Decommissioning Ceremony of the Chinchilla Overhead Railway Bridge, 1987

In March 1987, the old wooden Chinchilla Overhead Railway Bridge was officially decommissioned to make way for a new bridge.

The ceremony was officiated by Chinchilla Shire Chairman, Ivan Middleton. Special guests in attendance were Brian Littleproud, MLA, and actor Brian Moll.

Officials & members of the public were dressed in period costume to mark the occasion, with horse drawn vehicles also in attendance. 

When the Chinchilla Overhead Railway Bridge was opened in 1916, the ceremony almost certainly included the cutting of a ribbon. Therefore it was decided that at the decommissioning ceremony that the ribbon would be 'retied'.

The ceremony also included a man on horseback attempting to cut the ribbon, which was possibly an re-enactment of the incident that occurred in 1932 at the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The re-enactment was followed by a mock arrest of the horseman by local police.