Looking north along Main Road from the south side of the bridge, a procession of floats makes its way through the scene. This procession could be celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation which took place on 2 June 1953.
Everything visible in the photo is less than ten years old, except the bridge, which was still a single-lane structure at the time. A second lane was added the following year. The footpath beside it was already a well-used route to the shops from the growing suburbs south of the river.
Between the lamp post and the bridge, you can make out the old alignment of the road that once led down to a river ford, used during the earliest days before a wooden bridge was constructed. On the right, near the lamp post, a wooden stockade was once built as a place of refuge during periods of local conflict. It was destroyed a few years later.
The bridge over the Wainuiomata River is one lane and this was widened in 1954.
Credits
Special thanks to Carl Smith for some information in this article.
