Editing Walter Taylor Bridge (section)

==History==
The bridge was conceived, designed, built and funded by local visionary [[Walter Taylor (contractor)|Walter Taylor]], a contractor who lived in [[Graceville, Queensland|Graceville]] (adjacent to the suburb in Chelmer). Although there was a rail bridge to Indooroopilly and beyond to the northern suburbs of Brisbane, local residents were frustrated because there was no means by which cars could cross the river. Pedestrians had been able to cross the river on the 2 previous [[Albert Bridge, Brisbane|Albert Bridge]]s from 1875 to 1893, and from 1895 until the opening of the Walter Taylor Bridge.<ref name="bnepp"/> Construction work began in 1930.<ref name="wtbotp">{{Cite news |url=http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/walter-taylor-bridge-opens-to-the-public-20131106-2x1mj.html |title=Walter Taylor Bridge opens to the public |author=Kim Stephens |accessdate=1 December 2013 |date=6 November 2013 |work=Brisbane Times|publisher=Fairfax Media |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110211559/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/walter-taylor-bridge-opens-to-the-public-20131106-2x1mj.html |archivedate=10 November 2013}}</ref>

The bridge is a suspension bridge and its support cables are those that were used to hold up the incomplete halves of the [[Sydney Harbour Bridge]] during its construction. When the bridge opened it had the longest span of any suspension bridge in Australia.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Brisbane River: A pictorial history |last=Longhurst |first=Robert |author2=William Douglas   |publisher=W.D. Incorporated Pty Ltd |location=Brisbane |isbn=0-646-34472-2 |pages=32}}</ref>

The bridge was opened on 14 February 1936 by the Governor of [[Queensland]], Sir [[Leslie Orme Wilson|Leslie Wilson]], with the final cost (anchorage to anchorage) coming to £85,000.<ref name=couriermail/> The bridge was operated by as a toll bridge until the 1960s, with a toll collection booth located at the Northern (Indooroopilly) end (see the video link below). During that time, the bridge was known as the "Indooroopilly Toll Bridge".<ref name=qhr/> It was operated by Indooroopilly Toll Bridge Limited, of which Taylor was a Director and Company Secretary, listed on the [[Australian Stock exchange|Australian Stock Exchange]], and with offices in the [[Central Buildings]], Graceville.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22196084 |title=Advertising |newspaper=[[The Brisbane Courier]] |issue=23,544 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=17 July 1933 |accessdate=25 October 2017 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> In its first full year it made a profit of £2581.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article39741500|title=Indooroopilly Toll Bridge|work=The Courier-Mail|page=4|date=21 January 1938}}</ref>

After Walter Taylor's death in 1955, the bridge was renamed the Walter Taylor Bridge in his honour in 1956.<ref name="bnepp">[http://www.yourbrisbanepastandpresent.com/2011/02/walter-taylor-bridge-indooroopilly.html Brisbane Past and Present: Walter Taylor Bridge] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219231926/http://www.yourbrisbanepastandpresent.com/2011/02/walter-taylor-bridge-indooroopilly.html |date=19 February 2011 }}</ref>