1803-1853: Convict Settlement
Introduction
Between 1804 and 1853, more than 70,000 convicts were forcibly transported to the colony of Van Diemen’s land. Convicts were a source of cheap labour for the development of the colony. They were employed in the construction of roads, bridges, public buildings, water supply and other infrastructure. These works were generally designed by military engineers and some professional architects. Many of these structures survive to this day and are still in use. Some use of convicts continued for several years after transportation ceased. A number of the convict built structures are listed under the world heritage recognition.
Pioneer Roads
Early road making often involved nothing more than felling and grubbing of trees, marking out the breadth of the road with a spade and throwing earth from the sides into the middle, or making a cutting by throwing earth from a hillside to the lower side of the road.
Before long the road construction methods devised by Telford and McAdam were being used for road construction. By 1826, two streets in Hobart had been leveled and macadamised. This method of road construction involves compacting a layer of small broken stone into a solid mass on a convex well-drained roadbed. This method was also used to build the highway from Hobart to Launceston which was completed by 1830.
In 1816 work began on the Wellington Bridge over the Hobart rivulet in Elizabeth Street, Hobart. This was single span brick arch designed to extend Elizabeth Street northwards toward New Town. The bridge survives under Elizabeth Street mall today.
Major Thomas Bell
In 1818 Major Bell RE landed in Hobart and took on the position of Inspector for Public Works, including public buildings in Hobart and the construction of the Richmond Bridge, a six-span masonry arch structure built entirely of sandstone. Richmond Bridge is Australia’s oldest surviving bridge from the Convict era.
Major Bell was also responsible for the construction of a masonry walled causeway which connected the settlement in Hobart to Hunters Island where stores were landed prior to the construction of the docks.
John Lee Archer
John Lee Archer was the Civil Engineer and Colonial Architect in Van Diemen's Land, serving from 1827 to 1838. During his tenure, Archer was responsible for many colonial government buildings including those for penal and military purposes. Major architectural works in Hobart include:
- Parliament House
- Treasury and the Audit Department buildings
- Ordnance Stores, Salamanca Place
- Several buildings, Anglesea Barracks
- Old Trinity (the Penitentiary Chapel)
- The nave of St. George's Church, Battery Point
- Parts of the Campbell Street Jail
Statewide:
- The stone bridge which still carries the Midland Highway over the Macquarie River at Ross
- St John's Church, New Town
- St Luke's Presbyterian Church, Bothwell
- St Luke's Church of England, Richmond
Bridgewater Causeway and First Bridge
Work on this causeway commenced in 1830 and used convict labour. Construction involved tipping fill from wheelbarrows onto the soft riverbank. To overcome the fill settling, a mat of local Tea tree was used to stabilise the foundation. By 1834 the causeway had been constructed to a length of 775 yards (700 metres). Work on the causeway was abandoned in 1836.
In 1847 Thompson and Blackburn, architects and emancipated convicts, submitted designs for a timber bridge to link the end of the causeway with the northern shore of the Derwent River. Over one thousand trees of 70-100 feet length were procured from the slopes of Mt Dromedary. About 360 piles were then driven to a depth of 60 feet (18 metres). The overall length of the bridge was 1,000 feet (300 metres) with a roadway width of 24 feet (7 metres). The causeway is still in use as part of the National highway system. The bridge included an opening span to enable navigation to New Norfolk.
Royal Engineers
The Royal Engineers and Ordnance served in Van Diemen’s Land (later Tasmania) from 1835 to the early 1870s. The Royal Engineers implemented changing British and colonial responses to the housing, treatment and punishment of convicts. The housing of the military and the erection of defence fortifications were also under their jurisdiction and many examples of these survive in Tasmania.
The arrival of the Royal Engineers in Van Diemen’s Land followed difficulties experienced with the Civil Engineering Department, headed by John Lee Archer, and followed a recommendation by New South Wales Governor Bourke. The previous insistence on private contractors had resulted in building delays and costs such as those experienced with the 1833 Launceston Female “House of Correction”.
The Royal Engineers assumed responsibility for all government non-military structures from John Lee Archer in 1838.
Major James Convey Victor RE arrived in Van Diemen’s land in November 1842 to take charge of the Royal Engineers in the colony. He was also appointed director of public works. He remained in the colony until 1848. Major architectural works were:
- Most bridges in Tasmania from 1843 to 1848
- Royal Engineers Building
- Anglesea Barracks
- Hobart Jail
- Convict Hospital, part of Campbell Street Jail Hobart
- Government Cottage
- Outbuildings and landscaping at Government House
Significant Structures Built in the Convict Era on the Engineering Heritage Recognition Program:
Richmond Bridge
Built between 1823 and 1824, this bridge is a convict built, stone-arched road bridge with six spans of 4.3, 8.1, 8.3, 8.5, 8.1 and 4.1m. Stone parapets with copings run between stone terminating columns. The only major changes to the bridge have been the raising of the western parapet (1835) and the addition of cutwaters (pier protection) to the three central piers in 1884. Richmond Bridge is Australia’s oldest surviving bridge.
Ross Bridge
This bridge is the fifth oldest surviving bridge in Australia, with construction commencing in 1833 and completed in July 1836 using convict labour. Ross Bridge is a stone arched bridge with three spans of 8.8m.The bridge incorporates 186 extraordinary stone carvings arranged around the bridge arches.
Red Bridge (1836-38)
Three span brick arch structure with spans of approximately 7.6 m between springing points. The overall length is about 35 m and width between parapets of about 8.5 m. River training walls, each about 39 m long, extend upstream and downstream from each end. This bridge has been strengthened to current loading standards and is part of the National Highway network.
Other significant structures:
Perth Bridge (1837-39)
This was a six span timber bridge over the South Esk River. It incorporated five piers consisting of four vertical timber piles. Individual spans had a curved appearance and were faced with vertical planks.
Longford Bridge (completed 1839)
This was a six span timber bridge over the South Esk River. It incorporated five piers consisting of four vertical timber piles. Individual spans had a curved appearance and were faced with vertical planks.
References
Newitt, Lyn, Convicts and Carriageways, The Department of Main Roads, 1988.
McAdam, John L, Remarks on the Present System of Roadmaking with Observations, London, Longman, 1824.
MacFie, Peter, The Royal Engineers in Colonial Tasmania, Papers of the Second National Conference on Engineering Heritage, 1985.
Victor, James Conway, Wikipedia.
