The Sydney Harbour Bridge was officially opened on March 19th 1932 by New South wales Premier Jack
Lang, after six years of construction.
It is a steel arch bridge across Sydney Harbour which carries rail, vehicular and pedestrian
traffic between the Sydney south shore CBD and north shore.
The bridge is locally nicknamed 'The Coathanger' because of its arch-based design and, with the nearby
opera House, and magnificent harbour has become a renowned international icon of Australia.
Until 1967 it was Sydney's tallest structure. The Guinness Book of World Records note it as the
world's widest long-span bridge and the tallest steel arch bridge, measuring 134 metres (429.6 ft)
from top to water level, with a clearance for shipping under the deck is 49 metres.
After calling worldwide tenders in 1922, the New South Wales Government received twenty
proposals from six companies and on 24 March 1924 the contract (for Australian £4,217,721
11s 10d) was let to the English firm Dorman Long and Co of Middlesbrough which designed
and built it.
The general design was prepared by the NSW Department of Public Works, under Dr J.J.C Bradfield
while the detailed design and crucial erection process were the responsibility of the
contractors consulting engineer Ralph Freeman of Sir Douglas Fox and Partners and his associate
Mr. G.C Imbault.
The contractors, under Director of Construction, Lawrence Ennis, set up two workshops at Milsons
Point on the North Shore where the steel was fabricated.
In 1923, 800 homes and a high school campus were demolished in preparation for construction.
The owners of these homes received compensation, although the occupants did not.
The total length including approach spans is 1149 metres with an arch span of 503 metres. The total
steelwork weighs 52,800 tonnes, including 39,000 tonnes in the
arch.
The surface area requiring painting is roughly equal to the surface area of 60 sports fields and
there are huge hinges on either side at the base of the pylons to absorb expansion caused by the
summer sun.
The arch was successfully joined at 10pm on the 19th August, 1930 and the steel decking then
hung from the arch and in place within nine months, being built from the centre outwards to save
time moving the cranes.
The last of approximately six million Australian made rivets was driven through the deck on 21
January 1932 and in February 1932 the Bridge was test loaded using up to 96 steam locomotives placed
in various configurations across its span.
The bridge was formally opened on 19 March 1932. Officials included the state governor, Sir Philip
Game, and the Premier, Jack Lang. Lang was to cut a ribbon at the southern end to open the bridge
but was usurped by a man in military uniform on a horse, who slashed the ribbon and opened it
in the name of the people of Australia before the official ceremony began.
He was arrested, the ribbon retied and Lang performed his now hollow ceremony followed by a 21-gun
salute and an RAAF flyover.
Francis de Groot was convicted of offensive behaviour and fined £5 after a psychiatric
examination found him sane. He has now passed into Australian folklore. A similar ceremony on
the northern side by North Sydney's mayor, Alderman Primrose, proceeded without incident.
On 14 March 1932, three postage stamps were issued to commemorate the imminent opening of the bridge.
When it opened it cost a car six pence to cross. A horse and rider was 3 pence. These days
a return trip costs around $3,00 (paid by vehicles travelling south). Horses and riders are banned
but you can walk across free and bicycles are permitted in a special lane.
The toll was introduced to recoup the cost of its construction and was reached in the 1980s, but
the toll has not only been kept, but increased to pay for the Sydney Harbour Tunnel, completed in
August 1992, and constructed east of the bridge.
The bridge has been the site of 40 suicides, many of which took place within months of the
opening, during the Great Depression.
Sixteen
workers died during construction, but surprisingly only two from falling off the bridge.
Several more were injured from unsafe working practices undertaken whilst heating and inserting
its rivets, and deafness experienced by many of the workers in later years was blamed on
the project.
The total cost of the bridge was $10 million, double the estimate, and was
not paid off in full until 1988.
BRADFIELD
As Chief Engineer of Sydney Harbour Bridge and Metropolitan Railway Construction from 1912,
Dr Bradfield is regarded as the "father" of the Bridge as it was his vision, enthusiasm,
engineering expertise and detailed supervision of all aspects of its construction which
brought Sydney's long held dream into reality.
The highway across the bridge is named the Bradfield Highway in his honour as is the one
across the Story Bridge in Brisbane. They are the two shortest highways in Australia.
It now carries eight vehicle lanes, two train lines, a footway and a cycleway.
At each end of the bridge stands a pair of 89 m (276 ft) high concrete and granite pylons.
They serve no structural purpose and are primarily to visually balance the bridge itself. They
were never an essential part of the design but were added to allay concerns about structural
integrity.
Although added for aesthetic value, all four have now been put to use: a museum and tourist
centre with a lookout of the harbour is contained in the south eastern pylon. The south western
pylon is used by the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) as a base for their CCTV cameras
overlooking the bridge and the roads around that area.
The two at the north end are now venting chimneys for fumes from the Sydney Harbour Tunnel.
In 2006, the first complete repainting for many years commenced. A reason for the decision was
the concern that weight of the many layers of paint acquired over the years might be having a
destructive effect on the bridge's structure. Because of the previous regime of continuous
maintenance painting with lead-based paint, precautions had to be taken to prevent falling paint
from contaminating the harbour. This required that each section being painted be sealed off and
blasted to remove old paint which was then extracted by vacuum.
Paul Hogan worked on the bridge prior to becoming a comedian and actor.
BRIDGE CLIMB
The Bridge Climb is a popular Sydney activity taking you along the upper span of the arch on
catwalks and ladders to the summit, 134 metres above Sydney Harbour.
The steady incline is not for those who are not fit but provides 360 degree views of
Sydney, including east to the ocean, west to the mountains and the harbour city surrounds.
Until October 1998, this Climb was strictly off-limits to the public. Today, over two
million people, including many celebrities, have climbed to the summit making BridgeClimb a popular
experience of Sydney and the premier Sydney tourist attraction.
In 2006 BridgeClimb launched The Discovery Climb experience, that takes Climbers right into
the heart of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Traversing the suspension arch, the climb leads through the Bridge to touch the raw
steel and rivets and experience more visual evidence of Sydney Harbour Bridge history.
It visits stairs and catwalks never previously opened to the public and winds through
a tangle of hatchways and steel girders suspended above the traffic. It reaches the location
where the arch was joined for the first time making Sydney Harbour Bridge History, and
walkways used exclusively by maintenance teams until 2006.
At the top you will Climb between the arches to the summit, 134 metres above the water, and see
all of Sydney laid out before you.
Along the way, a Climb Leader will share the Bridge's rich history, leaving you in awe of this
incredible feat of engineering.
BridgeClimb Website