On a perfectly calm and sun-soaked afternoon on Friday, May 29, a small but extremely grateful group gathered. Adhering to the social distancing regulations, the group held an opening and christening of the new Merran Creek Bridge on Ficken Road, Gonn, north of Murrabit on the NSW side of the river.

It was a big day for Gonn residents. A brand new concrete bridge stands before them. With the help of the Murray River Council, this small community now has the much-needed access to their farms, forestry and access to bushland. The former timber bridge was thought to have been built around the 1930s when Ficken Road once went all the way through to Noorong. The locals recall stories of travel adventures and some of the shenanigans the bridges have seen over the years.

John Ficken, a local farmer and now I found out, musician, stood before us and spoke with heart of what this bridge means to their community and also of the great service and ingenuity of the pioneers. 

“It is very easy for today to knock the old bridge down with an excavator. In 24 hours it was a pile of fire wood. The thing is, if that old bridge could talk you could imagine what it might tell us about history.

“The first thing across the old bridge was probably a man and his horse. I know for a fact the first thing across this bridge was a man and his mule, well a Kubota built mule.” 

John was then accompanied by Angie Jones as the pair performed a duet of the song titled ‘Maybe It’s Time’, a song featured in the film A Star Is Born.

I’m not sure whether it was the fire crackling in the background, the melodic tunes of a beautiful performance, the laughter of young kids riding their scooters, or the backdrop of the tree-lined Merran Creek teeming with life, but it was very special.

Alec Monk was given the honour of christening the bridge. With a calculated swing on the sacrificial bottle of whiskey the bridge was part of the Gonn family.