Story Bridge history: All the wildest tales of Brisbane icon

“What would Brisbane do without the Story Bridge?” This question was posed in 1995 and it still holds true. SPECIAL REPORT

A visual history of Brisbane's iconic Story Bridge.

“What would Brisbane do without the Story Bridge?”

Many would agree with bridge inspector Gerry Maloney, who in 1995 spoke glowingly after his 19 years looking after the icon.

Born on July 6, 1940 and named after John Douglas Story, the bridge was officially welcomed by the then Governor Sir Leslie Wilson before a crowd of more than 60,000 spectators.

There are lots of tales told about the bridge, including the one about Mr Story (later Sir John), a dedicated public servant and later Vice-Chancellor of the University of Queensland, who upon being told the bridge would be named after him, humbly protested and then fainted.

Queensland-born bridge engineer Dr John Bradfield was a romantic, who wanted his design to “demonstrate the artistry and poetry of the science of engineering so as to express in the bridge simplicity, beauty and service’’.

The significance of the Story Bridge is that it’s the largest steel bridge designed, fabricated and constructed in Australia by Australians.

Story Bridge during the 1974 floods.

A rowboat was stationed under the building to save any falling workmen and although there were rescues, a total of four were killed in the five-year construction period.

It was revealed in August 2024 that the bridge will reach the end of its lifespan by 2040 unless expensive repairs ramp up.

These are the wild tales going back decades of Brisbane’s Story Bridge >>>

Cat call

It’s became known as the “cat-astrophe of the phantom cat’’ – a feline caught in the superstructure of the Story Bridge whose cries annoyed water police and local residents.

The cat, stranded 30m up in the bridge’s girders on the south side of the river, eventually disappeared after the February 1984 incident.

Sen. Constable Dick Bartley, of Brisbane water police, climbed down under the bridge several times, but to no avail.

“We can hear it from across the river and it is driving us crazy,” he said.

Olympic ambition

The Gateway Bridge and Story Bridge were in March 1985 deemed is crucial to the success of Brisbane’s bid for the 1992 Olympic Games.

A Brisbane City Council spokesman said the Gateway was the transportation spine off which almost every venue branched.

“It will ensure all major venues, together with the proposed Games Villages, are contained within a 15km radius of the City Centre,’’ the spokesman said.

The city’s five other cross-river bridges – Walter Taylor Bridge, the Story Bridge, the William Jolly Bridge, the Victoria Bridge – were all touted to face increased pressure coping with traffic should the Games get the green light.

Story Bridge under construction in the 1930s.

Life’s a beach

Move over Surfers Paradise and Bondi, Brisbane’s first city beach was created under the Story Bridge in July 1986.

Over six weeks 3000 tonnes of sand was dumped at the water’s edge at the Captain Burke Park on the south bank of the river.

The Brisbane River Committee chairman and State member for Greenslopes, Mrs Leisha Harvey, said the committee had created the beach as a recreation area for families and boating enthusiasts.

Lighting it up

It took just a flick of a switch for Lord Mayor Sallyanne Atkinson in September 1986 to transform the Story Bridge into a blaze of lights.

The bridge was to be lit permanently as part of the Brisbane City Council’s beautification program.

Finding lost gems

Copper survey pegs used to “fit’’ the Story Bridge between the Brisbane River banks more than 50 years ago were rediscovered in October 1990.

Three of the pegs were placed on the top of the cliff on the Valley side of the river and two on Kangaroo Point.

They were then used for triangulation calculations that fixed the position of the bridge before engineers began building it.

Rediscovery of the pegs came about through the efforts of surveyor Bill Kitson, curator of the museum of surveying and mapping at the Sunmap Centre in South Brisbane.

They found one of the pegs under the bitumen of the Kemp Place roadway and another, still visible, under the Valley end of the bridge.

Traffic on the Story Bridge in 2004.

Star of the small screen

Brisbane’s heritage listed leading lady, the Story Bridge, became a television star at age 54 in March 1995.

The cantilever bridge – with its bold towers and curved outline, sturdy shoulders and graceful curves and attracting 78,000 cars a day – appeared in the new Brisbane-made drama series Fire.

Paying off debts

After 64 years, Brisbane finally owned one of its most famous landmarks in April 1999.

When Brisbane City Council made a final $55,000 payment to the State Treasury in June, all debt was removed from the Story Bridge.

The bridge spanned a great depression, a world war and the emergence of a cosmopolitan city.

Treasurer David Hamill said the people of Brisbane had reason to celebrate.

“It’s been a great investment,’’ Mr Hamill said.

Speed alerts

Hidden hi-tech speed cameras were installed on the Story Bridge in January 2000.

The cameras were part of sweeping changes to road rules, including random, roadside drug tests and 50km/h suburban speed limits across the state.

A senior police spokesman confirmed the fixed digital cameras could detect a speeding car in a line of vehicles.

The busy 60km/h speed limit Story Bridge spanning the Brisbane River was the first site for the overhead digital cameras.

The Story Bridge is iconic across Brisbane.

Bus lanes?

Motorists would have been banned from two of the six lanes on the busy Story Bridge if a proposed road and rail tunnel was constructed beneath the Brisbane River.

Lord Mayor Jim Soorley revealed in June 2002 his council planned to convert two general traffic lanes on the bridge to bus lanes if the State Government approved his proposed $1 billion 5km-long tunnel between Woolloongabba and Bowen Hills.

On the plan to put bus lanes on the Story Bridge, Cr Soorley said the move had more to do with “strategic planning’’ than forcing people to pay the toll on the tunnel.

Aiming high

It’s took more than four years’ of planning and debate, millions of dollars and an expensive court battle for Story Bridge Adventure Climb CEO Kevin Graetz to realise his tourism dream for Brisbane.

In July 2005 bookings opened to the public.

A long-time Brisbane resident, Mr Graetz said he was keen to entice interstate and international tourists to go climbing but first and foremost, he hoped local residents would embrace the tourism venture as their own.

Mr Graetz spent up to $1.8 million on alterations to the bridge to allow the safe passage of climbers, including the installation of new stairs, railings, viewing platforms and a static line that climbers will be secured to at all times.

As iconic as the bridge is the hotel that shares its name.

Earth Hour

The Story Bridge was in March 2010 among 100 landmarks worldwide that switched off lights for Earth Hour.

Already 1000 towns pledged to flick the switch at the appointed time.

Those plunging into darkness included the world’s three tallest buildings – the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, CN Tower in Toronto and Taipei 101 in Taiwan.

‘One of the best’

The Story Bridge was in June 2013 recognised as one of the greatest engineering feats of Queensland’s 150-year history

Chosen by the Engineering Wonders of Queensland panel, the Story Bridge joined Wivenhoe Dam, Bundamba water treatment plant and the state’s power and telecommunication networks as earning recognition.

Bridge for hire

The Story Bridge was to closed up to four times every year under a radical plan in September 2014 to rent the icon out for use in major events.

Previously, the landmark would only shut for Riverfire, due to the traffic chaos and safety issues caused by closing such a major piece of infrastructure.

But for the first time, community groups and organisers were able to apply to have “exclusive access” to the bridge, which would be closed for the duration of their event.

The privilege wasn’t to come cheap, with the State Government noting that the incidental costs alone would be more than $50,000.

A maximum of four events each year — which could include fun runs and cycling rides — could be approved for a full bridge closure, with organisers having to guarantee events would run smoothly and promoted Queensland.

Premier Campbell Newman said the Story Bridge was “open for business”.

Kangaroo Point shipyards with Story Bridge.

Urgent repairs

Drivers were in for a bumpy ride in August 2018 when it was revealed Brisbane City Council had to carry out work to fix a new waterproofing surface after complaints it was laid poorly.

Resident John Dobinson said he noticed the poor surface when driving his Fiat Bambino over the bridge.

“I noticed the road has been bevelled on edges beside the stress breaks, suggesting it was re-covered too high,’’ he said.

“Also, there are white spots painted in the middle, halfway across the bridge, suggesting some kind of testing is going on.”

Restoration works

Brisbane’s most iconic landmark, the Story Bridge, was in February 2019 to undergo major restoration works under a multimillion-dollar push to safeguard the 79-year-old structure.

Council announced a five-year plan to repaint the bridge, with existing paint blasted off and the structure to be scrubbed clean.

The restoration – the most significant work undertaken on the bridge since it opened in 1940 – cost about $80 million.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said the cost of rebuilding another bridge would reach up to $1 billion and insisted restoration works were essential to prolonging the bridge’s life.

“There will never be another Story Bridge,” he said.

1983 photo of Kangaroo Point with the Story Bridge.

Going green and gold

The Story Bridge was among a host of Aussie landmarks in August 2023 to go green and gold for the Matildas.

The Aussie women’s football team’s efforts to reach the semi-final of the World Cup delivered a lighting spectacular across the nation, including the Brisbane icon.

Originally published as Story Bridge history: All the wildest tales of Brisbane icon