Today marks the 100-year anniversary of work starting on building the Sydney Harbour Bridge, a city-defining landmark that remains essential to the road and transport system.
On 28 July, 1923, thousands of people gathered at the site of what is now North Sydney train station to witness Richard Thomas Ball, NSW Minister for Public Works and Railways, sink a shovel into the dirt to signify the start of work on the northern approach to the Bridge.
The project became known as the “iron lung” for providing essential jobs during the Depression; it also created Granite Town near the south coast town of Moruya. the quarry that supplied all the granite to build the Bridge pylons.
It was anticipated the building of the Bridge would take ten years, but it was built and opened in less than nine on 19 March, 1932.
A century on, the critical work continues, and a dedicated team spends more than 19,000 labour hours each month carrying out maintenance work on the Bridge and in the Domain tunnel.
The team of about 120 people, including engineers, electricians, painters, carpenters and riggers work days, nights and weekends.
Some of the elements involved in maintaining the Bridge include:
- Painting a total steel surface of 485,000m²
- Maintaining over six million hand driven rivets
- Paint replacement which requires four coats of paint. The final coat is Heritage-listed “Sydney Harbour Bridge grey”
Premier of NSW Chris Minns said:
“The Sydney Harbour Bridge is an iconic landmark.
“Its construction created jobs at a time when work was scarce.
“It also forged a vital connection across the harbour that has made Sydney the great city that it is today.
“The sod-turning ceremony made global news in 1923.
“This event showed our state’s commitment to build what became the world’s largest steel arch bridge.
“The Bridge build project brought employment through the Depression, not only to Sydney but across NSW.
“It boosted the steelmaking industry of Newcastle, while Moruya played a pivotal role in the construction through the supply of granite for the pylons.”
NSW Minister for Roads John Graham said:
“The sod turn event for the Harbour Bridge was a pivotal moment for Sydney and the nation. What would Sydney be without our Bridge?
“Like all major projects, construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge came at a cost. It cost 14 lives of workers on site and two at Granite Town in Moruya, and it came at the cost of many homes that made way for the build.
“One hundred years on from this event, we appreciate the Bridge as a Sydney icon, a place at the heart of many celebrations – but also a vitally important piece of road and transport infrastructure that the system cannot do without.
“This anniversary is a chance to pay tribute to those workers who are ensuring the Bridge will be getting Sydney across the Harbour for another 100 years.”