Parts of the wreckage preserved as evidence

Royal Commission

Amid the nationwide grief and horror, then Premier Sir Henry Bolte announced the establishment of a Royal Commission to investigate the cause of the collapse.

The commission sat for 80 days and heard evidence from 52 witnesses, under oath and subject to examination and cross-examination.

Among the 319 exhibits received in evidence were correspondence, legal documents, plans, drawings and photographs.

The report, tabled in parliament in 1971, detailed a number of factors that contributed to the bridge’s failure and left no party associated with the collapse blameless.