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Main Drain Bridge
Southbank Road BUNYIP, CARDINIA SHIRE

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Statement of Significance
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Statement of Significance

The Main Drain Bridge at Bunyip is significant to Cardinia Shire as one of the system of Koo-wee-rup Swamp drains (c1889 - ) and bridges (c1930s and earlier), as evidence of the massive swamp drainage project carried out there and the eventual development of transport networks when the swamp was turned into rich farming land. The construction of many of these bridges also symbolises the devastation of the 1934 floods when the previous timber bridges were washed away. The bridges are generally notable for their age, judged among other bridges in the shire, and the amount of original fabric which survives on each. The timber construction being also evocative of the thriving local timber industry and plentiful supply.

The bridges are timber decked and frames and most have angle-rail timber balustrading. Some (e.g. the bridge over main drain opposite St. Joseph's Iona) have been reinforced with steel stringers.

The Bunyip Bridge is one of nine timber bridges listed under 'Swamp Bridges and Swamp Drains' in the Cardinia Shire Heritage Study, and one of seven individually listed on the local Heritage Overlay.

Ref: Butler, G. 1996. Cardinia Shire Heritage Study Vol 3. pp 401 - 404.

Regional Significance

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- Physical Description 1
  
  Main Drain Bridge - Physical Description 1
  
  The swamp drains for a rectilinear grid of small and large drains across the flat southern half of the Shire. They divide what is largely agricultural plots into finite areas with, sometimes, the road bridges and small crossover bridges as the only form of communication. The scale, if not the visual effect, of the project is immense. This drainage scheme was protracted such that today the drains are difficult to date but nevertheless each must be considered as part of one important campaign of achievement.
  
  The bridges are timber decked and framed and most have angle-rail timber balustrading.Some, such as the bridge over the Main Drain opposite St. Joseph's, Iona, have been reinforced with steel stringers.
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- TIMBER-LINED PIT (BUNYIP RIVER)
  
  Victorian Heritage Inventory
- Main Drain Bridge
  
  Cardinia Shire