In the background is the first Redclyffe Bridge, opened in June 1881. The bridge was the first built in Hawke's Bay that did not use imported timber from Auckland or Australia - it was constructed from local kauri.
The first traffic across the bridge was at the opening, when MrRymer's coach, pulled by four large grey horses, stopped in the middle.
As the rain was coming down hard, a local politician's daughter, Miss Bennett, quickly got out of the coach and smashed a bottle of champagne to declare the bridge open.
The coach then proceeded to McDonald's Taradale Hotel, where champagne flowed freely - as did toasts to the press, county council, Queen Victoria, the royal family, governor and all individuals involved in the bridge in some way.
Two more celebrations were held; the one at Waiohiki Pa "in a very jolly way".
A new bridge was planned in 1925. It was to be constructed in steel but, by the time of the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake, strikes in England and a lack of funds delayed the arrival of the steel.
The old 1881 wooden bridge was, however, badly damaged in the quake. It was patched up before the new steel-reinforced bridge was built in 1934.
