Dickabram Bridge

The 1886 Dickabram Bridge is the oldest road-rail bridge in Queensland and the second oldest in Australia. It is located on the Gympie to Kilkivan railway line, completed in 1886. The line was extended to the South Burnett and the town of Kingaroy was established on the line in 1904, with the line extended to Nanango in 1911. The bridge was built 21.3 m above the winter water level of the Mary River, ensuring it was well above known flood levels. The nearby Miva road bridge was regularly cut by summer floods and the new high bridge kept communications open. A gatekeeper was employed to shut the road gates when a train was crossing. The railway was initially built to provide access to and from the mineral resources at Kilkivan, which included gold, copper, silver, cinnabar and cobalt. Some settlers turned to farming to supply the miners and developed grazing and dairying in the region. Eventually, dairying became the major industry, with the railway linking farmers to butter factories at Kingaroy, Murgon, Wondai and Nanango, and servicing the Kingaroy peanut industry. The last train crossed the bridge in 2008. Today, the Dickabram Bridge is still open to vehicular traffic.