Bowen subsequently moved the colony to the western side of the River Derwent, where the Hobart city centre is located today.

The State and Federal Governments established the Joint Committee in November 1975 to oversee the design and construction of a bridge across the River Derwent near Dowsings Point.

The underlying philosophy involved creating substantial gravity-based foundation structures capable of generating adequate force to absorb the energy and deform the bows of barges during impact.

[1][8] Leighton Contractors implemented a highly efficient balanced cantilever construction technique, notably avoiding the use of falsework within the river – a pioneering approach in Australia at that time.

[1][7] The bridge cost A$49 million to construct and was officially opened on 23 February 1984 by Prime Minister Bob Hawke.