June 21, 2014
Ben Walters was one of the quiet pioneers of Nanango but his contribution to the development of the town will never be forgotten following the official naming of the “Ben Walters Bridge” in his honour.
A crowd of more than 60 local residents and school children joined councillors and engineering staff in Drayton Street on Friday morning for the “official” opening of the bridge which spans Sandy Creek (in reality, traffic started crossing in March).
The $1.7 million pre-cast concrete structure was erected by FK Gardiner & Sons and replaced an old timber bridge which was damaged in the 2011 and 2013 floods.
South Burnett Regional Council, which was forced to place a load limit placed on the old bridge to ensure public safety, voted funds for a replacement in last year’s Budget.
Work began on January 3.
The project had been expected to be completed by late February, but as as construction progressed the contractors discovered the ruins of an even earlier bridge – believed to date from the 1870s – below the former timber bridge.
This had added an extra month to the job.
Safety fencing for pedestrians along one side of the bridge still remains to be erected, something the Council hopes to put in place shortly when suppliers provide the necessary materials.
Cr Barry Green told the assembled guests at the opening that very few decisions in politics were universally popular.
However, the Council’s decision in March to rename the new bridge in honour of Ben Walters was “one of the very few” that seemed to draw universal approval.
Cr Green said when the idea of giving the new bridge a new name was first raised “all the usual suspects”, ie. former Mayors and councillors, were suggested.
But it was the idea of naming the bridge after a humble pioneer who had made enormous contributions to road and bridge-building in the former Nanango Shire that won the unanimous vote of his fellow councillors and seemed to have won the approval of most Nanango residents.
The crowd heard that Ben Walters was born at Goode’s Inn – Nanango’s first commercial building – near Sandy Creek in 1861.
He was one of the first pupils to enrol at the Nanango State School when it opened in 1866, and during a long and varied career spent 16 years as a Works Overseer at Nanango Shire Council, during which time he was responsible for building most of the timber bridges in the Nanango area.
And although he didn’t build the wooden Drayton Street bridge that formerly spanned the creek – he had retired by then – it was built to his design.
Ben Walters died in 1950 but was represented at Friday’s opening by many descendants, including his great, great, great grand-children Keira and Hayden Walters.
His grand-daughter Eileen Horne, who still lives in Nanango, had the honour of officially opening the bridge by driving a classic Vauxhall over it – then back again – to applause from the crowd.
SBRC Mayor Wayne Kratzmann helped relatives to officially unveil a memorial sign to Ben Walters erected on the pedestrian side of the bridge.
He paid tribute to everyone involved in the project, as well as the contributions it had received from the State Government and the Heritage Community Bank Nanango, who had paid for flashing school zone signs at the bridge.
Afterwards, guests adjourned to the nearby Nanango Cultural Centre for morning tea.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Related articles:
