Transporter Bridge and Industrial Teesside

Standing here looking across the River Tees, I’m reminded just how deeply the industrial heritage of Teesside is woven into my own story. The Transporter Bridge stands as a symbol of the engineering ambition that once defined this part of the world. Opened in 1911, it was built at a time when Teesside was rapidly becoming one of the great industrial centres of Britain. But for me, this is more than industrial history. As a young man, I started my working life in an industry that grew from the same engineering and steelmaking tradition — surrounded by the enormous fabrication yards along the Tees. Companies such as Redpath Offshore, Cleveland Offshore and Whessoe Offshore were part of a remarkable period when Teesside turned its expertise in steel, heavy engineering and fabrication towards the emerging North Sea oil and gas industry. Those yards were a spectacular sight — huge steel structures taking shape beside the river, built by people who possessed skills passed down through generations of Teesside engineering. And behind it all was the great name of Dorman Long. From its beginnings in Middlesbrough in the 19th century, Dorman Long became one of the world’s great steel and engineering companies. Its reputation eventually reached around the globe, producing some of the most famous steel structures of the 20th century. And here is the part of the story that still amazes me. I now live in Sydney, Australia — and every time I see the Sydney Harbour Bridge, I am reminded that this magnificent structure has a direct connection to the place where I grew up. The Sydney Harbour Bridge was awarded to Dorman Long of Middlesbrough in 1924 and opened in 1932. Much of the expertise behind it came from the great steel and engineering tradition of Teesside. So there is something rather special about standing here today. From the Transporter Bridge and the steelworks of the Tees, through the offshore fabrication yards where I began my working life, to the Sydney Harbour Bridge that I now see as part of everyday life — it feels like one continuous thread. Teesside steel. Teesside engineering. My early working life. And now Sydney. Different side of the world, different generation, but the same remarkable industrial heritage connecting them all. It makes you realise that the things built on Teesside didn’t just shape the landscape around the River Tees — they reached across the world and became part of the landscapes of places like Sydney.