View of Frome Bridge over the River Torrens.

"Bridges in early colonial South Australia were short-lived. Because the City of Adelaide was laid out in two parts separated by the River Torrens, bridges were essential to communication. The first two bridges were located where the crossing was easiest. The absence of suitable engineering materials, dearth of engineering expertise, and lack of understanding of local conditions meant that these bridges were vulnerable to rapid deterioration and destruction by floods. By the 1850s the colony had acquired engineering expertise and adopted English technologies, and by the 1870s it was importing English materials. By the time of Federation, the City of Adelaide had durable bridges located to suit the needs of traffic. After Federation it was the changing demands of traffic rather than technological inadequacies that drove bridge replacements."

see: Stacy, Bill and Venus, Richard. Bridging Adelaide's River Torrens: Pre- and Post-Federation Technologies [online]. In: 11th National Conference on Engineering Heritage: Federation Engineering a Nation; Proceedings; pages: 37-42. Barton, ACT: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 2001

Frome Street (Adelaide, S. Aust)

Nixon, Frederick Robert, d.1860

River Torrens (Adelaide, S. Aust)

Heritage of the city of Adelaide: an illustrated guide / editors: Susan Marsden, Paul Stark and Patricia Sumerling. Adelaide: Corporation of the City of Adelaide, 1990

Bridges of the city of Adelaide [Rev. ed.] Adelaide : Dept. of Environment and Planning, [198-?] Notes on South Australiana; 3

Stacy, Bill and Venus, Richard Bridging Adelaide's River Torrens: Pre- and Post-Federation Technologies [online]. In: 11th National Conference on Engineering Heritage: Federation Engineering a Nation; Proceedings; pages: 37-42. Barton, ACT: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 2001

SA Memory From the ground up: Architecture in South Australia