HERITAGE NOOSA
HERITAGE NOOSA
Alexandra Bridge
DETAILS
Alternative NameWeyba BridgeDescriptionAlexandra Bridge, named after the Princess of Wales, was the first bridge constructed in Noosa Heads area and the first bridge over Weyba Creek. The 61-metre wooden structure was constructed over Weyba Creek in 1885-86 at great expense. It was built to provide access to the village at Noosa Heads, that had begun developing with the construction of Walter Hay's Bay View House guesthouse. The building of the bridge was made possible by a colonial Government loan of £1,000 (about $800,000 today). But by 1901 it had been condemned as unsafe, then further damaged by bushfires and dismantled. Without a bridge over Weyba Creek the only access to Noosa Heads from Tewantin and Noosaville was by boat down the Noosa River.
In the 1920s Noosa Council decided to build a bridge over Weyba Creek in conjunction with plans to build a bridge over Lake Doonella at Tewantin. They negotiated with T.M. Burke & Co. to fund the construction by selling the company several hundred acres at what is now Sunshine Beach (then confusingly called ‘Coolum Beach’) for £12,500 (around $3,500,000 today). The company would then receive the majority of this money back by building the pile bridges. The surface of Gympie Terrace was gravelled in anticipation of the traffic.
The bridges over Lake Doonella and Weyba Creek were officially opened on 19th October 1929 by the Home Secretary, J.C. Peterson, connecting Tewantin, Noosaville and Noosa Heads by road for the first time. It is reported that some 700 cars were in attendance, waiting to cross, and that 4000 people gathered at Noosa Heads beach later that day.
In 1969, construction began of concrete bridges over both Lake Doonella and Weyba Creek to replace the wooden ones opened forty years earlier. The popularity of the old Weyba Bridge, however, saw it remain in place as a pedestrian bridge.
In the 1920s Noosa Council decided to build a bridge over Weyba Creek in conjunction with plans to build a bridge over Lake Doonella at Tewantin. They negotiated with T.M. Burke & Co. to fund the construction by selling the company several hundred acres at what is now Sunshine Beach (then confusingly called ‘Coolum Beach’) for £12,500 (around $3,500,000 today). The company would then receive the majority of this money back by building the pile bridges. The surface of Gympie Terrace was gravelled in anticipation of the traffic.
The bridges over Lake Doonella and Weyba Creek were officially opened on 19th October 1929 by the Home Secretary, J.C. Peterson, connecting Tewantin, Noosaville and Noosa Heads by road for the first time. It is reported that some 700 cars were in attendance, waiting to cross, and that 4000 people gathered at Noosa Heads beach later that day.
In 1969, construction began of concrete bridges over both Lake Doonella and Weyba Creek to replace the wooden ones opened forty years earlier. The popularity of the old Weyba Bridge, however, saw it remain in place as a pedestrian bridge.
Photograph
Alexandra Bridge. Heritage Noosa, accessed 11/11/2024, https://heritage.noosa.qld.gov.au/nodes/view/358