Opinion
24 November, 2025
From Cricket Trips to Gold Rush Days: The Story Behind a Historic NSW Bridge
Early Sunday evening I drove over a bridge I have crossed multiple times in the last four years, the Abercrombie Bridge, near Tuena on the edge of the Southern Tablelands.
Early Sunday evening, I drove over a bridge I have crossed multiple times in the last four years, the Abercrombie Bridge, near Tuena on the edge of the Southern Tablelands.
The bridge signals summer, cricket season is here!
The single-lane timber bridge over the Abercrombie River is rickety yet full of charm, part of the Goulburn–Oberon Road — a stretch that, thankfully, remains smooth and well-maintained, to the credit of those responsible.
Each summer, I travel west to Dubbo, Orange, Wellington and Narromine for the Bradman Cup or the Country Youth Championships. For those not aware, those towns host pathway cricket carnivals. The bridge marks the halfway point, a place to stop and stretch the legs.
As I pass through, I think of the days when Tuena and Trunkey Creek were alive with gold-rush dreams. In the 1850s, more than 10,000 people flocked there seeking their fortune; by 1870, the population had fallen to 150. Today, about 50 people remain, many with pans at the ready, looking for nuggets along the riverbanks.
The signs of the gold rush era linger in Tuena: three churches, a weekend shop, and an old Inn. The inn, closed in 2012, is under renovation and will soon be the perfect mid-trip stop when heading west.
Stopping at the bridge yesterday afternoon, I thought it’s time to learn more about this bridge. The timing was perfect. The NSW Government has just announced that the ‘iconic’ bridge has been added to the State Heritage Register, recognised for its ‘innovative engineering and the vital role it played in the lives of communities in the central west for more than a century.’
Built in 1918, the bridge is ‘one of the finest remaining examples of an Allan Truss timber road bridge. Only fifteen remain in NSW.
It turns out Allan Truss is not an old bushranger or a forgotten, corrupt, and bearded politician, but the design of eminent engineer Percy Allan.
Anna London, Senior Manager of Heritage Programs at Heritage NSW, says the listing honours Allan’s work. ‘This honour’s Percy Allan’s remarkable contribution to NSW engineering, while also recognising the generations of regional communities whose livelihoods relied on crossings like this.’
After taking photos of the bridge, I was ready to continue the drive home through Crookwell, Goulburn and the Southern Highlands. In the rear-view mirror, a car pulled up, the driver jumped out, clearly desperate for a pit-stop, blissfully unaware that their urgent moment took place beside a now heritage-listed bridge. Bring on the reopening of the Inn, for more than one reason!
Read More: Southern Tablelands, Crookwell