Hinton Bridge over Paterson River, Heritage road bridge in Hinton, Australia

Hinton Bridge is a road structure crossing the Paterson River, built with both timber and steel components. It has external timber truss sections and an internal steel lift span that once raised to allow boats to pass.

S. McGill built this bridge in 1901 for the government works department to replace a steam ferry service. The ferry had been the only way to cross the river before the bridge was completed.

The bridge shows early Australian engineering with local materials and economical design. It was built with timber framing, a method that was common then and saved resources.

You can easily reach this bridge by car on the Hinton-Morpeth Road that crosses it. The water below is usually visible, and there are good spots to view the structure and surrounding river.

The lift span was fixed in place in 1940 when river steamers stopped using the Paterson. It is one of only three lift bridges in the Hunter region, and its steel ropes were made by Bullivant and Co. in England.