The present steel bridge stands at the site of the notorious Pt.Ellice Bridge Disaster. During the celebration of Queen Victoria's birthday in 1896, the former wooden bridge collapsed under the weight of an overloaded streetcar on its way to festivities in Esquimalt. The car plunged into the water below. Pleasure-boaters who had been enjoying a regatta nearby sprang into action, pulling those they could onto the lawns of the fashionable homes. Fifty-five of the 140 people on board died, crushed by falling timber or trapped inside the car. It was the worst accident of any kind in Victoria, and the worst streetcar disaster in the history of North America.
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