Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Andrew Handyside who made Friargate bridge in Derby made hundreds of different bridges around the world, here is a very special one I have located in Australia : Glebe Island swing Bridge, Johnstons Bay, Pyrmont, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
I've been researching the work of Andrew Handyside for 19 years and this is quite an exciting find, Glebe Island swing Bridge has often been considered as to be at the forefront of swing bridge engineering upon its completion in 1903.
This bridge is of particular interest as it’s been derelict and left to rot for decades but people want it restored for the community, like our very own Friargate bridge !
Wouldn’t it be great if both the Glebe Island bridge and Friargate bridge can both be restored for their local communities and maybe twined with each other in celebration of Andrew Handyside, Let’s make this happen.
Logistics of getting Glebe island bridge parts from Derby to Australia in 1899 :
Handyside’s Fox Street/Clarke Street yard was specifically built for manufacturing large girders and bridges and a featured dedicated, private railway sidings connected directly to the Midland Railway network (See my old map)
The heavy iron bridge components would be loaded by steam-powered gantry cranes onto standard-gauge railway flat wagons in Handyside's yard.
These wagons would then travel northwest to the Port of Liverpool, Liverpool was generally favoured for bulk industrial iron and shipping lines to Australia.
Upon arriving at the Liverpool docks, the railway wagons would be shunted alongside the deep-water berths and high-capacity dockside steam cranes would lift the heavy iron bridge components directly out of the rail cars and lower them into the cargo holds of a waiting merchant vessel.
The sailing route would have been Liverpool to Sydney via Cape of Good Hope, how long the bridge parts were on the ocean would depend on which type of ships were used.
By Cargo Steamship (Most Likely): 45 to 55 days (approx. 6 to 8 weeks). By 1900, heavy industrial "tramp" steamers or cargo liners averaged around 10–12 knots. They would stop once or twice (usually in Cape Town or Mauritius) to take on coal.
By Iron-Hulled Sailing Merchant/Clipper: 80 to 100 days (approx. 11 to 14 weeks). If Handyside were trying to save maximum capital on freight costs and weren't in a strict rush, they might use a large sailing merchant ship. These relied entirely on the trade winds and the "Roaring Forties."
Once the ship arrived in Sydney it would enter Port Jackson and dock at one of Sydney's major commercial wharves, such as Darling Harbour or Circular Quay.
The ironwork would be craned out of the ship's hold onto the wharf. From there, it would be loaded onto horse-drawn heavy dray carts or onto New South Wales Government Railways flatcars to be taken to the final bridge construction site on Glebe Island.
This entire journey would have covered around 15,600 miles and taken upto 3 months depending on ship type and weather conditions.
This bridge was opened on Wednesday 1st July 1903 by Miss Lily See, daughter of the then-Premier Sir John See (a prominent Australian politician)
The bridge was reported to have opened 5499 times just in its first year of operation, That’s 15 times a day !
The Glebe Island Bridge operated with little interruption from 1903 to 1995, when it was decommissioned upon the opening of the adjacent ANZAC Bridge.
The bridge was in sound, operable condition at the time and was assessed as being too significant to be demolished.
It was printed in The Derby Mercury on Friday 27th November 1925 :
"Many residents will remember the Glebe Island swing bridge, gracefully and serenely revolving" in Handyside's Fox Street yard, prior to shipment to Australia in 1899.
Since it was decommissioned, Glebe Island Bridge has remained closed and unused for the past 31 years and has fallen into a state of disrepair.
The National Trust has called for its repair and conservation (re-activation) many times over the last decade
There are plans to build 8500 homes near the bridge (The Bays West Precinct) and local groups are keen to get the bridge reopened for this new community. This is a similar story to our Friargate bridge.
Visit their website to learn more about their plans for this bridge :
glebeislandbridge.com
Join my Andrew Handyside Facebook group :
facebook.com/groups/andrewhandyside
Follow my Andrew Handyside Blog :
friargatebridge.blogspot.com
Follow my Andrew Handyside Flickr group :
flickr.com/groups/1531851@N22
My reference :
Page 5 of the 1905 Catalogue "Steel & Iron structures made and erected by Andrew Handyside & Co Ltd Derby and London reproduced from photos taken on the spot." The many Structures made and erected by Andrew Handyside & Co., Limited, between 1884 and 1903
Music Credits :
'Within Our Nature' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
Thanks
Andy
Andrew Handyside who made Friargate bridge in Derby made hundreds of different bridges around the world, here is a very special one I have located in Australia : Glebe Island swing Bridge, Johnstons Bay, Pyrmont, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
I've been researching the work of Andrew Handyside for 19 years and this is quite an exciting find, Glebe Island swing Bridge has often been considered as to be at the forefront of swing bridge engineering upon its completion in 1903.
This bridge is of particular interest as it’s been derelict and left to rot for decades but people want it restored for the community, like our very own Friargate bridge !
Wouldn’t it be great if both the Glebe Island bridge and Friargate bridge can both be restored for their local communities and maybe twined with each other in celebration of Andrew Handyside, Let’s make this happen.
Logistics of getting Glebe island bridge parts from Derby to Australia in 1899 :
Handyside’s Fox Street/Clarke Street yard was specifically built for manufacturing large girders and bridges and a featured dedicated, private railway sidings connected directly to the Midland Railway network (See my old map)
The heavy iron bridge components would be loaded by steam-powered gantry cranes onto standard-gauge railway flat wagons in Handyside's yard.
These wagons would then travel northwest to the Port of Liverpool, Liverpool was generally favoured for bulk industrial iron and shipping lines to Australia.
Upon arriving at the Liverpool docks, the railway wagons would be shunted alongside the deep-water berths and high-capacity dockside steam cranes would lift the heavy iron bridge components directly out of the rail cars and lower them into the cargo holds of a waiting merchant vessel.
The sailing route would have been Liverpool to Sydney via Cape of Good Hope, how long the bridge parts were on the ocean would depend on which type of ships were used.
By Cargo Steamship (Most Likely): 45 to 55 days (approx. 6 to 8 weeks). By 1900, heavy industrial "tramp" steamers or cargo liners averaged around 10–12 knots. They would stop once or twice (usually in Cape Town or Mauritius) to take on coal.
By Iron-Hulled Sailing Merchant/Clipper: 80 to 100 days (approx. 11 to 14 weeks). If Handyside were trying to save maximum capital on freight costs and weren't in a strict rush, they might use a large sailing merchant ship. These relied entirely on the trade winds and the "Roaring Forties."
Once the ship arrived in Sydney it would enter Port Jackson and dock at one of Sydney's major commercial wharves, such as Darling Harbour or Circular Quay.
The ironwork would be craned out of the ship's hold onto the wharf. From there, it would be loaded onto horse-drawn heavy dray carts or onto New South Wales Government Railways flatcars to be taken to the final bridge construction site on Glebe Island.
This entire journey would have covered around 15,600 miles and taken upto 3 months depending on ship type and weather conditions.
This bridge was opened on Wednesday 1st July 1903 by Miss Lily See, daughter of the then-Premier Sir John See (a prominent Australian politician)
The bridge was reported to have opened 5499 times just in its first year of operation, That’s 15 times a day !
The Glebe Island Bridge operated with little interruption from 1903 to 1995, when it was decommissioned upon the opening of the adjacent ANZAC Bridge.
The bridge was in sound, operable condition at the time and was assessed as being too significant to be demolished.
It was printed in The Derby Mercury on Friday 27th November 1925 :
"Many residents will remember the Glebe Island swing bridge, gracefully and serenely revolving" in Handyside's Fox Street yard, prior to shipment to Australia in 1899.
Since it was decommissioned, Glebe Island Bridge has remained closed and unused for the past 31 years and has fallen into a state of disrepair.
The National Trust has called for its repair and conservation (re-activation) many times over the last decade
There are plans to build 8500 homes near the bridge (The Bays West Precinct) and local groups are keen to get the bridge reopened for this new community. This is a similar story to our Friargate bridge.
Visit their website to learn more about their plans for this bridge :
glebeislandbridge.com
Join my Andrew Handyside Facebook group :
facebook.com/groups/andrewhandyside
Follow my Andrew Handyside Blog :
friargatebridge.blogspot.com
Follow my Andrew Handyside Flickr group :
flickr.com/groups/1531851@N22
My reference :
Page 5 of the 1905 Catalogue "Steel & Iron structures made and erected by Andrew Handyside & Co Ltd Derby and London reproduced from photos taken on the spot." The many Structures made and erected by Andrew Handyside & Co., Limited, between 1884 and 1903
Music Credits :
'Within Our Nature' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
Thanks
Andy
