Council
30 April, 2026
Reopening a piece of Mittagong history
Residents who live in Mittagong’s Ferguson Crescent will be happy once again to be able to have easier access into the town centre, with the official opening of the new bridge on Wednesday.
Residents who live in Mittagong’s Ferguson Crescent will be happy once again to be able to have easier access into the town centre, with the official opening of the new bridge on Wednesday by NSW Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Transport and Roads, Anna Watson (representing NSW Minister for Roads, Jenny Aitchison); Member for Wollondilly, Judy Hannan; Wingecarribee Shire Council Mayor Jesse Fitzpatrick; Councillors Erin Foley, James Farrell and Sara Moylan, plus Council staff and representatives of Inquik, the construction firm tasked to build the bridge.
The new concrete and steel bridge will open up the road corridor again, connecting Mittagong to Renwick via Bong Bong Rd and giving easier access to the historic Fitzroy Inn.
The project was funded through a $4.6 million grant under the NSW Government's Fixing Country Bridges Program, and $1.05 million from Council, with the bridge providing a key connection to the Old Hume Highway, and also includes a 2.5-metre shared pathway for pedestrians to use safely.
The old bridge has also been kept for heritage purposes.
Owner of the Fitzroy Inn, John Griffin gave the crowd a speech on the history behind the bridge and of Fitzroy Inn for Mittagong.
“The old bridge was built in the 1800s, when heavy traffic was coming through – bullock drays and horse & cart, etc,” Mr. Griffin said.
“Then in the late 1800s they upgraded it and put it through, and it significantly opened up the Hume Highway all the way to Goulburn.
“Governor Macquarie invited the families of Goulburn at the time to what was known as ‘Governor’s Hill’ (just outside Goulburn) and then invited the families to bring their best horsemen, gave four of them a flag each and said ‘you go one way and you go the other and when the sun goes down at the end of the day, put the flag in the ground and that will be your land from this time forward.”
Mr. Griffin also explained that the upgrade of the bridge was important for his family’s history as well.
“My mum grew up in Goulburn, and her family owned Smith’s Nursery in the city back then,” he said.
“To preserve this old bridge to me is very important and for generations to come where they see the work that was done by the early settlers.”
Ms. Watson (who is also the Member for Shellharbour) said she was proud to have been invited to officially open the new bridge.
“It’s a real honour to do this today and not many people get to do what I do,” she told The Southern Wire.
“I never take for granted for a minute the history and the community that’s attached to the places that I go.
“This one is of particular importance, because this particular site contains a lot of Australia’s history, not only for this community to understand, but for future generations, too. Stories like John’s are very important for us to know and to appreciate what has happened on this particular site.
“When I pulled up in the car – I hadn’t been on this road before – I just got this sense of ‘a lot of things have happened here’, and I thought after looking at the Fitzroy Inn, ‘I need to know what’s happening in there’, but then standing on the bridge and listening to John’s story and finding out more about The Maltings too, it gave me a better sense of the history of the place.
“It’s indeed been a great honour to have been here today and to experience this small part of the world, but nonetheless important for Australia’s and for Mittagong’s history and the Southern Highlands as a whole.”
For more information on the history of John Griffin’s Fitzroy Inn, visit him and do the guided history walk through the house, or visit the website at https://www.fitzroyinn.com.au/fitzroy-inn-history.
Read More: Mittagong, Southern Highlands