Windsor Bridge is the oldest existing crossing on the Hawkesbury River. It was built in 1874 for horse-drawn vehicles and foot traffic. The Dharuk Aboriginal name for the Hawkesbury river is Deerubbin.
The town of Windsor is about 60 km north-west of Sydney, and is the third-oldest place of British settlement on the Australian continent. Windsor was founded in 1810 by Governor Macquarie, the area being originally known as Green Hills. Settlement began here about 1791 because the fertile river flats of the Hawkesbury River were favourable for agriculture, and the river provided coastal access with Sydney. This area was the "bread basket" of the starving colony. The river flats means the area is prone to flooding, but that's how you get the good soil.
Many of the oldest surviving European colonial buildings in Australia are located at Windsor. Several of these Georgian and early Victorian buildings are in Thompson Square, established 1795 (or 1794?), the oldest town square in Australia. For example, the Macquarie Arms hotel and public house is regarded as the oldest in Australia, and the Governor's western residence was here. See separate review of Thompson's Square.
This is where Windsor Bridge comes in. There is currently a proposal to demolish the old Windsor Bridge and replace it with a huge concrete overpass bridge, but one problem is that and it would increase vehicle traffic in the area, especially trucks. The second problem is that the approach to the proposed bridge would cut into the historic Thompson's Square. In short, the proposal would irrevocably change and ruin the rural and historic character of Windsor, which is significant because of the unique nature of the history here. Thompson was an Emancipist, meaning an emancipated former convict, who became the wealthiest man in the colony and a magistrate. Governor Macquarie befriended Andrew Thompson and favored a "fair go" to persons who prove their worth, and that ideal transformed New South Wales, and Australia for that matter, from a penal settlement ideal to a free country ideal, a land of opportunity as it were.
In early 2012, a local group of concerned citizens formed CAWB (Citizens Action for Windsor Bridge). Its aim is to protect Thompson Square and to prevent the building of this specific new bridge design. CAWB has a website (www.cawb.weebly.com) and a further website gives some good info (http://www.communityrun.org/petitions/save-thompson-square-from-the-rms-option-one-bridge?source=facebook-share-button&time=1364028157)
Windsor Bridge seems OK to me. It is low to the water and very occasionally floods prevent crossing. The new bridge proposal cites concerns that the bridge is somehow unsafe. One wonders if commercial interests are the real reason behind the proposal for a new bridge. I'm not so sure the bridge really needs replaced. The traffic has never banked up much at all really, less than waiting at most traffic lights. read more
