Ranken's Bridge, Eglinton

Location: Ranken's Bridge, Eglinton

Back in January this year on a summer afternoon I went over to Eglinton to take my dog for a swim in the Macquarie River beside the old structure of the Rankin Bridge. It really is a beautiful spot to go swimming and it was great to see so many locals with there families cooling off from the summer sun.

Rankin Bridge

Ranken's Bridge was the first bridge was built in January 1856 across the Macquarie River to give access to the village of Eglinton and the rich farming land on that side of the river. The first bridge was destroyed in June 1867 by the floods. The current Ranken Bridge that is being used today is the 5th bridge, over the years some bridges have washed away or they have been upgraded to better suit a growing population.

The first bridge was built by George Ranken. I have discovered more of the history of this bridge from reading Graham Lupp books Building Bathurst.

While I was researching information about the Denison Bridge I found out in a report that there are 4 colonial bridges in Bathurst. I wanted to find these bridges and share the history. I am unsure if there are more colonial bridge in Bathurst and the surrounding area but the 4 colonial bridges from the report are Denison Bridge, Ranken Bridge, Rocket Street Bridge and The Railway bridge.

As always please leave a comment below if I have any information incorrect so I can amend it or if there are any key factors I have missed that I should add to this blog post.

Nadine Travels West.