Hornibrook Bridge | Redcliffe

Hornibrook Pier is the remaining historical remnant of the Hornibrook Bridge, a highway which connected the Redcliffe Peninsula to Brisbane's northern suburbs. Iconic with older residence of Redcliffe, Hornibrook Bridge is fondly remembered as the 'bumpy' ride between Sandgate and Clontarf. Today the pier, which overlooks both Hays Inlet and the Moreton Bay Marine Park is considered great fishing spot.

Hornibrook Bridge, the facts and history

Officially opened by the Governor, Sir Leslie Orme Wilson on Friday, October 4th 1935, Hornibrook Bridge or Hornibrook Highway (technically just a viaduct) spanned between Sandgate and Clontarf. A distance of 2,686 metres, making it Australia’s longest bridge at the time.

A building construction of monstrous proportions, the bridge builders (Manuel Hornibrook known as MR) relied heavily on local resources, for example the 1746 corbels supporting the decking and were part of the 2.5 million cubic feet of timber used to build the Bridge, cut from forests north-west of Redcliffe in Conondale, Mapleton and Kilcoy.

Aside from being the longest bridge in Australia, Hornibrook was also innovative in being one of the first privately owned toll bridges in Queensland. Tolls were collected on the northern entrance of the bridge, with the tollmaster living in a house built nearby.

Due to popularity and to handle the increase in traffic, Houghton Highway was built to replace the Hornibrook Bridge in 1979, before a third bridge the Ted Smout Memorial Bridge, which was opened in 2010. Despite these new bridge building projects, the original Hornibrook Bridge portals, north and south, still stand today and are heritage listed. The northern portal at Clontarf is known as the Hornibrook Pier.

If you're interested in learning more about the history of the Hornibrook Bridge, visit Redcliffe Museum.

An essay by Manuel Hornibrook's granddaughter, Julie Hornibrook about the Hornibrook Highway can be accessed on the State Library of Queensland website.

Casting a line

With an extensive fishing platform erected at the end of the reaming part of the bridge, Hornibrook pier offers an ideal place for fishing. Anglers can expect to watch

Things to do around Hornibrook Pier

Take a walk! Stating at the Hornibrook Pier is a walk and bike path that is part of the Moreton Bay Cycleway spanning from Deception Bay to Redland Bay, providing the opportunity to stay active while you take in some history.

Why not a round of golf? If cycling or walking is not to your taste, just 500 metres into Clontarf is the Redcliffe Golf Course for those of a golf mind. Boasting a picturesque 18-hole course fit for a championship Redcliffe Golf Course will appease those of a golfing mind. The Golf Course was built due to the success of the bridge after Hornibrook purchased in 1934.

Hornibrook Bridge a blast from the past. Share your adventure #visitmoretonbayregion

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Acknowledgement of Country - We would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands and waterways of the Moreton Bay Region, the Kabi Kabi/Gubbi Gubbi, Jinibara, and Turrbal people and pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging. We recognise the ongoing connection that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have to this land and recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the original custodians of this land.