Then And Now

The old wooden Whataupoko Bridge, the first structure to span the Taruheru, and the Garrison Hall compared with the same scene today. Built in 1882 by the N.Z. Land Settlement Company to open up the suburb of Whataupoko, the bridge was popularly known as Rees's Folly (after a prominent member of the settlement company) because at the time of construction it was believed that Whataupoko was so far out of town that it would not at tract residents. The sections were sold for as little as £15. The bridge, which was replaced by the present concrete structure in 1923, had a draw section in the centre to allow river traffic to pass through.

The Garrison Hall, on the site of the present Army Hall in Fitzherbert Street, was a large wooden building which was burnt to the ground in Gisborne's most spectacular fire.

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Whatanpoke Bridge and Garrison Hail, Gisborne, N.Z.

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