View of the Port River taken from the northern bank of Hawkers Creek. To the right the first bridge to cross the Port River can be seen and at left the smokestack of the English and Australian Copper Company.

Discussions about a bridge to span the Port River began in the 1850s; businesses in the port and the growing number of residents on the Lefevre Peninsula agitated and in July 1854 a committee was formed. Several locations were considered and numerous options: the bridge should be an opening bridge; it should carry a horse tramway or a railway. The government finally agreed to build a bridge providing businesses contributed to the cost. In January 1859 the Lefevre Peninsula bridge was completed.

The bridge was a continuation of St Vincent Street, crossing the Old Port Reach. It was 719 feet long and 18 feet wide with a central drawbridge and was constructed of Western Australian jarrah and Tasmanian stringybark. Within months repairs were required, and the central drawbridge was used on only one occasion. By 1869 the bridge was dilapidated and calls were made for a replacement bridge. Finally in late 1874 the decision was made to erect a new bridge. This was finally opened for traffic in January 1878, and was named the Jervois Bridge.

Ritter, Ron Spanning time and tide: the bridges of the Port Adelaide River [Para Vista, S.A.]: R.C. Ritter, 1996

Couper-Smartt, John Port Adelaide: tales from a "commodious harbour" Port Adelaide: Friends of the South Australian Maritime Museum, 2003

State Library of South Australia: Mortlock Wing exhibitions. Wooden Walls and Iron Sides August 2004-