{"id":366239,"date":"2026-02-11T14:29:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T04:29:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=366239"},"modified":"2026-02-11T14:50:40","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T04:50:40","slug":"hand-built-high-country-bridges-lost-to-fires-taking-decades-of-history-with-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=366239","title":{"rendered":"Hand-built high country bridges lost to fires, taking decades of history with them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Fires, floods and termites were recognised as major threats to historic trestle bridges along the High Country Rail Trail in Victoria’s north-east. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So volunteers were worried when strong winds pushed <\/strong>the 122,000-hectare Walwa-Mt Lawson State Park bushfire towards the bridges near Shelley, Koetong and the Tallangatta Valley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within 24 hours, 12 of the 13 bridges had burnt to the ground, taking more than 100 years of history, craftsmanship and volunteer restoration efforts with them.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Boggy Creek trestle bridge, near Koetong, before the January fires.  (Facebook: Nicole Denovan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Rail trail decimated<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Riders and walkers along the High Country Rail Trail only crossed two of the bridges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The others were deemed too rickety or unstable for use, so they became part of the scenery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“They were beautiful to look at, and an amazing feature of an incredible trail,” Rail Trails Australia vice-president Steven Kaye said.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Boggy Creek trestle bridge was completely destroyed in the fire.  (Supplied: Stephen Parker)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

According to 2022 data from Tourism North East, the region attracts more than 160,000 cycling visitors each year, raking in an estimated $131 million. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The downhill stretch from Shelley to Old Tallangatta is one of the most popular routes, attracting more than 5,000 riders in the 2024-25 financial year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bridges were built from 1914 onwards as part of the Wodonga-Cudgewa rail line. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were upgraded as trains became heavier, and played a key role in transporting material to the Snowy Hydro Scheme in the 1950s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the railway was decommissioned, a dedicated group of volunteers took on the task of making it fit for cyclists, horse riders and walkers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“It’s been a 25-year labour of love to get the trail connected, and that’s basically gone up in smoke,”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Mr Kaye said.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Darbyshire trestle bridge was engulfed in flames on January 9. (Supplied: Pete Paton)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Parklands Albury Wodonga executive officer Ant Packer said the bridges were more than just structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“They tell the story about our nation-building,” Ms Packer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They took decades to build with hand tools, horses, carts and locally milled wood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Some of them were three storeys high, 21 metres tall and 96 metres long,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms Packer said volunteers knew they could lose the bridges after three nearby were destroyed in the Black Summer fires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It came through so fast \u2026 that it just wasn’t possible to do any preparation,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Wodonga-Cudgewa railway line was crucial in the building of the Snowy Hydro scheme. (Facebook: Wodonga and District Historical Society)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Rebuilding dilemma<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Volunteers said rebuilding could be costly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When 12 historic trestle bridges were destroyed at Myra Canyon, British Columbia, in 2003, the rebuild project set the provincial and federal governments back $CAD18.5 million ($20 million).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dave Richmond was the recreation section head for British Columbia (BC) Parks in 2003 and oversaw the project, which he described as expensive and difficult. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Twelve trestle bridges were rebuilt after fires in Canada in 2003. (Facebook: Lauren Richards Neufeld)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

“There was only access from each end of the damaged area. We had to build our way towards the centre from each side of the canyon,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision to rebuild the trestles near Kelowna, about 400 kilometres north-east of Vancouver, depended heavily on the future fire risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We had to ask, ‘Is there a chance of this re-occurring?'” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The risk was deemed low so the rebuild went ahead, and the trestles have since attracted tens of thousands of visitors a year.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Myra Canyon, in British Columbia, attracts thousands of visitors each year. (Supplied: Megan Reading\/ Tourism Kelowna)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Clean-up underway<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The immediate focus in the Upper Murray is making the trail safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We’ve got about 35 kilometres of fences to replace, a lot of them go through the middle of properties,” Ms Packer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parklands Albury Wodonga said it was expecting to have the trail reopened by the middle of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cost of any rebuild is yet to be calculated, and finding people with the skills to construct the trestle bridges could be a challenge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking through the community’s photos, videos and memories of the bridges, Ms Packer said she was devastated, but was trying to shift her perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“How amazing that they’ve been there for 110 years \u2026 [it’s] something I think we really need to celebrate,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Mr Richmond said it was important for all stakeholders \u2014 including volunteers \u2014 to be involved in conversations around next steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“[Volunteers] had invested all the blood, sweat and tears for the people who want to go there and experience the trails,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Have those challenging discussions early on, about what you’re trying to achieve.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms Packer said it was a chance to share memories and hear how the community would like to proceed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I think it’s an opportunity \u2026 you could see what the bridges were like in a light show, perhaps,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But she said there was no rush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Sometimes we need to slow down and reflect on the past,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Things take time to build, like these trestle bridges.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heritage Victoria has been contacted for comment. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The cost of any rebuild is yet to be calculated, and finding people with the skills to construct the trestle bridges could be a challenge.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":366240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10696,47,7468],"tags":[9998,993,8],"class_list":["post-366239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-heritage-rail","category-rail-news","category-rail-trail","tag-albury","tag-melbourne","tag-victoria"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t