Southeastern Tasmania has the honor of being home to both the oldest and the spikiest bridges in all of Australia.

The Oldest Bridge in Australia: Richmond Bridge

Here’s the oldest bridge in the whole country: Richmond Bridge, built between 1823 and 1825 by convict labor (you’ll start to see a theme here). And it’s still in use!

Richmond Bridge was built for the purpose of transporting people — mostly convicts — over the Coal River as they traveled between Hobart and Port Arthur. The sandstone for the bridge was quarried by convicts, who hauled it into town using hand carts.

If you ignore the brutal history behind the bridge’s construction (which, admittedly, is difficult to do), the bridge itself is a beautiful thing. For ten years, it was the longest bridge in Australia, and it remains a technically impressive piece of work for what was then a young colony.

The Spikiest Bridge in Australia: Spiky Bridge

The spikiest bridge in Australia has to be the Spiky Bridge (admittedly, this is hard to verify, but I’d say it’s a good guess based on the name alone).

This bridge is covered with spiky rocks! Why? No one really knows.

The construction looks like some kind of crazy medieval fortification, but this old coach road didn’t need defensive fortifications. So were the spikes added to keep cows from falling off? That’s one hypothesis, but it’s not a very tall bridge. Were the convict laborers just fooling around? Was this the whim of the project overseer? We’ll never know.

We do know that the Spiky Bridge, which lies roughly seven kilometers south of Swansea, was built in the 1840s by convicts using thousands of pieces of local fieldstone (which they laid without the use of any kind of mortar or cement). The bridge was installed over a gully as part of the road that helped settlers (and convicts) travel north up the coast to new settlements near Swansea and Little Swanport. And it’s quite a thing to see.

Before You Go: Tips For Visiting the Bridges

Practical Info

• They’re bridges — they’re free!
• Spiky Bridge: Walking only — no cars allowed. A small dirt parking area just off the main road makes this a quick and simple stop if you’re headed up the coast.
• Richmond Bridge: You can drive right over the bridge if you’re so inclined. A large, paved parking area right beside it allows for easy viewing.

Things to Do: Richmond & Spiky Bridge

• Spiky Bridge: There’s nothing here per se, but you can get out and walk the gorgeous, long, empty white-sand beaches.
• Richmond Bridge: Richmond is adorable; you could easily spend half a day exploring.
  • For a snack, skip the overrated scones at Czegs’ Cafe and try the apple strudel instead.
  • I’d also recommend popping into the Woodcraft Shop and Sweets & Treats, the Richmond lolly shop.

If you’re heading to the nearby Freycinet Peninsula, here’s my post on three short walks to explore.

Taking a road trip further north? Make sure to visit St. Helens and the Bay of Fires.