Penrith

 Yandhai Nepean Crossing

Yesterday, during the Covid Lockdown, we drove down to the Nepean River to do our exercise walk  across the Yandhai Nepean Crossing.  We did this walk nearly three years ago, when the bridge was first opened, so we were keen to walk it once again.

We  parked the car conveniently in Memorial Avenue and made our way towards the bridge.  We were shocked to see how much construction work is going on.  A new building was under construction, right alongside the start of the Yandhai bridge.  It is the new Log Cabin Hotel being erected on the site of the old Log Cabin that was gutted by fire nine years ago.  It should be very nice when it is finished, but at the moment it is a construction site and the area is not as peaceful as it used to be!

The Yandhai Nepean Crossing is the longest single clear-span footbridge in Australia.  The main span over the river is 200m long.  It was designed as a triangular Steel Warren truss with curved steel-concrete box approach-spans with viewing platforms and balconies along the structure.  The lighting has also been designed to complement the aesthetics of the bridge.

Here you can see the construction of the new Log Cabin Hotel is well under way.  It is a two storey, 16 million dollar development with indoor and outdoor bars and dining areas, as well as a beer garden and children's play area.  There will be fine dining and function rooms upstairs with outstanding views  overlooking the Nepean River.

The Victoria Bridge spans the River alongside the new Yandhai bridge.   It is a heritage listed former railway bridge and now a wrought iron box plate girder road bridge across the Nepean River on the Great Western Highway.   The bridge was designed by John Whitton and built from 1862 to 1867  It also carries the trains up and over the Blue Mountains.

Emu Hall is a historic house on the western riverbank in Emu Plains.  The house is Victorian Italianate and was built in 1854 for James Tobias Ryan.  Emu Hall is now a cafe with adjoining restaurant and beer garden.  This historic homestead has been renovated, but still retains some remarkable features, including the large windows and French doors that open onto a beautiful garden.

I love this grand gateway entrance to Emu Hall with its stone pillars and wrought iron gates.  In the foreground on the left you can just see part of the trunk of a tree, gaily festooned with fairy lights that would look pretty when lit-up at night.

Inside the gates, the garden has remnant plantings remaining, including clusters of Jacarandas, Camphor Laurels and Bunya Pine trees.

This photo shows the lovely curved steel approach span in the bridge from the Emu Plains side. One of the viewing platforms is incorporated in the curve. 

An Explorers Memorial to commemorate the crossing of the Blue Mountains by Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth in 1813 stands outside the entrance to the bridge in a little park on the Penrith side. 

It is a clock memorial (showing the correct time) standing in a rose garden.  The Memorial also commemorates the further expeditions and surveys by George Evans and William Cox.

It was starting to rain as we left the Memorial, so we hurried back to our car, glad we didn't have to walk very far.  

We continued to drive down Memorial Avenue, and into Nepean Avenue admiring the many lovely homes in this street on the Eastern bank of the Nepean River.  The road comes to a dead end when it meets Tench Reserve and the point at which we concluded our recent walk in Tench Reserve.  Nepean Avenue forms part of the loop section of the Great River Walk as it leads directly to the Yandhai Nepean Crossing.

The word Yandhai comes from the Darug language and means "walking in the path of past and present"  and is reflective of story telling, including the past use of the river by the Darug people. The Darugs have strong traditional and historical ties to Western Sydney and the Nepean River, so the name Yandhai Nepean Crossing is a fitting name for this pedestrian bridge.

Acknowledgements

1.  Seymour Whyte

2.  Visit Penrith.

3.  Weekender - Alena Higgins Senior News Reporter.

4.  Blue Mountains Gazette 24.10.2018

5.  Wikipedia.

6.  Emu Hall Bar & Kitchen.