Description of the attraction
The Storey Bridge is a cantilever bridge that connects the shores of the Brisbane River. Part of the Bradfield Highway, it connects the Fortitude Valley and the Kangaru Point urban area.
Even before Sydney's Harbor Bridge was opened in 1932, the Queensland government asked architect John Bradfield to design a new bridge in Brisbane. The bridge was named after John Douglas Storey, a prominent politician of the early 20th century.
Downstream of the Victoria Bridge, Storey Bridge was part of a plan developed in the 1920s by University of Queensland professor Roger Hawken. Hawken wanted to build a series of bridges across the Brisbane River to "unload" the Victoria Bridge and keep traffic away from downtown. The first bridge in his plan was William Jolly Bridge. However, a lack of funding prevented the start of construction. In 1926, the Brisbane City Council decided to build a bridge in the Kangaroo Point area, but construction itself began only in May 1935. The first stone was laid by the then Premier of Queensland, William Forgan Smith. Work on the construction of the bridge was sometimes carried out 24 hours a day, and on October 28, 1939, the two banks of the river were connected. Prior to completion, the bridge was known as the Jubilee Bridge, in honor of King George V. On July 6, 1940, the bridge was inaugurated by Sir Leslie Orme Wilson, Governor of Queensland, and named after John Douglas Storey. The design of the bridge follows the design of the famous Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal, Canada, opened in 1930.
In 1990, Story Bridge was closed to traffic and pedestrians could celebrate the 50th anniversary of the bridge's opening. In 2005, for the first time, competitions in climbing the bridge began to be held, and today any tourist can try himself in this sport and receive a corresponding certificate.
