Bridge history prior to 1788

This paper examines the progressive development of bridge technology up to 1788, so that the reader can best see the context in which subsequent Australian bridge development occurred. It discusses early bridges, suspension bridges, arch bridges, the metal arch, timber trusses and structural theory. It concludes that up to 1788 at least, bridge practice was always well ahead of bridge theory. Whilst this said much for practitioners, the paper also demonstrated that it prevented them from extracting the maximum from their structural forms. (A).