A stroll round the bridges of Queanbeyan

This snip from Google Earth shows the Queanbeyan River snaking through the middle of the town (OK, I know it is officially a city, but part of its charm is that it has the feel of a country town).  At times of flood, which happen every so often, it cuts the town in two, largely because there are only 2 vehicular bridges across it and a big flood cuts them both.

The centre of the town is a pleasant park with a fair sized lake caused by a weir (of which more anon).  The weir originally had a water supply function but is now 'just' decorative.  It is well supplied with ducks and is a  good place to see platypus. (I didn't see a 'pus today but a water rat Hydromys chrysogaster swam past.  It dived before I could get a photograph.)  I recorded 20 species of birds in total in the 45 minutes of this walk.
 Carrying on South I got to the suspension bridge.
 The original bridge was built early in the 20th Century to allow the nuns to cross the River other than by stepping stones.  That was washed away by a flood and the current bridge built in 1938 at a cost of Stg400!

The view is quite rural looking upstream!
 Crossing the bridge I got back to the main bridge leading to the main street.
I have commented before about the appearance of metal out poetry signs around the area.  This one gives a pronunciation lesson!
The poetry is close to a new coffee shop.  It is rumoured that the whole place can be swiftly dismantled and moved in case a large flood is evident.  This is possibly part of a push by the Mayor to make the centre of Queanbeyan a more enjoyable locale.  (To some extent it seems to be working with some outdoor eating facilities appearing, and being used, in the Crawford St 'lifestyle precinct'.)
 The weir itself.  The flow is surprising considering the low rainfall in recent months.
Another bit of beautification.
This is the third bridge, the low level crossing at Morisset Street.  This was under 4m of water in the last flood.  The image seems to me to capture the dryness of the area at present.
 There is n point being too active when fishing.  Putting your chair in the middle of the River seems like a good idea.  I have spoken to fisherpersons in the past and been told that it is possible to catch good native fish in this stretch, unlike the carp infested ACT watercourses.

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