MacRobertson Bridge
�You seem miles away� says my friend as we pass the MacRobertson
Bridge.
At first sight this bridge, which crosses the Yarra at Grange Road
linking Toorak and Burnley, may seem unremarkable. However
�Mac� Robertson, the man who
gave Melbourne the bridge was certainly not unremarkable. We have mentioned
Mac in this newsletter before as Melbourne�s own Willy Wonka building a
sweets empire from nothing and being the natural successor to E.W.Cole of the Book Arcade
as a master of marketing (as distinct from a Master of Marketing). Perhaps
less well known is that Mac is the main reason that Melbourne has become the
undisputed
philanthropy capital of Australia with over 80% of Australia�s
philanthropic trusts registered here.
In the early 1930s, Melbourne was a somewhat grey and sombre place. Much
of the wealth of the gold rush had been swept away by the major depression
of the 1890s. After that, wartime strictures arrived (along with 6 o�clock
closing) and just as Melbourne was starting to climb out of its enforced
isolation it was hit by the (not quite as) great depression of the 1930s
with many people on �susso� and the dole. As 1935 approached there was some
optimism in the air and art deco buildings such as the Manchester Unity with
Melbourne�s first escalator were starting to give Melbourne a modern
atmosphere. The artist of choice to represent this new-found optimism was Napier Waller. Like many artists of
the time he was likely to connect Melbourne with classical antiquity rather
than dwelling on the less prosaic aspects of Melbourne�s history. Here was a
Melbourne with neither blood nor mud on its hands. In Collins Street, the
newly refurbished Newspaper House boasted on its mural �I�ll put a girdle
around the earth� while a block away at their newly refurbished
department store, Myers was intent on putting a girdle around every
Melbourne matron.
It was in this atmosphere that Mac was thinking how he could help
Melbourne celebrate the centenary of its foundation by
Batman and
Fawkner in 1835. As Australia�s
highest taxpayer he felt no compulsion to make an additional donation to the
government for the event � they would probably only spend it on expensive
advertising promoting themselves. Better to spend it on something promoting
Melbourne. The London to Melbourne Centenary Air Race ensured that Melbourne
was on the front page of newspapers around the world for weeks. And if the
newspaper happened to mention that Mac Robertson owned a sweets company he
didn�t mind all that much. In the centenary year of 1934-35 a number of
Melbourne buildings were floodlit for the first time, making it very
suitable for destination marketing.
However, like many a self-made-man, Mac was also intent on contributing
something more lasting and practical for the people of Melbourne. There had
long been needed a bridge over the Yarra in the Burnley area so Mac donated
the money. His other gifts to the people of Melbourne for that centenary
year include the herbarium in the
Botanic
Gardens, a fountain at the St Kilda end of the surrounds of the newly
built Shrine and a girls� high school
which bears his name.
Sometimes I imagine I can see Mac inspecting the details of his newly
built bridge in 1935. At the same time, further down river is another man
standing on Princes Bridge.
A lot of water had flowed under those arches since he first worked there as
a young engineer and he was now contemplating the view of the newly built
Shrine for which he had been the major driving force.
�You seem miles away� says my friend as we drive along the Monash
Freeway under MacRobertson Bridge. �Not miles away� I say. �Just
70 years�.
BL
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Other articles in the series Seven Monuments of Melbourne: