{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}} {{Use Australian English|date=December 2019}} {{Distinguish|Fitzroy Bridge (opened 1952)}} {{Infobox bridge | name = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = Queensland State Archives 2257 Fitzroy Bridge Rockhampton c 1894.png | image_upright = | alt = | caption = | pushpin_map = | pushpin_relief = | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_caption = | coordinates = {{Coord|-23.375061|150.514850|format=dms}} | os_grid_reference = | qid = | refs = | carries = Bruce Highway {{small|(1881—1952)}}; horses; pedestrians; motor vehicles | crosses = Fitzroy River | locale = {{QLDcity|Rockhampton}}, Central Queensland, Australia | starts = Rockhampton City | ends = {{QLDcity|Berserker}} | official_name = | other_name = | named_for = | owner = | maint = | heritage = | id = | id_type = | website = | preceded = Fitzroy Bridge (1952) | followed = | design = Suspension bridge | material = | material1 = | material2 = | length = {{convert|1104|ft|m|1|order=flip}} | width = {{convert|20|ft|m|1|order=flip}} | height = | depth = | traversable = | towpath = | mainspan = {{convert|232|ft|m|1|order=flip}} | number_spans = 6 | piers_in_water = 5 | load = | clearance_above = | clearance_below = | lanes = | life = | capacity = | architect = | designer = Frederick John Byerley | contracted_designer = | winner = | engineering = | builder = | fabricator = | begin = March 1877 | complete = | cost = £54,000 | open = 1 January 1881<!-- or | opening = --> | inaugurated = | rebuilt = | demolished = 25 January 1956 | closed = | replaces = Steam ferryboat | replaced_by = Fitzroy Bridge (1952) | traffic = | toll = | map_type = | map_relief = | map_dot_label = | map_image = | map_size = | map_alt = | mapframe = | mapframe_zoom = | mapframe_width = | mapframe_height = | mapframe_marker = | mapframe_marker_color = | mapframe_lat = | mapframe_long = | map_caption = | extra = <!-- extra = module = embed = --> }}
The '''Fitzroy Bridge''' was a suspension bridge that spanned the Fitzroy River in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia from 1881 until it was demolished in 1956.<ref name=courier>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article919358 |title=The Fitzroy Bridge. |newspaper=The Brisbane Courier |volume=XXXV |issue=4,257 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=12 January 1881 |page=5}}</ref><ref name=demolished>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article79259613 |title=SPECTACULAR FALL BRIDGE PIERS DOWN WITH A SPLASH |newspaper=The Central Queensland Herald |volume=22 |issue=1954 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=26 January 1956 |page=22}}</ref>
== Overview == Construction work on the bridge commenced in March 1877.<ref name=courier/>
The bridge consisted of both timber and iron with a Gothic appearance.<ref name=courier/> Most noticeably, the tops of its piers were designed as turrets, giving the structure an ornamental appearance.<ref name=courier/>
The bridge was {{convert|1104|ft|m|order=flip}} long, with the roadway situated {{convert|20|ft|m|order=flip}} above the high water mark.<ref name=courier/> Construction of the bridge cost £54,000.<ref name=courier/> Officially opened on 1 January 1881, the Fitzroy Bridge was Rockhampton's first bridge and until the Alexandra Railway Bridge was opened in 1899, it was the only bridge crossing the river. Prior to it being built, residents were ferried across the river on a steam ferryboat.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article67202110 |title=THE FITZROY BRIDGE. |newspaper=The Capricornian |volume=7 |issue=2 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=8 January 1881 |page=7}}</ref> thumb|left|Horsedrawn carriages on the bridge, {{circa|1910}} The official ceremony consisted of a procession walking across the bridge, the planting of memorial trees at the northern end and the bridge's designer, Frederick Byerley breaking a bottle of champagne on one of the pedestals at the southern end of the bridge where he "baptised" the structure, the Fitzroy Bridge.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article67202112 |title=Notes on the Week. |newspaper=The Capricornian |volume=7 |issue=2 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=8 January 1881 |page=1}}</ref> Following the official opening, a large crowd gathered at the Criterion Hotel who proceeding to drink a number of toasts in honour of Rockhampton's new bridge.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article914152 |title=Rockhampton. |newspaper=The Brisbane Courier |volume=XXXV |issue=4,249 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=3 January 1881 |page=2}}</ref> Byerley was presented with a walnut writing desk along with a gold pen and pencil as a token of the respect the bridge workers had for him during construction of the bridge.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article67204053 |title=PRESENTATION TO FREDERICK J. BY ERLEY ESQ. |newspaper=The Capricornian |volume=7 |issue=3 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=15 January 1881 |page=7}}</ref>
The bridge remained in service until a new bridge, also called the Fitzroy Bridge, was officially opened alongside the old bridge on 27 September 1952.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article57269806 |title=CITY'S GREATEST HISTORIC DOUBLE |newspaper=Morning Bulletin |issue=29,102 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=29 September 1952 |page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article57269930 |title=Untitled |newspaper=Morning Bulletin |issue=29,103 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=30 September 1952 |page=1}}</ref>
After standing for 75 years, the original Fitzroy Bridge was demolished on 25 January 1956.<ref name=demolished/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article79260041 |title=The Old Bridge Now A Memory |newspaper=The Central Queensland Herald |volume=22 |issue=1955 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=2 February 1956 |page=9}}</ref> A commemorative plaque was erected on the riverbank near to where the bridge was once accessed from the south opposite the Criterion Hotel on 27 August 1988. The plaque commemorates both the first Fitzroy Bridge and the pioneering work of its designer Frederick John Byerley.<ref>(27 August 1988); ''In The Steps Of Our Forefathers'', Commemorative Plaque erected by ISA Rockhampton Town Group in association with Rockhampton and District Historical Society, Riverside Precinct, Quay Street, Rockhampton. Accessed 7 May 2018.</ref><!-- might be a book ref so wouldn't need the date -->
==See also== {{stack|{{portal|Australian roads|Queensland}}}} * Fitzroy Bridge (opened 1952) * Alexandra Railway Bridge * Neville Hewitt Bridge
== References == <!-- Inline citations added to your article will automatically display here. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:REFB for instructions on how to add citations. --> {{reflist}}
== External links == {{commons cat-inline}}
Category:1881 establishments in Australia Category:1956 disestablishments in Australia Category:Bridges in Queensland Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1956 Category:Bridges completed in 1881 Category:Demolished bridges in Australia