Back to search results

RAILWAY VIADUCT
OVER MOORABOOL RIVER, MOORABOOL AND BATESFORD, GREATER GEELONG CITY, GOLDEN PLAINS SHIRE

All information on this page is maintained by Heritage Victoria. Click below for their website and contact details.
Victorian Heritage Register
1 railway viaduct over moorabool river side elevation may1995
1 railway viaduct over moorabool river side elevation may1995
1 railway viaduct over moorabool river side elevation may1995
On this page:

Statement of Significance

What is significant?

The 396 m long railway line viaduct over the Moorabool River was completed in 1862. It featured nine massive bluestone piers up to 34 metres in height, massive bluestone abutments, and ten deck type warren truss spans of 36.9 metres. Intermediate steel trestles were introduced in 1918, when the original metal trusses were replaced with metal steel girders. A new concrete deck was installed in 1983. With the addition of the third rail, the bridge currently carries the National standard gauge track.

How is it significant?

The Railway Viaduct is of architectural, historic, and scientific significance to the State of Victoria.

Why is it significant?

The Railway Viaduct over the Moorabool River demonstrates a technical accomplishment in the history of bridge construction during the 19th century. At the time of its erection it was regarded as the greatest engineering feat in Australasia, being the largest early metal truss bridge in Australia, until the construction of the Hawkesbury River Bridge in 1889.The viaduct demonstrates the sequence of usage over time by the alteration of the structure and the introduction of intermediate trestle piers in 1918, to accommodate progressively larger locomotives that travelled over the bridge.

The Viaduct is architecturally significant as an extraordinary example of a large metal railway bridge. It remained the longest in Victoria until 1875 when the Echuca girder bridge was built and is currently the second longest in the state, after the 869.9m railway bridge at Stratford over the Avon River (1887). The viaduct's original deck-type warren trusses were an example of design by the international engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who was also responsible for designing the Great Western Railway, from Bristol to London. The replacement metal girders are also of significant size for their age.

The Railway Viaduct demonstrates an important historical association with the important expansion of the rail network in the 1860s between Geelong and Ballarat, which became Victoria's first main trunk line. The 1918 modifications to the structure, instigated by Professor WC Kernot, Professor of Engineering, University of Melbourne, were designed by A Goudy, an engineer with Victorian Railways, and fabricated by Dorman, Long and Co. Ltd.

Show more
Show less

    • Permit Exemptions

      RAILWAY VIADUCT - Permit Exemptions

      General Exemptions:

      General exemptions apply to all places and objects included in the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR). General exemptions have been designed to allow everyday activities, maintenance and changes to your property, which don’t harm its cultural heritage significance, to proceed without the need to obtain approvals under the Heritage Act 2017.

      Places of worship: In some circumstances, you can alter a place of worship to accommodate religious practices without a permit, but you must notify the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria before you start the works or activities at least 20 business days before the works or activities are to commence.

      Subdivision/consolidation: Permit exemptions exist for some subdivisions and consolidations. If the subdivision or consolidation is in accordance with a planning permit granted under Part 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the application for the planning permit was referred to the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria as a determining referral authority, a permit is not required.

      Specific exemptions may also apply to your registered place or object. If applicable, these are listed below. Specific exemptions are tailored to the conservation and management needs of an individual registered place or object and set out works and activities that are exempt from the requirements of a permit. Specific exemptions prevail if they conflict with general exemptions.

      Find out more about heritage permit exemptions here.

      Specific Exemptions:

      General Conditions:
      1. All exempted alterations are to be planned and carried out in a manner which prevents damage to the fabric of the registered place or object.
      2. Should it become apparent during further inspection or the carrying out of alterations that original or previously hidden or inaccessible details of the place or object are revealed which relate to the significance of the place or object, then the exemption covering such alteration shall cease and the Executive Director shall be notified as soon as possible.
      3. If there is a conservation policy and plan approved by the Executive Director, all works shall be in accordance with it.
      4. Nothing in this declaration prevents the Executive Director from amending or rescinding all or any of the permit exemptions.
      Nothing in this declaration exempts owners or their agents from the responsibility to seek relevant planning or building permits from the responsible authority where applicable.

      PERMIT EXEMPTIONS TO INCLUDE:

      * All works to the deck of the bridge involving track and ballast repair or replacement.

      * Repair, replacement or renewal of all wires and cables required for operational and safety purposes relating to the daily use of the bridge.

      * Any emergency works relating to the substructure and the superstructure of the viaduct.

Public contributions

Note: Developments may span multiple time periods
Timeline browser

< to 1849
< - 1849
1850 to 1879
1850 - 1879
1880 to 1909
1880 - 1909
1910 to 1939
1910 - 1939
1940 to 1969
1940 - 1969
1970 to 1999
1970 - 1999
2000 to >
2000 - >