Source: Radio New Zealand
Skippers Bridge. Google Maps
A former museum director fears a popular heritage area in Queenstown will be forgotten about if a crucial access bridge is not restored.
This week, Queenstown Lakes District Council indefinitely closed the country’s highest suspension bridge, Skippers Bridge, due to safety risks.
The bridge is the only access route from Queenstown to Skippers Canyon, where several tourism operators offer four-wheel-drive tours.
The council said inspections revealed issues with the bridge’s suspension cables, and it could not safely assess what load the bridge was currently able to support or its integrity.
Now, the future of the bridge was in the hands of councillors, who would be deciding whether to invest in remediating the bridge during their annual planning process.
David Clarke, a former director of the Lakes District Museum for 34 years, was worried that fixing the bridge would not be a priority.
“It’s the old catchcry that money should only be spent on essential items, and sometimes heritage falls into the area of not being essential, and so you get a decline in heritage buildings and structures.
“That’s a great shame because the proof is in the pudding. Thousands go up there every year to see the gold mining heritage and to cross that bridge.”
He hoped that if driving over the bridge in a vehicle was no longer possible, people might be able to walk or cycle over the bridge.
“I’m hoping they’ll quickly find some money and do the remedial work to open it at least to pedestrians.
“It’s still a bit of a haul to walk from the bridge to the old Skippers Point Township ruins, but at least that would be something and allow people to get through to the backcountry, where there’s some other amazing heritage relics like the old Bullendale powerhouse and the remains of the Bullendale township up the left branch of Skippers Creek.
“There’s also a lot to see at Skippers Point: the cemetery, the old school house, some of the ruins, and it’s just spectacular.”
Clarke said Skippers Bridge, which first opened in 1901, was also a “major feat of engineering”.
“When you consider how remote it is, to get the materials in there, let alone sling the giant cables across the gorge, without helicopters, it’s amazing.”
Clarke hoped council could find money – or use some of the tourist tax to fix it.
“There are other heritage items around the district that are under threat as well. Yes, we need roads, and infrastructure, and sewerage, and water, and all of those things, but once these heritage features are gone, they’re gone forever.
“It’s nice to be able to protect these remnants of the past.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
