Ribbon, Victoria Bridge Opening Ceremony

Pale blue satin ribbon with gold writing – “Victoria Bridge,” Cambridge,  Opened 21st December, 1907

• Maker: Lettering by Cambridge Independent Print
• Where: Used at the opening ceremony of the Victoria Bridge (High-Level) in Cambridge
• When: 21 December 1907
• Material: Satin
• Measurements: 2090 x 55 mm

Ribbon from the Official Opening Ceremony of Cambridge’s High Level Bridge, named Victoria Bridge

Cambridge was designed as a town of two halves:  East and West, with the mighty Waikato River flowing between them.  A bridge was needed to link Cambridge West with the main street of Cambridge on the eastern side.

Smaller bridges had been erected further south of the town.  The first was swept downstream to Hamilton by floodwaters in 1875.  The second was deemed unsafe by the early 1900s.

To great acclaim the Victoria Bridge, also known as the high-level bridge, was erected in 1907.  It was the first steel arch bridge to be built in Australasia.

For the opening ceremony, streamers, bunting and flags waved in the streets. His Excellency the Governor, Lord Plunket arrived by special train from Auckland to do the honours.  Despite rain, a large crowd assembled to hear him congratulate all concerned, describing the bridge as “a beautiful ornament”.   This ribbon spanned the width of the bridge on the western (Leamington) side.  It was held at one end by Mayoress Elizabeth Buckland and at the other by Marion Fisher as Lord Plunket snipped it in two.

Postcard showing the cutting of the ribbon by Governor Lord Plunket at the opening ceremony of Victoria Bridge, 1907 Cambridge Museum
CM2958/4/42

Construction had begun only seven months earlier. It was erected by cantilevering or building out from each bank over the river until connections were made in the centre. The anchorages at the banks were then slackened off, allowing the full weight of the bridge to settle on the arch, making the structure rigid.

The United States Steel Products Export Co supplied the bridge material. The pieces were constructed at the company’s works at Ambridge near New York and then shipped to New Zealand as a kit set.  The bridge is 140.8m long and was originally just over five metres wide.  The deck was made of 15cm thick heart totara which was tarred and sanded.  Around 20,000 rivets were driven by pneumatic hammers.

Only two minor accidents occurred while the bridge was being built.  A workman fell down the west bank fortunately landing on a sand bank.  A large bluegum davit crashed against an abutment but no one was injured.

Lord Plunket clearly underestimated the life of the bridge when he said,

“The Victoria Bridge is not only a means of communication for the present settlers, but also for their children’s children.”

He could have added another three or four generations on to that – and we’re still counting.

Related taonga

Ribbon and scissors used for cutting ceremony at the Victoria Bridge Centenary in 2007 CM3521/6