Old Cobram-Barooga Bridge

Heritage-listed 1902 swing-span bridge over the Murray, now a footbridge

The Old Bridge spans the Murray between Cobram in Victoria and Barooga in New South Wales — a steel-truss structure dating from 1902 with the characteristic central swing span that let paddle steamers through in the river's commercial heyday. The bridge is heritage-listed and now used only by pedestrians and cyclists.

Walking across is the easiest way to cross state lines on foot in Australia and is genuinely atmospheric in the late afternoon when the light catches the trusses and the river runs gold below. The new road bridge is a couple of hundred metres downstream.

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A story
The bridge opened in 1902 with a swing span that could pivot to let paddle steamers through. By the time the river trade had collapsed in the 1930s the swing was rarely used, and after a new road bridge opened in 1991 the old one was kept as a pedestrian crossing — one of the few remaining swing-span river bridges in Victoria.

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