The Beautiful and Mysterious Richmond Bridge.

If you travel north east from Hobart in Tasmania you will soon come to the historical picturesque town of Richmond.
The town was established in the years following British settlement in Tasmania in 1803.
On the eastern side of Richmond lays the Coal River which snakes it's way south through the landscape until it reaches the ocean.
In 1820 the need for a bridge to cross the river was recognised and construction of a bridge to cross the Coal River began. Convict labour was used for the work.
George Grover, a gaoler and former convict, was an overseer for the convict working party and one of Grover's duties was flogging the convicts as punishment for offences they committed whilst in custody.
Grover is said to have relished his work as a flogging goaler and was loathed by the convicts.
The work of building the bridge was tough, backbreaking labour. Large sandstone blocks had to be unloaded for the construction and fitted into place. The men wore convict uniforms that did little to keep out the bitter cold and standing waste deep in the freezing Coal River whilst working on the bridge was deeply painful and despised work.
George Grover was a tough, ferocious task master and kept the convicts hard at the job. There was no love for Grover amongst the men.
Like many of those times, Grover enjoyed a drink and would at times appear for duty visibly intoxicated.
On one such day in 1832, Grover, lay down on the bridge for a nap. Some of the convicts, full of hatred for the mean spirited goaler, pushed Grover off the bridge and he fell to his death.
An investigation was launched however, strangely, no one was convicted for the overseer's death.
Richmond Bridge was completed in 1825 and is the oldest bridge still in use in Australia today.
It is a beautiful bridge and, despite it's dark history, is testament to the wonderful skill and workmanship of those times.
These days, Richmond, is a wonderful place to visit with it's famous bakery, coffee shops, antique store, gingerbread shop and wineries just some of the attractions. The historic Richmond goal is worth visiting to explore as is Old Hobart Town, an outdoor model replica of original Hobart.
And what of George Grover? Well there are many stories of sightings and encounters with his spirit which is said to give the witness a feeling of despair and fear. So much so that some people refuse to cross the bridge alone.
However there is said to be another spirit present on the bridge, that of a large black dog which acts as a protector against the malevolent presence of George Grover, (if it is indeed Grover's spirit that haunts Richmond Bridge), and is especially protective of females who find themselves crossing the bridge alone.
It is hard to imagine such strange events taking place as you stand on the grassy hill to the north of the bridge on a sunny day, tourist busses parked close by with people vying for the best photo of the beautiful blond sandstone bridge. Watching the ducks waddling along the banks and chasing each other about.
However if you were to find yourself in Richmond on a cold foggy night and decided to go for a walk down to the old bridge, the steam from your breath appearing in front of your face... the atmosphere would be very different and who knows what you might encounter above the freezing waters as you attempt to cross Richmond Bridge.

Brett Wright has visited Richmond and it's historic bridge a number of times over the years and has written about it's 'spooky' history and people's strange encounters in his book, Encounters With The Spirit World.

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