Abraham Fitzgibbon

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Abraham Fitzgibbon
Abraham Fitzgibbon circa 1863
Born
Abraham Coates Fitz-Gibbon

(1823-01-23)23 January 1823
Ireland
Died4 April 1887(1887-04-04) (aged 64)
Bushey Heath, England
Alma materChalmers University of Technology
OccupationEngineer
EmployerQueensland Rail
Known forRailway pioneer
SpouseIsabelle Stovin
Children5
Parent(s)Philip Fitzgibbon
Elizabeth Coates

Abraham 'Abram' Fitzgibbon (23 January 1823 – 4 April 1887) was an Irish-born railroad engineer and a pioneer for narrow-gauge railways.

Career[edit]

In the early 1860s, Fitzgibbon was working at Dun Mountain Railway in Nelson, New Zealand, a horse-drawn line upon which he worked from 1860 (3 ft / 914 mm gauge)

Fitzgibbon arrived in the colony of Queensland in June 1863.[1] He was appointed first chief engineer of Queensland Railways after a rise through the ranks in the early stages of the railway department development.[2][3][4][5] The first operations of the Queensland Railways opened in 1865.[6]

There was debate regarding the choice of gauge, 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) versus 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge.[7] It is claimed that Fitzgibbon said that the narrow gauge would be sufficient to last 25 or 30 years and was cheaper.[8] Despite opposition from contemporaries, he successfully advocated for the use of narrow gauge or 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) track in Australia.[9][10][11] By 1867, the controversies included the termination of Fitzgibbon's contract.[12][13][14]

Death and legacy[edit]

Fitzgibbon died on 4 April 1887 at Moorside, Bushey Heath, Hertfordshire, England.[15]

The Fitzgibbon suburb of Brisbane is named after Abraham Fitzgibbon.[16][17]

Queensland railways continue to be 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge to the present day.

See also[edit]

Other narrow gauge pioneers in order of influence:

References[edit]

  1. ^ "THAT'S SO!". The Queenslander. National Library of Australia. 31 August 1867. p. 4. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  2. ^ Buchanan, Robyn (1 September 2012), An imported railway – the background to construction of Queensland's early railway, T, School of History, Philosophy, Religion & Classics, retrieved 4 March 2014
  3. ^ Armstrong, John; Australian Railway Historical Society. Queensland Division (1985), Locomotives in the tropics. Volume 1. Queensland railways 1864-1910. Volume 1 : Queensland railways 1864–1910, Australian Railway Historical Society, Queensland Division, ISBN 978-0-909937-12-6 Armstrong observes the rise of Fitzgibbon over the rival engineers of the time
  4. ^ Kerr, John (1998), Triumph of narrow gauge : a history of Queensland Railways (Rev. ed.), Boolarong Press, ISBN 978-0-86439-204-6
  5. ^ "THE GAZETTE". The Courier (Brisbane). Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 5 October 1863. p. 2. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  6. ^ Our journey – About Queensland Rail Archived 1 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "PARLIAMENT". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 18 May 1864. p. 2. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  8. ^ "The Railway Gauge". The Brisbane Courier. No. 16, 727. Queensland, Australia. 22 August 1911. p. 4. Retrieved 3 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "Adoption of the 3ft. 6ins. gauge for Queensland railways (1983)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 August 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  10. ^ Knowles, J. W (1983), "Adoption of the 3ft 6ins gauge for Queensland railways. -Presented to a meeting of the Society on 26 May 1983-", Historical Papers (Brisbane), 11 (4): –113–125, ISSN 0815-9653 also at Knowles, J. W. (John W.) (1 January 1981), Adoption of the 3ft. 6ins. gauge for Queensland Railways, Royal Historical Society of Queensland, retrieved 4 March 2014
  11. ^ Harding identifies railway engineers came from other Australian colonies and were highly cvritical of the proposed gauge p.36 Harding, Eric (1958), Uniform railway gauge, Lothian Pub. Co, retrieved 4 March 2014
  12. ^ "THE RAILWAY SELECT COMMITTEE". The Darling Downs Gazette and General Advertiser. Toowoomba, Qld.: National Library of Australia. 22 October 1867. p. 3. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  13. ^ Termination of Fitzgibbon's contract The Brisbane Courier, Saturday 17 August 1867
  14. ^ "TREASURY NOTES AND BILLS". Rockhampton Bulletin and Central Queensland Advertiser. National Library of Australia. 3 August 1867. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  15. ^ "Person Page - 38808". www.thepeerage.com. Archived from the original on 15 September 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  16. ^ "Fitzgibbon – suburb in City of Brisbane (entry 42576)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  17. ^ "History of Fitzgibbon". Our Brisbane. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 4 March 2007.

External links[edit]

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