Historical information

This photograph shows the pile drivers at work in the construction of the viaduct across the Snowy River flats.
The Snowy River Floodplain Railway Bridges, two sequential and exceptionally long and low timber railway bridges on the Snowy River floodplain just west of Orbost, were built in 1916, and provided the original terminus point for the Bairnsdale-Orbost railway. The bridges are 770 metres and 183 metres long respectively. The shorter bridge is of uniformly 4.57 metre timber-beam construction, and has a sweeping curve in its deck. The longer bridge has a combination of 4.57 metre and 6.1 metrespans, and two 3.66 metre spans. The bridges are constructed from 'Southern Mahogany', Eucalyptus Botryoides, which grew along the coast east of Bairnsdale.
The Snowy floodplain bridges were initially built in the context of an early twentieth-century interest in American-style 'Developmental Railways', designed to open remote areas to closer settlement, even if that meant running at a loss. The line was closed in August 1987. (information from Victorian Heritage Database)

Significance

This item is associated with the history of the Orbost-Bairnsdale railway line and therefore reflects the role that the rail line played in the social and economic history of Orbost.

Physical description

A black / white photograph of the farming flats at Orbost during the construction of the East Gippsland railway.