Many of Harper’s bridges found their way to coffee and rubber plantations in Africa and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Therefore it was no surprise to learn that the Dahan Rubber Estate developed in Sarawak from 1901. The bridge lay on the track to the Tegora Mine. The Tegora Mine in Sarawak in the 19th and earlier part of the 20th century mined cinnabar (mercury) and antimony. By that date the activity in the mine was on the wane and a new bridge might have been hard to justify.

On balance, the odds are that this particular bridge was commissioned by the Dahan Rubber Estate (Sarawak Rubber Company), who had an extensive concession alongside the Tegora trail from the 1890s.  The bridge was completed in the summer of 1904. The previous November work on the foundations was started but was found to be unsatisfactory and weak, given the state of the banks. Rains then stopped work and it was not until April 1904 that concrete foundations were built.  At that stage the ‘ironwork’ was not on site. This from the Sarawak Gazette of May 1904:

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‘I visited Puak on the 31st Instant, and found the Staat Suspension Bridge had been finished, except for the approaches on either side. These I understand are being constructed in Kuching of billian (wood), the bridge looks extremely well and is of great strength, but so fine a structure comes on one as a surprise in such an out of the way place as Puak.’

In the Sarawak Gazette of 1907, there is reference to decking being renewed on the bridge – only three years after it was built.  In 2005 the deck was of bamboo although the approaches were solid.

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