water several feet deep sometimes spread up to a half- a-mile (800 metres) across the paddock. A press report of June 1916 for example noted that 'where the tram viaduct went across White's Paddock there was another magnificent spread of water... People took a ride in the cars just for the sensation of traversing the bridge over the sea ... It was like an immense sheet, flashing like a sea in the radiance of the sun'. Another writer maintained that with fresh breezes blowing through the trams as they passed along the viaduct it was 'a fine, sensational ride'. Children also saw the viaduct as a means for adventure. Lancelot Hurcombe recalled crawling under the viaduct as a child in the 1910s and whenever a tram passed by 'one would see the piles move quite appreciably as each set of wheels went overhead and return to position after the tram had passed over'. West Torrens Historical Society member Ron White remembers as a youngster in the late 1940s picking mushrooms under the viaduct with his grandmother. The fifty-year life of the viaduct had its moments of drama. Despite the presence of the cattle grids, on at least five occasions, including twice in April 1925, motorists mistook the viaduct for a continuation of Henley Beach Road and attempted to drive their cars along it. Most went only a very short distance before coming to a stop. A drunken driver who strayed onto the viaduct in May 1954 was jailed for six weeks and lost his license for twelve months.

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