The Arch That Cut the Sky — Part Five
Tsamouris, the Fastener Specialists©
Part Five
The completion of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932 established Sydney as a truly global city, giving it a landmark to compete with any of the modern world's great architectural marvels. With the largest single arch of its kind, it was as instantly recognizable as Paris's Eiffel Tower or New York's Chrysler Building. The ease of crossing the harbour was immediately felt across the city. The population of the North Shore increased, while the once-thriving ferry businesses declined. The Bridge soon became a host to various stunts and tourist attractions, with the southeast pylon opening as a popular lookout, offering uninterrupted views of the city and beyond.
To recoup the Bridge's significant construction and maintenance costs, tolls were introduced, inspiring clever workarounds from enterprising citizens. By the 1980s, the tens of millions of vehicles that had crossed the Bridge had recouped its original cost of USD 500 million (EUR 460 million) in tolls. However, the tolls were increased to pay for the Sydney Harbour Tunnel and ongoing maintenance costs.
Each year, a team of skilled workers labors for 200,000 hours to keep the Bridge in sound working order, with the intention of maintaining it for a thousand years. The exposed parts of the Bridge are repainted every five years, requiring 30,000 liters of its trademark steel-grey paint.
The Bridge has always attracted thrill-seekers determined to climb it, legally or not. For the last twenty years, the slightly less adventurous have been able to take the guided Harbour Bridge Climb over the arches, with the summit inspiring more than a few marriage proposals.
Over its 86 years, the Bridge has been a site of protest, civil action, and celebration in Sydney, with its first closure in 1946 to celebrate Victory Day at the end of World War Two. In May 2000, a record-breaking 250,000 Australians of Indigenous and non-Indigenous descent marched across the Bridge in the historic Walk for Reconciliation, acknowledging the dispossession of Australia's First Nations peoples.
Sydney is among the first places on Earth to welcome a new year, and staking out a prime viewing spot to celebrate the New Year's Eve fireworks display on the Harbour has become a cherished tradition. The two spectacular pyrotechnics shows at 9 pm and midnight take months to plan, with eight tonnes of rockets exploding in the sky over the Harbour, cascading down the Bridge in a raucous celebration of life.
The building of the Bridge played a significant role in the technical revolution of the 1930s, seen as evidence of Australia's industrial maturity in the mechanical age. It displaced the pastoral and agricultural way of life, ending the horse and buggy era, and introduced the age of steel bridges, commuter trains, and cars.
Today, the Harbour Bridge sits in a redefined Sydney as a symbol of pride and national identity, holding a deep emotional resonance for many Sydneysiders. As the writer Ruth Park described, "…[it] hangs there like the ghost of the wheel of fate, in a sky brindled with sunset, until darkness comes and vanishes away this remarkable shape, which is above all things, that sign of Sydney.”
The story is based on the podcast series "The Bridge: The Arch that Cut the Sky,” created with the support of the State Library of New South Wales Foundation. You can support it by listening at the thebridge.sl.nsw.gov.au.
Please note that the photographs used in this story are sourced from the State Library of New South Wales Foundation website for the podcast. These images are not our intellectual property and are used solely for non-commercial purposes.
Part Five
The completion of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932 established Sydney as a truly global city, giving it a landmark to compete with any of the modern world's great architectural marvels. With the largest single arch of its kind, it was as instantly recognizable as Paris's Eiffel Tower or New York's Chrysler Building. The ease of crossing the harbour was immediately felt across the city. The population of the North Shore increased, while the once-thriving ferry businesses declined. The Bridge soon became a host to various stunts and tourist attractions, with the southeast pylon opening as a popular lookout, offering uninterrupted views of the city and beyond.
To recoup the Bridge's significant construction and maintenance costs, tolls were introduced, inspiring clever workarounds from enterprising citizens. By the 1980s, the tens of millions of vehicles that had crossed the Bridge had recouped its original cost of USD 500 million (EUR 460 million) in tolls. However, the tolls were increased to pay for the Sydney Harbour Tunnel and ongoing maintenance costs.
Each year, a team of skilled workers labors for 200,000 hours to keep the Bridge in sound working order, with the intention of maintaining it for a thousand years. The exposed parts of the Bridge are repainted every five years, requiring 30,000 liters of its trademark steel-grey paint.
The Bridge has always attracted thrill-seekers determined to climb it, legally or not. For the last twenty years, the slightly less adventurous have been able to take the guided Harbour Bridge Climb over the arches, with the summit inspiring more than a few marriage proposals.
Over its 86 years, the Bridge has been a site of protest, civil action, and celebration in Sydney, with its first closure in 1946 to celebrate Victory Day at the end of World War Two. In May 2000, a record-breaking 250,000 Australians of Indigenous and non-Indigenous descent marched across the Bridge in the historic Walk for Reconciliation, acknowledging the dispossession of Australia's First Nations peoples.
Sydney is among the first places on Earth to welcome a new year, and staking out a prime viewing spot to celebrate the New Year's Eve fireworks display on the Harbour has become a cherished tradition. The two spectacular pyrotechnics shows at 9 pm and midnight take months to plan, with eight tonnes of rockets exploding in the sky over the Harbour, cascading down the Bridge in a raucous celebration of life.
The building of the Bridge played a significant role in the technical revolution of the 1930s, seen as evidence of Australia's industrial maturity in the mechanical age. It displaced the pastoral and agricultural way of life, ending the horse and buggy era, and introduced the age of steel bridges, commuter trains, and cars.
Today, the Harbour Bridge sits in a redefined Sydney as a symbol of pride and national identity, holding a deep emotional resonance for many Sydneysiders. As the writer Ruth Park described, "…[it] hangs there like the ghost of the wheel of fate, in a sky brindled with sunset, until darkness comes and vanishes away this remarkable shape, which is above all things, that sign of Sydney.”
The story is based on the podcast series "The Bridge: The Arch that Cut the Sky,” created with the support of the State Library of New South Wales Foundation. You can support it by listening at the thebridge.sl.nsw.gov.au.
Please note that the photographs used in this story are sourced from the State Library of New South Wales Foundation website for the podcast. These images are not our intellectual property and are used solely for non-commercial purposes.
The Arch That Cut the Sky — Part Five
Tsamouris, the Fastener Specialists©
Part Five
The completion of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932 established Sydney as a truly global city, giving it a landmark to compete with any of the modern world's great architectural marvels. With the largest single arch of its kind, it was as instantly recognizable as Paris's Eiffel Tower or New York's Chrysler Building. The ease of crossing the harbour was immediately felt across the city. The population of the North Shore increased, while the once-thriving ferry businesses declined. The Bridge soon became a host to various stunts and tourist attractions, with the southeast pylon opening as a popular lookout, offering uninterrupted views of the city and beyond.
To recoup the Bridge's significant construction and maintenance costs, tolls were introduced, inspiring clever workarounds from enterprising citizens. By the 1980s, the tens of millions of vehicles that had crossed the Bridge had recouped its original cost of USD 500 million (EUR 460 million) in tolls. However, the tolls were increased to pay for the Sydney Harbour Tunnel and ongoing maintenance costs.
Each year, a team of skilled workers labors for 200,000 hours to keep the Bridge in sound working order, with the intention of maintaining it for a thousand years. The exposed parts of the Bridge are repainted every five years, requiring 30,000 liters of its trademark steel-grey paint.
The Bridge has always attracted thrill-seekers determined to climb it, legally or not. For the last twenty years, the slightly less adventurous have been able to take the guided Harbour Bridge Climb over the arches, with the summit inspiring more than a few marriage proposals.
Over its 86 years, the Bridge has been a site of protest, civil action, and celebration in Sydney, with its first closure in 1946 to celebrate Victory Day at the end of World War Two. In May 2000, a record-breaking 250,000 Australians of Indigenous and non-Indigenous descent marched across the Bridge in the historic Walk for Reconciliation, acknowledging the dispossession of Australia's First Nations peoples.
Sydney is among the first places on Earth to welcome a new year, and staking out a prime viewing spot to celebrate the New Year's Eve fireworks display on the Harbour has become a cherished tradition. The two spectacular pyrotechnics shows at 9 pm and midnight take months to plan, with eight tonnes of rockets exploding in the sky over the Harbour, cascading down the Bridge in a raucous celebration of life.
The building of the Bridge played a significant role in the technical revolution of the 1930s, seen as evidence of Australia's industrial maturity in the mechanical age. It displaced the pastoral and agricultural way of life, ending the horse and buggy era, and introduced the age of steel bridges, commuter trains, and cars.
Today, the Harbour Bridge sits in a redefined Sydney as a symbol of pride and national identity, holding a deep emotional resonance for many Sydneysiders. As the writer Ruth Park described, "…[it] hangs there like the ghost of the wheel of fate, in a sky brindled with sunset, until darkness comes and vanishes away this remarkable shape, which is above all things, that sign of Sydney.”
The story is based on the podcast series "The Bridge: The Arch that Cut the Sky,” created with the support of the State Library of New South Wales Foundation. You can support it by listening at the thebridge.sl.nsw.gov.au.
Please note that the photographs used in this story are sourced from the State Library of New South Wales Foundation website for the podcast. These images are not our intellectual property and are used solely for non-commercial purposes.
Part Five
The completion of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932 established Sydney as a truly global city, giving it a landmark to compete with any of the modern world's great architectural marvels. With the largest single arch of its kind, it was as instantly recognizable as Paris's Eiffel Tower or New York's Chrysler Building. The ease of crossing the harbour was immediately felt across the city. The population of the North Shore increased, while the once-thriving ferry businesses declined. The Bridge soon became a host to various stunts and tourist attractions, with the southeast pylon opening as a popular lookout, offering uninterrupted views of the city and beyond.
To recoup the Bridge's significant construction and maintenance costs, tolls were introduced, inspiring clever workarounds from enterprising citizens. By the 1980s, the tens of millions of vehicles that had crossed the Bridge had recouped its original cost of USD 500 million (EUR 460 million) in tolls. However, the tolls were increased to pay for the Sydney Harbour Tunnel and ongoing maintenance costs.
Each year, a team of skilled workers labors for 200,000 hours to keep the Bridge in sound working order, with the intention of maintaining it for a thousand years. The exposed parts of the Bridge are repainted every five years, requiring 30,000 liters of its trademark steel-grey paint.
The Bridge has always attracted thrill-seekers determined to climb it, legally or not. For the last twenty years, the slightly less adventurous have been able to take the guided Harbour Bridge Climb over the arches, with the summit inspiring more than a few marriage proposals.
Over its 86 years, the Bridge has been a site of protest, civil action, and celebration in Sydney, with its first closure in 1946 to celebrate Victory Day at the end of World War Two. In May 2000, a record-breaking 250,000 Australians of Indigenous and non-Indigenous descent marched across the Bridge in the historic Walk for Reconciliation, acknowledging the dispossession of Australia's First Nations peoples.
Sydney is among the first places on Earth to welcome a new year, and staking out a prime viewing spot to celebrate the New Year's Eve fireworks display on the Harbour has become a cherished tradition. The two spectacular pyrotechnics shows at 9 pm and midnight take months to plan, with eight tonnes of rockets exploding in the sky over the Harbour, cascading down the Bridge in a raucous celebration of life.
The building of the Bridge played a significant role in the technical revolution of the 1930s, seen as evidence of Australia's industrial maturity in the mechanical age. It displaced the pastoral and agricultural way of life, ending the horse and buggy era, and introduced the age of steel bridges, commuter trains, and cars.
Today, the Harbour Bridge sits in a redefined Sydney as a symbol of pride and national identity, holding a deep emotional resonance for many Sydneysiders. As the writer Ruth Park described, "…[it] hangs there like the ghost of the wheel of fate, in a sky brindled with sunset, until darkness comes and vanishes away this remarkable shape, which is above all things, that sign of Sydney.”
The story is based on the podcast series "The Bridge: The Arch that Cut the Sky,” created with the support of the State Library of New South Wales Foundation. You can support it by listening at the thebridge.sl.nsw.gov.au.
Please note that the photographs used in this story are sourced from the State Library of New South Wales Foundation website for the podcast. These images are not our intellectual property and are used solely for non-commercial purposes.
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