Editing Walter Taylor Bridge

{{Short description|Heritage-listed bridge in Brisbane, Australia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=May 2012}}
{{Infobox bridge |
|image= File:Walter Taylor Bridge in Brisbane, Australia, October 2019, 01.jpg
|bridge_name=Walter Taylor
|official_name=Walter Taylor Bridge
|other_name       =Indooroopilly Toll Bridge 
|locale=[[Brisbane]], [[Queensland]], Australia
|carries=Motor vehicles, pedestrians
|crosses=[[Brisbane River]]
|cost=£85,000<ref name=couriermail>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article36809332 |title=INDOOROOPILLY BRIDGE TO BE OPENED TO-MORROW |newspaper=[[The Courier-Mail]] |location=Brisbane |date=13 February 1936 |accessdate=9 August 2014 |page=19 |publisher=National Library of Australia |archive-date=19 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519062401/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36809332 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|open={{start date and age|1936|02|14|df=y}}
|below=
|design=[[Suspension bridge]]
|mainspan={{convert|182.9|m}} 
|length={{convert|299.7|m}} 
|width=
|coordinates={{coord|-27.5058|152.9736|type:landmark_region:AU-QLD|display=inline,title}}
}}
The '''Walter Taylor Bridge''' is a [[heritage-listed]] [[suspension bridge]] crossing the [[Brisbane River]] between [[Indooroopilly, Queensland|Indooroopilly]] and [[Chelmer, Queensland|Chelmer]] in [[Brisbane]], [[Queensland]], Australia. It is shared by motor traffic and pedestrians and is the only habitable bridge in the Southern Hemisphere.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-29/curious-brisbane-living-inside-the-walter-taylor-bridge/9986992|title=Curious Brisbane: Indooroopilly bridge – the only habitable bridge in the Southern Hemisphere|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|author=Melanie Vujkovic|date=29 August 2018|access-date=29 August 2018|archive-date=28 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828233118/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-29/curious-brisbane-living-inside-the-walter-taylor-bridge/9986992|url-status=live}}</ref> It was originally known as the '''Indooroopilly Toll Bridge'''.<ref name="qhr" /> The bridge footpath will be closed from 26 August to 30 September 2024 general maintenance.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-02 |title=Walter Taylor Bridge essential maintenance – Chelmer to Indooroopilly |url=https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/traffic-and-transport/roads-infrastructure-and-bikeways/road-and-intersection-projects/walter-taylor-bridge-essential-maintenance-%E2%80%93-chelmer-to-indooroopilly#:~:text=The%20bridge%20footpath%20will%20be,5am%20Monday,%2030%20September%202024. |access-date=2024-09-04 |website=www.brisbane.qld.gov.au |language=en |archive-date=14 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814052623/https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/traffic-and-transport/roads-infrastructure-and-bikeways/road-and-intersection-projects/walter-taylor-bridge-essential-maintenance-%E2%80%93-chelmer-to-indooroopilly#:~:text=The%20bridge%20footpath%20will%20be,5am%20Monday,%2030%20September%202024. |url-status=live }}</ref> 

==Design==
The bridge is a similar design to the [[Hercilio Luz Bridge]] in [[Florianópolis]], Brazil, with the [[truss]] carrying the bridge being above the roadway and meeting the cables at non-uniform heights. This means that the suspension cables form the top chord of the truss, and this configuration is known as the Steinman (after its inventor) or [[Hercilio Luz Bridge|Florianópolis]] type.<ref name=qhr/>

The bridge is unique among Brisbane bridges in that the two towers of the bridge house residential accommodation, which were occupied until mid 2010 when the last members of the original tollmaster's family moved out. The Chelmer side of the bridge is bounded by a council park. A pontoon adjacent to this park was washed away in the [[2010–11 Queensland floods|2011 flood]], and to date has not been replaced. The Walter Taylor Bridge is one of four bridges in close proximity to each other. The others are the [[Albert Bridge, Brisbane|Albert Bridge]], [[Indooroopilly Railway Bridge, Brisbane|Indooroopilly Railway Bridge]], and the [[Jack Pesch Bridge, Brisbane|Jack Pesch Bridge]].

==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>

==Heritage listing==
The bridge was listed on the [[Queensland Heritage Register]] in 1992.<ref name=qhr>{{cite QHR|14956|Walter Taylor Bridge|600181|accessdate=11 July 2015}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Walter Taylor Bridge seen from Chelmer, Queensland 01.jpg|alt=Walter Taylor Bridge (left) adjacent to the Indooroopilly Railway Bridge.|Walter Taylor Bridge (left) adjacent to the [[Indooroopilly Railway Bridge]]
File:StateLibQld 1 52980 Official opening of the Indooroopilly Toll Bridge, Brisbane, 1936.jpg|alt=Official opening of the Indooroopilly Toll Bridge, Brisbane, 1936.|Official opening of the Indooroopilly Toll Bridge, Brisbane, 1936, Walter Taylor (far right)
</gallery>

==See also==
{{stack|{{portal|Australian roads|Queensland}}}}
*[[Bridges over the Brisbane River]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Walter Taylor Bridge}}
* {{Structurae|id=20005456|title=Walter Taylor Bridge}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPn9SyMnR8A Life on the Walter Taylor Bridge in the 1950s] Video
* {{Cite book|title=The Indooroopilly toll bridge : a souvenir of the official opening day|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-52814844|publication-date=1936|accessdate=2 April 2017}}

{{Brisbane bridges navigation}}

[[Category:Bridges in Brisbane]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1936]]
[[Category:Suspension bridges in Australia]]
[[Category:Bridges over the Brisbane River]]
[[Category:Road bridges in Queensland]]
[[Category:Queensland Heritage Register]]
[[Category:History of Brisbane]]
[[Category:Indooroopilly, Queensland]]
[[Category:Chelmer, Queensland]]
[[Category:Former toll bridges in Australia]]
[[Category:Bridges with buildings]]