Edith Cavell bridge

The Edith Cavell Bridge is a concrete structure spanning the Shotover River and connecting Queenstown with Arrowtown on a single lane. The parabolic rib arch design carries traffic over the river in a steep-sided valley where the water flows through narrow rocky channels.

Construction began after World War I and took about a year, replacing an older wooden bridge that had served the area since the 1870s. The new structure employed a construction technique that was uncommon in New Zealand at the time.

The bridge carries the name of an English nurse that a local miner chose to honor, marking a personal connection between this place and distant history. The naming reflects how people shaped their surroundings based on what mattered to them.

The bridge is open daily and lies on the main route between two popular tourist destinations. Visitors should expect slower traffic because it is a narrow, single-lane crossing that requires care.

This bridge is one of only two structures of its kind in all of New Zealand, displaying an advanced engineering method that was rarely used at the time. The other known bridge of this type stands in a major city hundreds of kilometers away.