Old Rustic Bridge (as it was called) was a historic log bridge that spanned the Wainuiomata River near what is now Reservoir Road and close to the Morton Dam. It was a popular site for photography and likely a favoured fishing spot.
Although there is a modern bridge on Reservoir Road today, Rustic Bridge was located farther down the riverbank and slightly to the south. The modern road bridge does not carry the same name. Situated downstream from Morton Dam, the present bridge stands about 10 metres above the water, whereas the original log bridge was only about 2 metres above the river.
The Old Rustic Bridge formed part of a track to Solomons Knob (not to be confused with Solomon Track.) This track can be seen in some of the historic Rustic Bridge photographs in the gallery below.
This log bridge was washed away by a flood in 1904, and was likely replaced by a similar bridge, visible in this photo of Power House, The Power House contained a generator that supplied electricity to the workers drilling out the Orongorongo Tunnel for the O-K main, as well as lighting for the workers camp. By around 1921 what was called the ‘new bridge’ was being referenced which may have been this bridge in the photo.
In the next photo, we see an early version of the road bridge. This road bridge was upgraded in 1969 which is the bridge that is there today. Photos of all stages of this bridge are in the gallery below too.
Credits
Special thanks to Lance Stewart for some information in this article.
