We've certainly become tourists in Brisbane over this past year. There are so many great spots and fun things to do in our home town. The Brisbane City Council has recently started free walking tours to view inside the pylons of the Walter Taylor Bridge at Indooroopilly. We were able to get a rare glimpse of an interesting part of Brisbane's history.
Built in 1936, the Walter Taylor Bridge is a suspension bridge which allows motor vehicles and pedestrians to cross the Brisbane River between Indooroopilly and Chelmer - it is also the only habitable bridge in the Southern Hemisphere (according to Wikipedia).
And this is what fascinates me most about the bridge: people used to live in the pylons! The washing flapping in the breeze was the only visible sign that the pylons were occupied. It used to be the home of the bridge engineer and the toll keeper and was occupied by their descendants up until 2010.
Another interesting fact about the bridge was that the cable used for the suspension were leftovers from the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. If you're interested, you can read more about the history here.
We were able to visit the residence at the Indooroopilly side of the bridge which was home to the Green family who operated the old toll booth. They had six children in their time living in the bridge; when you view the residence you wonder where on earth did they put them all? There were only three bedrooms in the narrow three storey building - it was certainly compact living for the family of eight.
My photographs of inside the pylons are terrible. It was very hard to take good shots, as the unfurnished rooms were quite small. In the early 2000s, the residence was renovated so the original kitchen and cabinetry is long gone...the new kitchen was not terribly inspiring, I'm afraid! It would be terrific if the rooms were restored to how they used to be in the 1930s, to give the rooms more context...
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| The bridge was renamed the Walter Taylor Bridge in 1956 after the bridge designer and constructor Walter Taylor |
Yesterday we met up with our tour leader Alan from Brisbane Greeters at the Indooroopilly end of the bridge. He led us on a short walk across the Jack Pesch Bridge and through to the Walter Taylor Bridge Reserve. Alan was full of interesting tidbits...and corrected a lot of the misinformation I was taught at school...like who really discovered the Brisbane River?
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| Alan with some of my brood. Word of warning, if your child has nil attention span , don't do the tour with kids! Son #3 needed a leash. |
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| Walking under the bridge on the Chelmer side |
Built in 1936, the Walter Taylor Bridge is a suspension bridge which allows motor vehicles and pedestrians to cross the Brisbane River between Indooroopilly and Chelmer - it is also the only habitable bridge in the Southern Hemisphere (according to Wikipedia).
And this is what fascinates me most about the bridge: people used to live in the pylons! The washing flapping in the breeze was the only visible sign that the pylons were occupied. It used to be the home of the bridge engineer and the toll keeper and was occupied by their descendants up until 2010.
Another interesting fact about the bridge was that the cable used for the suspension were leftovers from the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. If you're interested, you can read more about the history here.
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| Out on the balcony of the Walter Taylor Bridge looking out to the Chelmer side. |
We were able to visit the residence at the Indooroopilly side of the bridge which was home to the Green family who operated the old toll booth. They had six children in their time living in the bridge; when you view the residence you wonder where on earth did they put them all? There were only three bedrooms in the narrow three storey building - it was certainly compact living for the family of eight.
My photographs of inside the pylons are terrible. It was very hard to take good shots, as the unfurnished rooms were quite small. In the early 2000s, the residence was renovated so the original kitchen and cabinetry is long gone...the new kitchen was not terribly inspiring, I'm afraid! It would be terrific if the rooms were restored to how they used to be in the 1930s, to give the rooms more context...
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| The doorway into the third bedroom on the top floor of the residence |
There is also a YouTube clip of life inside the toll booth which is very quaint.
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| old kitchen in the pylon residence |
The tours will continue again in January and there is talk that the Chelmer side will open in the near future (apparently the uni students who used to rent it out were hard taskmasters for the old building - it will take more time and money to make it safe to open to the public).
To book a tour of the bridge, go to the Brisbane Greeters website here.
Sign me up! I grew up in Indooroopilly and walked past this bridge every day on the way to school. I loved the fact that people lived inside the bridge and have longed for years to see inside. Imagine lugging all your groceries up the umpteen stairs but the view would be spectacular. mel x
ReplyDeleteYou'll love it then Mel. Go to the website to book. It is well worth seeing. And like you I have always wanted to go inside to see what it looked like. Jason and I were utterly fascinated. xx
DeleteSo much fun and so intriguing. I'm sure I read somewhere that one of the inhabitants had to be lifted out by a crane due to weight issues and the inaccessabilty of the building to ambulance people. Is that right or is that a myth? Hmmm? Leash. So funny.
ReplyDeleteThat's right. He was too large to stretcher down the narrow flights of stairs so they had to remove a window and get him out via a crane. He had an asthma attack and needed urgent medical treatment. Very sad and very embarrassing for him. It stopped traffic for about four hours! Yes, a leash is recommended for little children who don't listen to their parents! xx
DeleteHi Antia - thanks for allowing those of us who don't get out much (funnily enough because of the whole kids/leash thing) get a glimpse of the old residence - how fascinating. I too had heard of the story described by MMMC above.
ReplyDeleteYes, the whole kid and leash thing can curtail a lot of activities...and is the reason I'm making the most of my newfound freedom!! But the bridge is well worth a visit when you can...xx
DeleteI think I will definitely have to go along next time! Sounds really interesting..., love the little brooding mouths on the little darlings :)
ReplyDeleteIt definitely satisfied my curiosity about the bridge. A nice afternoon or morning activity. And whinging mouth would be a more apt description !! xx
DeleteVery cool! Thanks for the sneak peek!
ReplyDeleteThanks! It was very cool. xx
DeleteThat was fun! The video is indeed quaint. Not sure I go much for making breakfast for 'her Lord and Master'. And given the plummy English presenter, he probably wasn't joking!
ReplyDeleteI know, doesn't that bit make you want to cringe! Times have certainly changed - the plummy accent cracks me up considering how Australians actually speak!!
DeleteI was lucky enough to see this place when friends and I attended a party here! Great place for a party only marred by a clumsy friend dropping our carton of stubbies on the way in :) Cannot remember when, not long before 2001 when my daugher was born.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fascinating post! I had never even imagined a habitable bridge. How cool would that be?
ReplyDelete