AGY-4009 | Roads and Bridges Branch [I] 1858- 1900 Roads Bridges and Public Watering Places Branch (1901- 1903) Roads and Bridges Branch 1904 - 1906 [Department of Public Works]

Full description

The Roads and Bridges Branch of the Department of Public Works appears to have been established on or after 2 July 1858 when the first Commissioner of Roads was appointed. (1) Initially it was a branch of the Secretary of Lands and Public Works, but transferred to the Department of Public Works in 1859. Until 1867 the branch may have been part of a superior branch known as ‘Internal Communications’ (which also included Railways, Electric Telegraph and Harbours and Rivers) but it is also possible that this was a classification imposed by the Public Service Lists (2) The branch was the executor of the role given to the Commissioner of Roads by An Act for managing and upholding the Main Roads of the Colony, 1858 (21 Victoria Act No. 8).

The head of the branch was as follows:
1858 – 1862 - unknown
1862 Commissioner and Engineer in Chief
1863 – 1879 Commissioner and Engineer
1880 – 1886 Commissioner and Engineer-in-Chief
1887 – 1888 Commissioner and Engineer
1889 – 1894 Commissioner and Engineer-in-Chief
1896 – 1900 Principal Assistant Engineer (during this period the Under-Secretary of the Department of Public Works was the Commissioner for Roads)
1901- 1906 Commissioner and Principal Engineer for Roads and Bridges.

The central role of the branch was to construct, repair, maintain and otherwise manage roads and related structures and services including bridges, punts, and ferries. Initially the only roads maintained by the Commissioner were the Great North, Western and Southern Roads. The Mudgee Road was added by 1862, and An Act to Amend the Main Roads Management Act, 1871 (35 Victoria Act No. 2) enabled other roads to be added following proclamation in the Government Gazette. (3) Detail of the operations of the branch is difficult to locate prior to 1888.

The Public Works Act 1888 (51 Victoria 1888) constituted the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works that had a range of functions connected with the authorisation of public works. Following the passage of this Act the Branch began reporting annually to Parliament. The first reports itemised the works in progress, the fund which was covering the costs, the year in which each was commenced, total amount spent on the work since commencement, and the amount spend in the current year. (4)

In 1892 the Branch commenced formal reports which formed part of the annual report of the Department of Public Works . The Branch was then responsible for the construction, maintenance and repair of roads, bridges and culverts, the provision of punts, horse boats, flood boats, launches and ferries. Major roads were fully under the control of the Department of Public Works. Other roads were subsidised by the government but supervised by municipal authorities, and some roads continued to be controlled by trustees. By 1892 the State was divided into five divisions for road and bridge construction purposes, each was supervised by an engineer. (5)

[The annual Statement of the Works Carried out by the Department of Public Works during the year 1892 implies that the Roads and Bridges and Sewerage Construction Branches were combined for that year. It appears from the Public Service Lists, however, that the branches remained separate, although during 1892 Robert H. P. Hickson was the Engineer-in-chief for both branches.] (6)

The Public Service lists seem to indicate that the Roads and Bridge Branches separated between the years 1897 and 1900, the former being under a Principal Assistant Engineer and the latter an Assistant Engineer. This was the period that the Commissioner for Roads was the Undersecretary of the Department of Public Works and not administratively linked to the Branch. The annual reports, however appear to indicate a continuation of the branch with the Principal Assistant Engineer for Roads apparently being superior to the Assistant Engineer for Bridges. For most of that period the former was known as the Principal Assistant Engineer for Roads and Bridges. (7)

In 1900 the responsibility for the management of public watering places and artesian bores was transferred to the branch from the Department of Mines. With this new responsibility came “ the construction of tanks, wells, water supply for stock routes, unincorporated towns, mining fields and other local water conservation works.” (8) The following year the importance of providing water for stock and agricultural purposes was emphasised. During drought in the Western Division in 1901 the tanks and dams were made available free to travelling stock with the lessees being reimbursed by the government. In the same year bore water was found to be satisfactory for wool scouring purposes, and nine bores were leased for this purpose. New tanks, wells, dams. Artesian bores and extensions to existing works continued to be constructed. The work in relation to public watering places was borne by the Road Superintendents in addition to their other duties. (9)

First steps towards the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge were taken in 1901 when designs and tenders were submitted for a bridge to connect Sydney and North Sydney in response to an advertisement placed by the Department. Two prizes were awarded but tenders were not let as none of the designs were considered satisfactory. The Sydney Harbour Advisory Board was appointed on 25 March 1901 to consider the matter afresh. (10)

By 1902 the volume of work which had been introduced by taking responsibility for public watering places resulted in re-naming the branch the Roads, Bridges and Public Watering Places Branch. A significant development in this period was the opening of the swing span Pyrmont Bridge on 27 June 1902. (11)

In February 1903 it was decided to remove the administration of the Public Watering Places and Artesian Wells Act was transferred to the Water Conservation Water Supply and Sewerage Branch (12) It would appear, however that some responsibility remained with the branch, as in 1904 it reported contracting out the care taking of public watering places and extending this to leasing ferry services. (13)

On 1 July 1903 the new Glebe Island Bridge connecting Balmain and Pyrmont was opened . The Bridge consisted of a stone causeway with a steel swing bridge at the centre. (14)

On 1 January 1907 the responsibility for management, construction and maintenance of the many roads, bridges, public watering places and ferries was transferred to the relevant local council by the Local Government Act 1906 . Some of the artesian wells were transferred to the relevant irrigation or bore water trust under the Water and Drainage Act or otherwise made available for town water supply. (15) This administrative change led to a change in the scale of the responsibilities of the branch. The Local Government Act repealed the Main Roads Act, 1858 therefore abolishing the office of Commissioner for Roads. The Roads and Bridges Branch [I] was therefore closed and another branch of the same name was established.

Endnotes
(1) NSW Government Gazette 2 July 1858 p. 1027
(2) Public Service Lists 1858 – 1867
(3) An Act to Amend the Main Roads Management Act, 1871 s. 2
(4) Annual Statement of Works carried out by the Department of Public Works, Roads and Bridges Department during the year 1888 17 p. in NSW Parliamentary Papers 1889 vol 6 p. 1387- 1403
(5) Annual Statement of the Works Carried out by the Department of Public Works during the year 1892 p. 72 - 73 in NSW Parliamentary Papers 1893 Volume 2 p. 782 – 784.
(6) Loc Cit and Public Service List 1892 p.120 and 123
(7) Public Service lists 1897 - 1900; Annual Reports 1896-87 - 1900-1901
(8) Report of the Department of Public Works for the year ended 30 June 1900 p. 10 in NSW Parliamentary Papers 1901 vol 5 p. 1108
(9) Report of the Department of Public Works for the year ended 30 June 1901 p. 11 in NSW Parliamentary Papers 1901 Volume 5 p. 1271
(10) Report of the Department of Public Works for the year ended 30 June 1901 p. 10 in NSW Parliamentary Papers 1901 Volume 5 p. 1270
(11) Report of the Department of Public Works for the year ended 30 June 1901 p. 7-8 in NSW Parliamentary Papers 1902 Vol.5 p. 963-964
(12) Report of the Department of Public Works for the year ended 30 June 1903 p. 10 in NSW Parliamentary Papers 1903 Vol. 6 p. 676
(13) Department of Public Works for the year ended 30 June 1904 p. 15 in NSW Parliamentary Papers Second Session 1904 Vol 4 p. 579
(14) Report of the Department of Public Works for the year ended 30 June 1903 p. 7 in NSW Parliamentary Papers 1903 Vol. 6 p. 673
(15) Report of the Department of Public Works for the year ended 30 June 1907 p. 71 in NSW Parliamentary Papers Second Session 1907 Vol. 2 p. 633