Volunteers, including two members of the Wolff family, Doug Lilbrow and Lewis Norris, undertook the arduous task of removing years of undergrowth and bracken from either end of the bridge.
Using heavy machinery, hand-held cutting devices and their hands, the volunteers cleared around both approaches to the bridge exposing the ramps and walkways up to the bridge itself.
Organiser Tim Fulton, a councillor for the Oxford Ohoka Ward, said it was now obvious the community wanted to push on with plans to restore the bridge.
"It's step-by-step but we've made big progress this weekend and the appetite is there," he said.
He says the Wolffs Bridge Restoration Supporters Group understood there was no council budget for the works so they were determined to do as much as they could out of donated goods and services.
"It may be very similar to how, and why, Rudolf Wolff (c.1880-1963), built the bridge in the first place," Fulton said.
"We know this is an ambitious project but we have seen plenty of evidence from around New Zealand to show it's doable.
"If we do this right, Waimakariri will have a bridge to be proud of."
Over 100 years ago, Wolff was elected to his local county council, determined to build a new bridge over the Eyre River.
It’s been 75 years since he mostly built it himself, spanning 73m with a suspension bridge next to his farm.
Fulton says the good turnout and help offered by the community prove that his old West Eyreton community want to keep the story of his 'can-do' alive.
The heritage-listed bridge was built with old irons from the Christchurch tramway and surplus World War 2 cables.
