Couple crossed Bribie Bridge on opening day reflect on 55 years

ONE retired couple have reflected on the first time they crossed the Bribie Island Bridge during the grand opening on October 19, 1963.

LEO and Vonnie Barraclough were among the first people in cars to cross the Bribie Island Bridge when it opened on October 19, 1963.

Driving their blue 1941 Pontiac sedan, the pair had no idea they would later build a life on Bribie.

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“It (the car) took us to Cairns on mostly dirt highways six months earlier on our honeymoon,” Mr Barraclough said.

Leo and Vonnie were driving their blue 1941 Pontiac sedan (third car down on the left) during the grand opening of the Bribie Island Bridge on October 19, 1963

“We’d wake up every morning to a flat tyre.

“Our first born was ‘in mummy’s tummy’ as we drove across the bridge.

“He (Mark) is now 55 years old and owns a property in Pacific Harbour but lives on his farm at Samford.”

Bribie Bridge through the years

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The Bellara couple lived at Townsville for 17 years before searching for a home on the Sunshine Coast in 1991.

Stopping in at Bribie for hot chips the Barracloughs browsed properties on offer and quickly found themselves moving in.

They now have three children and live happily in their Bellara home.

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Bridge of memories

History enthusiast and creator of Facebook page Lost Brisbane, John McDonnell has always had a soft spot for Bribie Island and reflects on his first time crossing the bridge.

FRIDAY, October 19, 2018 marks the 55th anniversary of the official opening of the Bribie Island Bridge.

At the time Bribie Bridge, at 831.4 metres, was the longest prestressed, precast concrete bridge in Australia.

The cost was £358,160/10 shillings ($716,321), quite a sum in the early 1960s, so a toll was imposed to help recoup this cost.

I have read many articles over the years suggesting the original toll was 10 cents, but this is possibly due to confusion with the Hornibrook Bridge toll, or unfamiliarity with the old currency of pounds, shillings and pence.

The toll was in fact 10 shillings, or the equivalent of $1 in today’s currency.

Unlike the Hornibrook Bridge, which was privately owned, the Bribie Bridge toll ended in 1975 once the cost of construction was paid off.

I will never forget my first visit to Bribie Island shortly after the bridge opened, and despite my father’s complaints about the traffic jam and the cost of the toll, it became one of my favourite weekend destinations.

As a seven year old it was a place of wonder and intrigue, with its white sandy beaches, crystal clear waters and the wreck of the Cormorant to explore.

But the thing that possibly stands out in my mind the most about that day, was finding an old glass oil lamp buried in the dunes at Woorim and wondering to myself if it contained a magic genie.

I still have that glass lamp, which must be well over 100 years old by now, and whenever I see it I am reminded of the hundreds of magical times I have spent on Bribie Island since that day.

- John McDonnell