Southern Rhodesia Philately: Birchenough Bridge

Birchenough Bridge is the name for both a bridge across the Sabi River. The bridge was funded at a cost of £145,000 and was planned by the Beit Trust, a foundation chaired at the time by Sir Henry Birchenough whose ashes are buried beneath the structure of the bridge.

Ralph Freeman, the bridge’s designer, was also the structural designer on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and consequently the two bridges bear a close resemblance, although Birchenough is only two-thirds as long as the Australian bridge.

It was built by Dorman Long and completed in 1935. At a length of 1,080 feet (329 m) it was the third longest single-arch suspension bridge in the world at the time.

Stamps & Postal Products

1953 Definitive Series – 2/– Birchenough Bridge

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