Eumundi Voice Issue 113, 20 March 2025

ON THIS DAY

Dickabram Bridge

On 5 February the Dickabram Bridge closed for major maintenance and is expected to reopen around October. The bridge is heritage-listed and crosses the Mary River between Miva and Theebine. It is Qld’s oldest timber bridge and one of two remaining road and rail bridges in Australia – although the last train crossed the bridge in 2008. It is also the oldest remaining large, steel-truss bridge constructed in Qld. Dickabram Bridge was built from 1885-1886 as a major bridge on the Kingaroy branch railway line to provide access to the mineral resources at Kilkivan. These resources included gold, copper, silver, cinnabar and cobalt. During construction it was known as the Kilkivan railway bridge.

The Dickabram Bridge is also said to have its own ghost. During construction a worker who had been pushing a wheelbarrow full of concrete disappeared and it was suspected that he fell into one of the pylons. His body was never found. Some say that the ghost of the lost worker can be heard in the steel piles of the bridge.

At 21.3m above the Mary River, Dickabram Bridge has survived many floods, although in 1893 its decking was submerged, and in 2022 the water stopped just under the decking. Not bad workmanship given it was built using crosscut saws, wedges and wheelbarrows!