“It was a railway bridge, built on a temporary bridge across there originally, a wooden bridge,” Mrs Rendle said.
“On a low river it was okay, but on a high river or a windy day the train would stop on the Victorian side and the railway staff would walk across.
“They walked across simply to see how safe it was.
“They never lost a train, or carriage, but I will never know how.’’
Mrs Rendle said it was a pretty scary affair getting across, something nobody involved in Sunday’s walk will need to be worried about.
Passengers would regularly have to walk across the bridge, from the Victorian side of the river, to continue their trip by catching another train in Moama.
The process for replacement bridge for the wooden structure started when tenders were called in August 1875.
Mrs Rendle said the bridge was supposed to be build by June 22, 1877.
But the bridge was not completed until December, 1978, and even then people had to wait a significant period to gain access to the bridge.
In January, 1979, the bridge still wasn’t open to the public, despite the train going across regularly.
February came and went and still no public access, with locked gates only allowing trains to cross.
Mrs Rendle said the patience of people eventually ran out and a public protest meeting demanded the bridge be open in 48 hours in February, 1879.
But the gates remained locked.
On March 4, 1879, another meeting occurred and soon after that meeting the public stormed the gates from either side of the river — similar to how things were staged on Sunday.
“There were no walkways on the bridge at that stage and because they were talking about a charge to go across the bridge, people were very upset,” Mrs Rendle said.
“The plans to charge people was abandoned.”
Mrs Rendle said interstate customs duty created headaches for many people in the initial years of the bridges.
“If people were having a coach built in Deniliquin, they would put it on the train to Moama,” she said.
“Then, to avoid any charges, they would hook up the horse and drive over the bridge. Therefore, it wasn’t new and they avoided the tax.”
She said she believed it was a frustrated milkman who was responsible for cutting the lock on the gates from one side of the bridge and leading the charge across after the public rally.
The Echuca bridge project even attracted a royal commission.
Costs associated with river crossings mean the bridge being open to the public was extremely popular.
“When travelling on a pontoon across the river it was a penny a head for stock, three shillings for vehicle and a loaded vehicle cost more,” Mrs Rendle said.
“It was an expensive exercise getting across the bridge.”
And she said the bridge was never officially opened, seeing as the public opened it for themselves.
