Stewarts Bridge – Building a bridge with a cross saw, chopping axe, Broad axe, Donkey & Monkey

In 1949 Doug Rosenow was only 7yo when his father Merv Rosenow and partner Jack Gray started building Stewarts Bridge over the Goulburn River with a very limited number of hand tools, a Donkey & Monkey.

Doug’s grandfather Fred Rosenow was one of many sleeper cutters in the Echuca region. Fred had 5 sons of which 4 became sleeper cutters, Merv, Charlie, Clarice and Tasman. Ken went on and worked for the railways. Merv born 1916 cut sleepers in the Perricoota, Goulburn and Barmah districts carting his sleepers to the Echuca and Picola railways until his retirement in 1983.

Stewarts Bridge was opened in 1951 after more than 18 months of construction, timber was sourced as close to the site as possible with the felling and lopping of the trees with a cross saw, pilings were 45 feet long and driven 15 feet  into the muddy river bed with the Donkey & Monkey (steam engine set up with a rig and 2 ton weight). The chopping axe was used to make vertical cuts into the red gum bridge beams (approx. 35 foot long) and decking timber before being squared and cleaned with the broad axe, same technique as used for making railway and garden sleepers.

Whilst visiting the bridge recently with Doug, Doug commented on how well the timber beams were finished with the broad axe as only very few remaining vertical cuts can be seen along the length of the beams approx. every foot.

Doug spent as much time as he possibly could with his father Merv during the construction, and at the age of 10 learnt the technique of sleeper cutting, by 1959 Merv purchased a swing saw and placed his broad axe into retirement.

In 1961 Doug was offered a job at SKF in Echuca and turned out precision bearings until 1978 when he decided to take on a job at the Echuca Rice Mills until 1986 when it was time to go bush in the lower Goulburn and Barmah forests and cut railway and garden sleepers until the local timber  industry was forced to close in 2009 when the forests were turned into National Parks.

While sleeper cutting with a chopping and broad axe may well be a technique long gone, thanks to a few members of the Barmah Muster Committee Doug has participated in many annual community events since the 2000 Barmah Muster, demonstrating the technique of sleeper cutting. Dylan Lubke can also been seen assisting Doug and honing his skills.

One of the sleepers cut recently at the Nathalia New Year’s Eve Carnival will soon be on display at the Barmah Forest Heritage & Education Centre, Nathalia.