How many times have you walked across the footbridge at the estuary? Have you ever noticed that the wooden frame rests on sturdy steel girders? I hadn’t known that until I spotted this article the other day:
Teesside ex-pat’s welcome reminder of home
A HOMESICK ex-pat got a welcome reminder of home when she spotted Teesside steel on the other side of the world.
Julie Gordon, who moved to New Zealand in 2003, was thrilled to discover a bridge constructed using Dorman Long &Co steel girders close to her holiday home at Waikawa Beach.
She said: “I’ve always had pictures of the Transporter Bridge up in the house as reminders of my home town.
“Waikawa Beach is gorgeous but I never guessed I’d find a real link to Middlesbrough there — 12,500 miles away. So you can imagine our surprise and delight when we saw that the little bridge there is made with steel from Dorman and Long in Middlesbrough.”
Written by Joanna Morris, @jomorrisecho, Reporter (Darlington), Teesside ex-pat’s welcome reminder of home | The Northern Echo. Republished with permission.
So what’s our connection with Auckland’s Harbour Bridge [opened 1959]? It’s in the steel:
Metal production started on Teesside in the 1840s following the discovery of iron ore in the Cleveland Hills. …
In 1876, 28-year-old metal worker Arthur Dorman launched a partnership with Albert De Lande Long making iron bars and angles for ships. …
The company was responsible for the harbour bridges in Sydney and Auckland …
Dorman Long: The Teesside firm that bridged the world — BBC News
Read more about our footbridge.