Newlands Road Bridge

Not to be confused with Murray Road Bridge.

Newlands Road Bridge
Coordinates	37°44′06″S 144°58′20″E
Carries	Newlands Road: motor vehicles (1865–1961) pedestrians (since 1961)
Crosses	Merri Creek Merri Creek Trail
Locale	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Begins	Newlands Road, Coburg (south)
Ends	Newlands Road, Coburg North (north)
Preceded by	Carr Street Bridge
Followed by	Murray Road Bridge
Characteristics
Design	Arch bridge
Material	Bluestone
Total length	27.4 m (90 ft)
Longest span	9.1 m (30 ft)
No. of spans	3
History
Architect	William Champ
Constructed by	Pentridge Stockade convicts
Built	1870–1865
Opened	1865 (1865)
Victorian Heritage Register
Official name	Bridge over Merri Creek, Newlands Road
Type	Registered place
Designated	20 August 1982
Reference no.	H1446
Heritage overlay no.	HO125
Category	Transport - Road
Location
Interactive map of Newlands Road Bridge

The Newlands Road Bridge, also known as the Merri Creek Bridge, is a triple-span arch stone former road bridge, now pedestrian bridge, across the Merri Creek and its associated trail, constructed by Victorian convicts, that initially carried Newlands Road vehicular traffic — now pedestrian traffic — located between Coburg and Coburg North, inner northern suburbs of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia.

Built in 1865, the bridge was added to the Victorian Heritage Register on 20 August 1982 in recognition of its historical, social and architectural importance.

History

The Newlands Road Bridge was built by Pentridge Stockade convict labour under the administration of William Champ, the third inspector General of Penal Establishments in Victoria who had earlier been the first Premier of Tasmania. Chubb's name is inscribed on a foundation stone of the bridge. The bluestone for the bridge was quarried from within the Old Penal Reserve along the Merri Creek.

Description

Newlands Road Bridge was originally built as a road bridge and was open to traffic up until 1961 when a new concrete bridge was opened along side it. Newlands Road Bridge is a triple span bluestone segmental arched bridge with integral balustrades and parapets. Each span is 9.1 metres (30 ft) and the bridge is 27.4 metres (90 ft) long, in total. It is currently used as a pedestrian bridge across the Merri Creek. The bridge runs in a north-south direction and follows the course of an old section of Newlands Road.

The bridge is architecturally and scientifically significant as an early example of a substantial bluestone bridge. It demonstrates skilled stonemasonry in its construction with prominent voussoirs to the arches, substantial piers with carved breakwaters, rusticated bluestone string course at road level, and capping stones to the parapet walls. The bridge is important for its contribution to the complex of visually linked prison related structures, which include the Murray Road Bridge and the walls of HM Prison Pentridge.

See also

• List of bridges in Melbourne
• List of places on the Victorian Heritage Register in the City of Merri-bek

Further reading

• Broome, Richard (1987). Coburg: Between Two Creeks. Lothian. ISBN 978-0-85091-278-4.

External links

• Collins, John T. (13 October 1968). Coburg. Bridge over Merri Creek Newlands Road (photograph). Retrieved 17 July 2026 – via State Library of Victoria.
• Young, John (2020). Newlands Road bridge, Merri Creek (photographs). Victorian Places. Retrieved 17 July 2026.