David Lennox

This article is about David Lennox, a Master Stonemason. For the American Inventor, see Dave Lennox.

David Lennox
Born	1788 Ayr, Scotland
Died	November 12, 1873(1873-11-12) New South Wales
Nationality	Scottish
Known for	Pioneering bridge building

Lansdowne Bridge over Prospect Creek on the Hume Highway at Lansdowne. Opened in 1836, it carries traffic to this day.

David Lennox (1788 – 12 November 1873) was a Scottish-Australian bridge-builder and master stonemason born in Ayr, Scotland.

Personal details

Trained as a stonemason, Lennox worked on Telford's Menai Suspension Bridge at Anglesey in Wales and on Over Bridge at Gloucester before emigrating to Australia^[1] following the death of his wife.^[2] He arrived in August 1832 aboard the ship Florentia.^[3]

Prior to this time, the young colony of New South Wales had no skilled stonemasons, and so it was almost fate that a chance meeting with the Surveyor-General, Major Thomas Mitchell should result in Lennox—by now a Master Stonemason with twenty years' experience—becoming, provisionally, Sub-Inspector of Bridges and later Superintendent of Bridges.

The historic Lennox Bridge at Lapstone Hill is the oldest bridge on the Australian mainland.

Lennox moved to Melbourne in 1844, to take up a position responsible for bridges in the Port Phillip district.

Lennox retired in November 1853 and returned to New South Wales two years later where he lived in Parramatta.^[4] He died on 12 November 1873, and was buried in old St John's cemetery, Parramatta.^[4] His gravestone was never marked so it is not known exactly where he was interred.^[4]

Significant works

He was commissioned in 1832, the year of his arrival in the colony, to oversee the construction of the bridges for the new road over the Blue Mountains including the Lennox Bridge over Brookside Creek at Lapstone Hill. Construction began in 1832 with Lennox supervising the efforts of twenty convicts who had little, if any, masonry skills. Lennox Bridge is the oldest surviving complete bridge on the Australian mainland (it is predated by Richmond Bridge in Tasmania, completed 1825, and by the foundations of several bridges north of Wisemands Ferry including Clares Bridge on the Great North Road, built in 1830.^[5]

Lennox was also responsible for the construction of historic Lansdowne Bridge over Prospect Creek in Lansdowne which he was enlisted to build in 1832, with construction beginning the very next year using locally quarried stone.^[1] After three years, it was opened in 1836 and with a toll charged for crossing, the construction costs were soon recovered.^[1]

The Lennox Bridge over the Parramatta River opened in 1839.

Lennox also oversaw construction of many other stone bridges in the colony, including Lennox Bridge over the Parramatta River at Parramatta which was constructed from 1836 to 1839.^[6] It is possible that he designed Towrang Bridge (1839) that once carried the Hume Highway. See Towrang.

He designed and oversaw the construction of the Liverpool Dam in 1836. The dam was one of the first engineered weirs built in New South Wales.^[7]

Lennox built fifty-three bridges in the nine years he was in the employ of Victoria,^[4] including the second Prince's Bridge over the Yarra River in Melbourne. The 46 m (150 ft) stone arch was the largest built by Lennox and was opened in 1851.^[4][8] It was to last until the river was widened some thirty-five years later, and in 1888 was replaced by the present Prince's Bridge.

As well as bridges, Lennox was also in charge of roads, wharves and ferries in the Port Phillip district.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Lansdowne Bridge", Roads and Traffic Authority, NSW
2. ^ "Lennox Bridge – Lapstone Hill", Blue Mountains Info
3. ^ "External Intelligence". The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser. 14 August 1832. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2208035. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Lennox, David", Australian Dictionary of Biography
5. ^ Karskens, Grace (1985). The Grandest Improvement in the Country – An Historical and Archaeological Study of the Great North Road, NSW 1825-1836. Thesis. 
6. ^ "Lennox Bridge, Parramatta", Roads and Traffic Authority, NSW
7. ^ "Liverpool Weir". Heritage Branch, New South Wales Department of Planning. http://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au/07_subnav_02_2.cfm?itemid=5060394. 
8. ^ "Some significant dates in the History of the City of Melbourne", City of Melbourne

External links

• History of the Lennox Bridge

Persondata
Name	Lennox, David
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1788
Place of birth	Ayr, Scotland
Date of death	12 November 1873
Place of death	New South Wales