The Bridge to Nowhere is a concrete road bridge spanning the
Mangapurua Stream in Whanganui National Park, North Island, New Zealand. It has
no roads leading to it, but it is a popular tourist attraction, accessible by
boat or kayak, followed by a 45 minute (one way) walk along maintained bush
trails.
It was built across the deep Mangapurua Gorge to provide access to an area where
the government was opening up land in 1917 for pioneering farmers, mainly
soldiers who had returned from World War I. The intention was to build roads to
it later, but the area proved to be so remote and unsuitable for farming that
the venture failed and the farms reverted to native bush.
A sign on the bridge states:
Started in January 1935 and completed in June 1936, this bridge was built
by the Raetihi firm of Sandford and Brown, for the Public Works Department. It
is 130 feet long, and 125 feet above the stream. The cost of labour was 598
pounds 11 shillings 7 pence, and cartage of all materials (via the Mangapurua
Valley road) cost 419 pounds 14 shillings. Unfortunately the cost of materials
was not recorded. Aggregate for the concrete is said to have been transported
from the Rangitikei River. The completion of the bridge was delayed considerably
due to floods, slips, and the consequent delay in the supply of materials.
The bridge was built to facilitate vehicular access to the Wanganui
River, to link the settlers of the valley with the riverboat service.
In
1917 the Government opened up the valley for settlement by soldiers
returning from the Great War. Virgin forest was cleared, and a total of 35
holdings developed. A school was opened, and for some years the valley
prospered. However economic hardship, and problems associated with the
remoteness and difficulty of access, resulted in many families abandoning their
farms. By 1942 there were only 3 families left. After a major flood in January
1942 the Government declined to make further funds available for road
maintenance, and it officially closed the valley in May 1942. The disappearing roadline, old
fencelines, stands of exotic trees, occasional brick chimneys, and this bridge
serve as reminders of the ill fated settlement of the Mangapurua valley.