In the June 2021 floods in the Latrobe Valley, several flood warnings were issued, such as:

MODERATE FLOODING OCCURRING ALONG THE LATROBE RIVER AT THOMS BRIDGE¹

But where is Thoms Bridge?

Location

There are five major road bridges crossing the Latrobe River in the Latrobe Valley:

• Latrobe River Road, next to the Yallourn Power Station (-38.173448, 146.345826)
• Tanjil East Road, north of Morwell (-38.16731, 146.41108)
• Tyers Road, north of Traralgon (West) (-38.17367, 146.49668)
• Traralgon-Maffra Road, north of Traralgon (East) (-38.15299, 146.55401)
• Princes Highway, Rosedale (-38.1427, 146.7925)

Thoms Bridge is the Tanjil East Road crossing, situated in Yallourn North, near where Tanjil East Road, Brown Coal Mine Road, and Latrobe Road all intersect.

Excerpt from the Hazelwood Recover Program water soil and ash assessment - Morwell and surrounds, June 2015 ²

That was easy. However, why was this article named Toms Bridge and not Thoms Bridge?

Thoms Bridge, or.. Toms Bridge?

The earliest reference I could find to Thoms Bridge is from an 1888 article⁴ in the Morwell Advertiser and Weekly Chronicle:

It is many months since the survey of a road from Thom’s Bridge to connect with the Moe to Walhalla coach road in the direction of the latter place was promised

The Register of Geographic Names⁵ lists “Toms Bridge” as a registered road bridge; no mention of “Thoms Bridge” exists in the register at the time of posting this journal entry:

There are many newspaper articles from the late 1870s to the early 1880s, several year earlier, referencing “Tom’s Bridge”, and I believe them to be the same bridge. The earliest newspaper article I could find mentioning the exact phrase “Tom’s bridge” was in the Gippsland Times on 12 July 1882⁶:

GENERAL BUSINESS The Engineer was instructed to have necessary work done at Tom’s bridge according to schedule of rates

In fact, all of the Gippsland Times articles that I could find prior to the first Morwell Advertiser article in 1888 use “Toms” rather than “Thoms”, as the bridge was named after a gentleman with a surname of TOMS - William Toms. Was this due to a different newspaper reporter/editor being unfamiliar with the spelling of Mr Toms’ surname?

William Toms’ grandson, George, also noticed this discrepancy, writing about it 1950⁷:

Mr. Geo. Yeomans, of 366 Melbourne Rd., Newport, has drawn our attention to the prevailing inaccuracy in the spelling of Toms’ Bridge, commonly known as Thom’s Bridge. Mr. Yeoman points out that in approximately 1876, his grandfather, the late William Toms, selected land adjoining the present bridge (over the Latrobe River), and at that time conveyed dairy produce across the river by boat to be sent via Tyers to Walhalla by pack horses. In addition. some of the produce was sent to Morwell. Three children of the late Mr. Toms, two daughters and one son, reside in Melbourne.

Tom’s selection

In 1877, William Toms applied for⁸ and was successful⁹ in obtaining a licence for a 262 acre parcel of land in the Maryvale parish (land previously forfeited by Charles Derham), known thereafter as “Tom’s selection” (should that be Toms’ selection?).

Several months later, in September 1877, Toms applied to relieve himself of 110 acres of his holding¹⁰, presumably bringing his total down to 152 acres. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any maps of Toms’ holding either before or after this relinquishment - that would have been quite interesting to see.

In March 1878, Toms must have been successful in relieving himself of his 110 acres, as it was open up for selection¹¹.

Building the bridge and the road

The earliest reference I could find to building a bridge over the Latrobe river north of Morwell can be found in the Gippsland Times on 17 October 1879¹²:

MORWELL (From a correspondent): A meeting of the inhabitants of Morwell and surrounding district took place at Kelleher’s Club Hotel, for the purpose of considering what steps should be taken for the erection of a bridge over the Latrobe river at Tom’s selection, for the convenience of selectors on the north side of said river. There were present: Messrs Shaw, Murdoch, Crinegan, Kelleher, Theobald, Fitzpatrick, O’Dea, Rintoul, Firmin, Donaldson, and a number of other influential residents of the district. Mr D. Shaw was unanimously voted to the chair, and explained the object of the meeting. At present the selectors on the north side of the river were compelled to go to Traralgon, a distance of 10 or 12 miles, when they might tap the railway at Morwell in half that distance had they only a bridge over the river; he therefore trusted that the gentlemen present would adopt some means of bringing this matter under the notice of the department, and invite the selectors on the north side of the river to co-operate with them. Mr Crinegan then moved that a petition be presented to the Minister of Public Works, signed by the residents of the district, asking for a sum of money to build a bridge over the Latrobe river at Tom’s selection. Seconded by Mr O’Dea, and carried. The following gentlemen were appointed a committee to draw up a petition:—Messrs Donaldson, Gilbert, Kelleher, Fitzpatrick, and Murdoch. A vote of thanks to the chairman terminated the meeting.

A year and a half later, in May 1881, the Traralgon Shire wanted Rosedale Shire to help contribute¹³:

Cr. McGauran moved, Cr. Bodycomb seconded - That the Shire council of Rosedale be asked to co-operate in erecting a bridge across the Latrobe on the road between Morwell and Walhalla at Tom’s selection, on which work the Government has voted £150.

In 1882 things really start to pick up, with a Mr F. C. Mason promising to have money re-voted for the bridge, and also the Council Engineer surveying the original location, and ultimately choosing a better, more cost-effective spot, in March¹⁴:

CORRESPONDENCE: From Mr F. C. Mason, M.L.A., promising to support the council in having money re-voted for bridge over Latrobe river north of Morwell - Received.

ENGINEER’S REPORT: He (the Engineer) had made a survey for another bridge over the river north of Morwell at Tom’s selection. At the spot printed on the plan originally as most suited for the bridge, he found the river was half-a-mile distant, the survey having been imperfect, but had found an excellent position for the bridge some little distance further down the river, where the banks are high and solid on both sides, and where the formation of approaches will be unnecessary. A road for about 20 chains would require to be taken through a portion of Tom’s selection, but the cost the? entailed would not be ?erable

In April 1882, tenders go out for the erection of the bridge¹⁵:

TENDERS will be received until 11 o’clock a.m. on MONDAY, 17th April - For the Erection of a Bridge over the River Latrobe, at Tom’s selection, north of Morwell.
Plans and specifications may be seen, and forms of tender obtained, at this office. No tender necessarily accepted.
Tenders to be marked “Tender for contract No. 122”, and to contain a preliminary cash deposit of £20.
JAMES CAMPBELL, Shire Engineer
Shire Hall, Traralgon
6th April, 1882

and just 10 days later on Monday 17 April 1882, the Council met and accepted the tender by Charles Lee and Charles Smith for a cost of £389 10s¹⁶:

The Council of the Shire of Traralgon met in committee on Monday, and accepted the tender of Charles Lee and Charles Smith, for the erection of a bridge over the river Latrobe at Tom’s selection, north of the township of Morwell, for the sum of £389 10s. There were four tenders received, three of which were within a few pounds of each other, while one was for £877.

In July 1882, the Council meeting was a hive of activity surrounding the bridge works. It would appear the Council managed to get the Government to contribute £200, and the Engineer needed to extend the length of the bridge by 30 feet¹⁷:

CORRESPONDENCE: From the Department of Public Works enclosing a voucher in support of claim for £200 to assist the Council in erecting bridge over Latrobe river, and requesting that same be completed and returned at once. - Received

ENGINEER’S REPORT: I have to report that on proceeding to lay out the bridge over the Latrobe at Tom’s, I found on measuring the width of the river, that the abutments at each end would be in the water unless the bridge was extended for a distance of 30ft. I cannot arrange with the contractor to do this until I get the consent of the Council to have the extra work carried out at schedule rates; this would cost about £60

GENERAL BUSINESS: The Engineer was instructed to have necessary work done at Tom’s bridge according to schedule of rates

In October 1882, we first learn of a Mr. Marriage, who is leasing the land from Mr. Toms, and the first thought is put into building a road to the bridge¹⁸:

CORRESPONDENCE: From Thos. Thompson, re survey of road through Toms’ selection, stating that the written consent of Messrs Toms and Marriage will be required before the necessary survey can be made; when obtained steps will be taken to carry out the views from the council - Received

ENGINEER REPORTS: The bridge over the Latrobe at Tom’s selection is progressing slowly, but is being carried out in a satisfactory manner, no outlet for a road has been provided for from this bridge on either side of the river, and a road will have to be surveyed through Toms’ selection to enable traffic to reach the bridge. Had written to the Lands Department on this subject, and a road will be surveyed immediately on the consent of Mr Marriage (who is leasing the ground) being obtained

In November 1882, a petition to clear fallen timber to the bridge was received by Council¹⁹:

A petition was presented by Cr. Firmin, from a number of ratepayers praying that the road from the north west corner of Young’s selection, surveyed direct to the bridge at Tom’s selection, be cleared of fallen timber where necessary. - Received

In January 1883, another flurry of activity surrounding the bridge/road occurs at a special Council meeting. Lee and Smith (the team that won the tender to build the bridge) request a progress payment of £100, but the Engineer isn’t very happy with them. Mr. Marriage (who’s first name we now learn is Oswald) isn’t happy the road that was acquired through his property isn’t fenced off, causing trespassing stock to roam onto his property. We also learn that the bridge construction is about to finish (“This contract will be completed in a few days”)²⁰:

CORRESPONDENCE: From Lee and Smith, asking for progress payment of £100 on the bridge over Latrobe River at Tom’s selection - Received

CORRESPONDENCE: From Oswald Marriage, calling attention to the inconvenience of the delay in erecting the bridge over the Latrobe River at his selection, and also complaining of the loss he had sustained in consequence of the neglect of the Council, in not fencing off the road they had acquired through his property, estimating his loss at £20, and asking the Council to refund him that sum. - Received

REPORTS: The Engineer reported as follows :- Contract No. 122. - Bridge over river Latrobe at Tom’s selection, north of Morwell. Contractors Lee and Smith. I have made an inspection of this work which is being fairly carried out by the contractors. I much regret to find that an utterly useless and most expensive alteration has been made in my plans. The wings of the bridge have been carried away from the side of the stream, far up onto the banks, causing an unnecessary addition to be made in the length of the bridge of about 30 feet - the wings which are there of no use, being still retained, and nearly all the sheeting dispensed with. The waling pieces upon which the stability of the structure in a great measure depends, have also been reduced to almost half the strength specified, and several other alterations have been made of which I do not approve. This contract will be completed in a few days. It is absolutely necessary that the road from this bridge, through Mr Marriage’s land leading to Morwell, should be surveyed at once. I have marked off the position of the road on the ground and written to the district surveyor to have it surveyed as soon as practicable. Meanwhile I considered it desirable to have the road through Mr Marriage’s land fenced off, as he suffers great inconvenience from trespassing stock

In March 1883, it looks like the road is destined to take a different route to the bridge²¹:

In accordance with notice given at last meeting, Cr. Firmin moved, “That all motions in reference to carrying a road through Mr Marriage’s land (known at Tom’s selection) be rescinded, and that the road be taken along the river frontage” - Seconded by Cr. Breed and carried.

and 4 months later, in July 1883, the Engineer agrees²¹:

The Engineer reported as follows :- I have inspected Mr. Marriage’s land at Tom’s bridge with a view of ascertaining if it was possible to take a road along his frontage without going through his lands. I have to report that no impracticability exists in the matter, as the difficulty was much exaggerated. At a cost of a pound or two a good roadway can be obtained, and even now about 15 feet of solid ground exists between Mr Marriage’s land and the falling grounds. A small culvert will be necessary at one end. Cr. Peterkin accompanied me on this inspection

In March and July 1884, the final²² tenders²³ are accepted; the construction of culverts/approaches:

The following tenders were accepted :- contract No. 168, culvert and approaches road to Tom’s bridge, Latrobe river, Crinnigan

The following tenders were accepted :- contract No. 168, constructing three culverts and approaches on road leading to Tom’s bridge, Latrobe river, Kelleher and McGauran

Bridge repairs

I didn’t search extensively on this point, but the bridge was either repaired or rebuilt, possibly due to flooding, in 1905²⁴/1906²⁵. Additionally, by the turn of the 20th century, it seems “Tom’s Bridge” had fallen out of favour and “Thom’s Bridge” was commonly used:

£200 VOTED BY GOVERNMENT.
The subjoined letter has been received by Mr Sinclair, shire secretary, from the Public Works Department:
“I have the honor, by direction of the Hon. the Minister of Public Works, to inform you that the Governor-in-Council has approved of the allocation, under provision of item 15th, the Schedule of Surplus Revenue Act, No. 1969, of the sum of £200, to the Shire of Morwell, for expenditure towards rebuilding Thom’s Bridge, over Latrobe River, council to contribute £100 additional.” This amount, we understand, will be sufficient to erect the bridge, which is at present in a most dangerous condition.

TEMPORARY CLOSING OF BRIDGE DURING REPAIRS.
NOTICE is hereby given that the bridge known as “Thom’s Bridge” over the Latrobe River, Parishes of Maryvale and Tenjil East, will be closed against traffic from the 12th to the 29th instants (inclusive) during repairs.
THOMAS SINCLAIR, Shire Secretary.
Shire Office, Morwell, 8th March, 1906.

The bridge sustained significant damage in 1934 due to flooding²⁶:

The Engineer’s report was as follows: Owing to a record rainfall on the 29th and 30th November, 1934, of 8 inches in the hills and 6 1/2 inches in the flat country within a period of 48 hours, record floods have caused severe damage. The following bridges have been washed away:
Latrobe River cn Tyres Road
4 spans of Thom’s Bridge (about 90 feet in length). The floodway has been washed away for about 100 feet on the Morwell side, 300 feet on the Tyres side, and sand and bitumen scoured from the road for half a mile. The piles have apparently been torn out by the superstructure, and the river widened considerably. Estimated cost of a new bridge with approaches is £2000. If the old bridge can be replaced new piles and an additional length of bridging will be required. In this case the cost should not exceed £1100.

Conclusion

Perhaps the Bureau of Meterology should follow the Register of Geographic names and rename their monitoring station from “Thoms Bridge” to “Toms Bridge”?

Also a tip for anglers, don’t steal nuts off of windmills to use as sinkers²⁷, there are much better ones available from your local angling store!

“Sportsmen” along the Latrobe river valley in the vicinity of Thom’s Bridge have roused the ire of farmers there. The other day Mr Derham could not get his windmill to work. After much trouble, it was discovered that anglers had taken the nuts off a part of the plant for sinkers.

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