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Engineering Heritage Australia (Victoria)

Institution of Engineers, Australia         Engineering Heritage Branch

THE HERITAGE OF A FAILURE --
KINGS BRIDGE REVIEWED

Thursday, 21st October 2004

The collapse of Kings Bridge forty-two years ago provided a salutary lesson to the engineering community of the time. The subsequent investigations into the cause of the failure highlighted the need for vigilance when executing structural work, especially when new materials or technology are being employed.

The talk will review the failure of the bridge, and the subsequent findings of the "Committee of Investigation" and the "Royal Commission". The failure forms an important part of the engineering heritage of the State, and the lesson it provided needs to be kept in mind.

The Speaker:
Vic Moll, was formerly Engineer for Metropolitan Highways heading the Highways Division of the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works. At the time of the failure of Kings Bridge, he was working as a Project Engineer with this Division. The Highways Division of the MMBW had been given responsibility for the maintenance of the bridge and immediately after the failure he was assigned to carry out an inspection to assess the condition of the superstructure. This led to his continued involvement with the investigations into the failure. He provided assistance to the committee appointed by the MMBW to investigate the cause of the failure and the measures to be taken for its restoration, then, following the establishment of the Royal Commission, he acted as engineering liaison officer to the counsel assisting the Commission.