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Early bridges could be large stones or simple bridges of planks or posts just wide enough for a cart or vehicle.
These bridges were frequent scenes of vehicle ‘boggings’ as wheels stuck in the soft edges as they went on or off them especially in winter. Often they were many miles from settlements so not easily maintained or improved but a crisis was dealt with if and when it happened. No doubt there are still plenty still in use. In the 1960’s “Bailey’ bridges were erected over several streams and rivers (Roy Cove, Herbert Stream, Little Chartres Bridge, (Joan Spruce) |
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Malo bridge Fox Bay West, built 1944- photo Robert Maddocks
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Bridge at Little Chartres, 1970s
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On West Falkland there are/were a few major bridges, one being Little Chartres Bridge over the Chartres river, a bridge built around 1928 spanning 120 feet. It is built over and by an old natural ford in the river, close to Little Chartres house and Goring House. There is a Bailey bridge across the stream at the old settlement in the Hogg Ground at Chartres.
There is a bridge across the Malo stream at Fox Bay West, built in 1944. It was built about a mile upstream from the original bridge which was built in 1894. The FI magazine 1894 records 'a bridge for the passage of flocks has been constructed over the Arroya Malo, Fox Bay W, 36 yards long and 12 feet wide'. |
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Manybranch bridge was completed in 1916. It is a substantial iron and wooden bridge allowing access to the Port Howard areas of Mt Rosalie house and White Rock. In July 1916 R C Pole-Evans was thinking of building a bridge over Manybranch River and asked the FIC Manager if he had any spare ships’ yards about 60 feet long and if so, the price and weight, the lightest that could be spared as they would have to be carted out from the settlement jetty. (Falkland Rural Heritage p 82- Joan Spruce with Natalie Smith)
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On East Falkland, a few miles south of Goose Green, Bodie Creek Bridge is possibly the world’s most southerly suspension bridge. In 1922 the Falkland Islands Company proposed to build it in an effort to consolidate the shearing of their Lafonia, Darwin and Walker Creek flocks at Goose Green. Construction started in 1924 and it opened in 1925 and allowing their Walker Creek flocks to avoid a long drive around Bodie Creek, an inlet of Choiseul Sound, cutting hours off the journey. It spanned 400ft (120m) and was 8ft (2.4m wide). Carts, shepherds on horses and later Landrovers would all have used the bridge along with thousands of sheep. The infrastructure has weakened and the bridge is no longer safe so is not in use but still an impressive sight. |
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In 1928 the Falkland Islands Government built a bow string steel girder bridge over the lower Malo river on East Falklands. It took only 5 weeks to construct with local labour and was completed on the 29th February, a task ‘beset with considerable difficulties’ and supervised by Acting Colonial Engineer Mr G Roberts. It was famously used by British Troops to cross the river during the 1982 conflict. Today its structure is deteriorating, unsafe and closed. |
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Fitzroy Bridge or ‘Paterson’s Point Bridge’ was built by the Falkland Islands Company in 1934/35, facilitated to take sheep and traffic across the Fitzroy River to Fitzroy North and Stanley. It stands on reinforced concrete piles with wooden planks. The side railings came from the SS Great Britain. The southern end of the bridge was blown up by the Argentines during the 1982 conflict but was repaired after the war but was further damaged by a storm in early 2012/13. (Joan Spruce). |
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Old Malo bridge East Falklands- Photo by Robert Maddocks
