Daniel Herbert was a trained stonemason transported for life to Van Diemen’s Land in 1827. Government departments used his skill on Hobart projects before sending him to Ross to help complete a replacement bridge over the Macquarie River.
Skilled work under sentence
Herbert worked in the Engineer’s Department and became an overseer of stonemasons. His responsibility did not make convict labour free: reward, punishment and promised pardon shaped the work.
Carved stones make the bridge exceptional
The bridge contains 186 carved voussoirs, completed by Herbert or under his supervision in 1835 and 1836. Faces, animals and motifs have prompted many interpretations, but not every claimed portrait can be proved.
A life continued in the Midlands
Herbert received a free pardon in 1842 and remained an ornamental stonemason. He died at Campbell Town in 1868 and is associated with a carved tomb at Ross.
Visit through the Ross guide and Ross Bridge page, keeping clear of traffic on the working crossing.