Editing Victoria Bridge, Brisbane (section)

==1864 Brisbane Bridge==
Construction of a bridge across the Brisbane River was first agreed to in 1861. The newly formed [[Legislative Assembly of Queensland]] forced the council to pay for the costs, to be financed by unsold crown land in South Brisbane which was transferred to the Corporation of Brisbane under the terms of the Brisbane Bridge Act of 1861.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2020-10-31|title=The Fascinating Story of the First Victoria Bridge|url=https://highgatehill-historical-vignettes.com/2020/11/01/the-fascinating-story-of-the-first-victoria-bridge/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124232404/https://highgatehill-historical-vignettes.com/2020/11/01/the-fascinating-story-of-the-first-victoria-bridge/|archive-date=24 November 2020|access-date=2021-02-15|website=Highgate Hill and Its History|language=en}}</ref> £70,000 worth of borrowings was acquired from the [[Bank of Queensland]]<ref name="moam">{{cite book |title=The Making of a Metropolis: Brisbane 1823—1925 |last=Laverty |first=John |year=2009 |publisher=Boolarong Press |location=Salisbury, Queensland |isbn=978-0-9751793-5-2 |pages=156–157 }}</ref> secured by mortgage of the bridge lands. Work began on the foundations for the first bridge across the Brisbane River, then known as the Brisbane Bridge, on 22 August 1864.<ref name="b150s">{{cite book |title=Brisbane 150 Stories |year=2009 |publisher=Brisbane City Council Publication |isbn=978-1-876091-60-6 |pages=36–37 }}</ref> The contractor, John Bourne, offered to convert the scaffolding he was constructing into a temporary bridge.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1864-12-17|title=PROPOSED TEMPORARY BRIDGE OVER THE BRISBANE.|pages=2|work=North Australian (Brisbane, Qld. : 1863 - 1865)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article77438411|access-date=2021-02-15|archive-date=3 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303235652/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/77438411|url-status=live}}</ref>  In return for this and an annual payment to the council, he was allowed to charge a toll. This timber structure opened in June 1865.<ref name="b150s" /> The [[Bank of Queensland (1863–1866)|Bank of Queensland]] suspended payments in July 1866 and the shareholders decided to wind the bank up, bringing about a halt to funding for the project. The Queensland Government was reluctant to take on responsibility for the bridge's construction because it didn't want to incur debt. The timber bridge quickly succumbed to marine wood worm [[Teredo navalis|Teredo Navalis]] and began to progressively collapse.<ref name="bhnb" /><ref>{{cite book |title=The Brisbane River: A pictorial history |last=Longhurst |first=Robert |author2=William Douglas  |year=1997 |publisher=W.D. Incorporated Pty Ltd |location=Brisbane |isbn=0-646-34472-2 |pages=23}}</ref> The council wasn't able to fully repair the structure and its remnants took two years to fall away into the river, along with some components of the partly built iron bridge.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="b150s" /> After the bridge collapsed on 16 November 1867, the public had to resort back to using ferries to cross the river.<ref name=":2" />