Information
Built 1935-40, the architect was James Holt. As a Great Depression work relief project it employed 400 people, under a Queensland consortium of Evan Deakins-Hornibrook. Steel girders were made at Rocklea. First named the Jubilee Bridge after King George V but he died before completion so renamed (J.D.)Story Bridge, after the head of the Queensland public service. Opened on 6 July 1940 and twin air raid shelters added underneath in 1942. A toll bridge, which ended in 1947, thanks to the tolls paid by U.S. forces in WWII. Kemp Place (north entrance) and Bradfield Highway (south entrance) named after the Bridge Board Chairman and the Chief Engineer. Bradfield built the Sydney Harbour Bridge (1932) but Brisbane got Australia’s largest span (282 metres) metal truss bridge.
Citations
Kangaroo Point Neighbourhood Watch, Kangaroo Point Heritage Walk from Riverlife to Citylife, (Brisbane: Brisbane City Council, 2010); Carol McMullen, Walk into History – A History of Kangaroo Point, (Brisbane: Queensland Women’s Historical Association, c1970s); Discover Queensland at war, www.ww2places.qld.gov.au
Image Citations
Map References
Qimagery. Brisbane River 1942. Scale: 1:7,200.