Macquarie Culvert

Macquarie Culvert
Coordinates	33°51′54″S 151°13′1.7″E / 33.86500°S 151.217139°ECoordinates: 33°51′54″S 151°13′1.7″E / 33.86500°S 151.217139°E
Carries	pedestrian traffic
Locale	Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, Australia
Official name	Macquarie Culvert

The Macquarie Culvert is a double brick culvert under the original Mrs Macquarie's Road (also known as Lady Macquarie's Road^[1]) in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Australia.^[2] The culvert was probably built at the same time as the original road, between 1813 and 1816,^[1] making it almost certainly the oldest bridge in Australia.^[2]

The original Mrs Macquarie's Road ran from the original Government House (now the Museum of Sydney) to Yurong or Anson Point,^[3][4] now known as Mrs Macquarie's Point.^[1][2] It was built on the instruction of Governor Lachlan Macquarie for the benefit of his wife Elizabeth.^[2] There is no other remaining evidence of the original road.^[1]

The culvert was restored in 2002.^[5][6]

References

1. Edward Higginbotham and Associates (1992). "Historical and Archaeological Assessment of the Brick Culvert, Lady Macquarie's Road, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, N.S.W." (PDF). doi:10.4227/11/50495ba10e3e0.
2. "Our Convict Heritage", Sign near the culvert in the Royal Botanic Gardens. 2013-12-01
3. "Yurong Point and Mrs Macquaries Chair". Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust. Retrieved 2014-04-15.
4. "Mrs Macquaries Chair". Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust. Retrieved 2014-04-15.
5. Woodford, James (2002-06-24). "Mrs Macquarie's footsteps 200 years down the track". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2013-12-08.
6. "Convict-built culvert reopens at Royal Botanic Gardens after conservation" (Press release). Botanic Gardens Trust. 2002-06-22. Retrieved 2013-12-26.