During the early days of the Ophir gold rush, the Manuherikia River was a dangerous and hazardous barrier; many people and horses drowned while attempting a crossing. The need for a bridge became critical.

After intense lobbying by locals, the Vincent County Council commissioned County Engineer, Leslie Duncan MacGeorge, to come up with a design and plan, which he completed in 1878. The location of the bridge caused some discussion, with MacGeorge deciding upon the most suitable site in terms of geology and the river’s course. On the Ophir side, the bridge is approached by a narrow cutting where the cables are cut into the rock, and on the Omakau side cables are anchored into visible masonry above the ground.

Suspension bridges were preferred in those days as they did not require piers which could be undermined by fast-flowing rivers; a fact Ken Leask recalled in his book ‘Ophir Memories’. “In the 1995 flood, floodwaters were almost touching the deck, with willow branches flicking up onto it.”

The bridge was named after Irish independence hero, Daniel O’Connell, an Irish Catholic M.P. Naming the bridge after him was a popular choice, as the local population was dominated by Irish Catholic miners.

Mrs Pitches opened the bridge in 1880, with a bottle of Champagne, and the event was celebrated with a ball that evening.

That isn’t the Daniel O’Connell bridge in the photo above, however. That’s an earlier footbridge and water race, build just downstream from the current bridge. It was constructed to carry water to gold mining sites for sluicing. Today only the abutments remain.