Abraham Fitzgibbon

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

Career 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 ( gauge)

Fitzgibbon arrived in the colony of Queensland in June 1863. He was appointed first chief engineer of Queensland Railways after a rise through the ranks in the early stages of the railway department development. Armstrong observes the rise of Fitzgibbon over the rival engineers of the time The first operations of the Queensland Railways opened in 1865.Our journey – About Queensland Rail

There was debate regarding the choice of gauge, versus . It is claimed that Fitzgibbon said that the narrow gauge would be sufficient to last 25 or 30 years and was cheaper. Despite opposition from contemporaries, he successfully advocated for the use of narrow gauge or track in Australia. also at Harding identifies railway engineers came from other Australian colonies and were highly cvritical of the proposed gauge p.36 By 1867, the controversies included the termination of Fitzgibbon's contract.Termination of Fitzgibbon's contract The Brisbane Courier, Saturday 17 August 1867

Death and legacy Fitzgibbon died on 4 April 1887 at Moorside, Bushey Heath, Hertfordshire, England.

The Fitzgibbon suburb of Brisbane is named after Abraham Fitzgibbon.

Queensland railways continue to be gauge to the present day.

Abraham Fitzgibbon

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