At Tarban Creek, the Parramatta River turns south-west. On the southern bank, is Wrights Point, named after William Wright. Wright's company supplied the rolling stock to the Sydney Railway Company which built the first rail link between Sydney (Redfern Railway Station) and Parramatta. If you look closely, you can see a set of stone steps. These were built by William Wright who also built a fine house with a road connecting it to the steps. Wright called his house 'Drummoyne House'. Drummoyne is a Gaelic word meaning flat-topped ridge. This house has since been demolished, and replaced by two blocks of high rise apartments. The apartment blocks are white and can be easily seen from the river, and today the entire suburb is known as Drummoyne.
The new Gladesville Bridge was opened 2 October 1964 by Her Royal Highness Princess Marina. It is 314m from bank to bank, nearly 30m wide and takes six lanes of traffic. Its height in the centre is 40m above mean high tide. The construction of this single span bridge was made possible by the existence of the solid foundation provided by the riverside sandstone bedrock.
Beyond the new Gladesville Bridge you can see the stone abutments of the old Gladesville Bridge. It was opened in February 1881 and together with the Iron Cove Bridge (November 1882) and the Fig Tree Bridge over the Lane Cove River (1885) they provided the first bridge access to the north side of the Harbour. The old Gladesville Bridge was built in five spans with sandstone pylons. It also included a swing span with two opening of 20 m to allow shipping to pass through. The bridge was built strong enough to carry light rail and by 1910 the tram line had extended from Drummoyne to Ryde.
The old bridge abutment on the Drummoyne shore was located where there were five rocky inlets, each large enough to allow a small boat to be pulled up and careened. These five docks gave the name to the point and the bay that adjoined the river at that point. The surrounding suburb also took the name Five Dock.