Panmure Bridge
The Panmure Bridge, also known as the Tāmaki River Bridge, is a bridge crossing the Tāmaki River in Auckland, New Zealand, connecting the suburbs of Panmure and Pakuranga. The original 1865 bridge, a wooden and steel structure with a swing span allowing for river traffic, was the first bridge to connect the Auckland isthmus to the surrounding areas of Auckland, predating the opening of the Māngere Bridge in 1875. The swing-span mechanism, found on the eastern banks of the Tāmaki River, is the earliest surviving swing-span mechanism in New Zealand. The original bridge was replaced with  a reinforced concrete bridge in 1916, replaced in 1959 with the current structure. As a part of the Eastern Busway work in 2021, a public and active transport bridge was constructed parallel to the Panmure Bridge. Original bridges. Between 1847 and 1852, a number of towns in the Auckland Region were established by Governor George Grey as outposts for the Royal New Zealand Fencible Corps, a collection of retired British and Irish soldiers, to serve as a buffer against a perceived threat of war from the south. These included Panmure on the Auckland isthmus, on the western shores of the  Tāmaki River, and Howick, east of the isthmus surrounded by farmland. In 1857, residents petitioned the Auckland Provincial Council for a bridge across the river, to replace the inconsistent ferry services. The Tamaki Bridge Act was passed in February 1864, allowing the province to raise funds for its construction, however financial difficulties delayed the project. Initially designed by William Rickford Collett, the bridge was constructed of steel, basalt rock from Melbourne, tōtara wood piles and a kauri deck. It was long, had a width of , and required Muntz metal sheaths for the timber piles to prevent attack by "Teredo navalis