The building of a steel "through arch" bridge spanning Sydney Harbour was a colossal undertaking. The British firm Dorman Long and Company were given the daunting task of the bridge's design and construction. Supervising construction was Dr J.J.C. Bradfield of the NSW Department of Public Works. During the design phase bridges such as New York's Hell Gate bridge were used for creative inspiration.
An official ceremony on 28 July 1923 marked the "turning of the first sod" But before actual bridge construction could commence some preliminary work was required. Several construction sites were set up on the southern and northern shores of the harbour. At Millers Point in The Rocks on the southern side. And at Milsons Point in the North Shore at the northern end.
Arch construction itself began on 26 October 1928, and in less than two years, on Tuesday 19 August 1930, the two halves of the arch touched for the first time. Workers riveted both top and bottom sections of the arch together, and the arch became self-supporting, allowing the support cables to be removed. On 20 August 1930 the joining of the arches was celebrated by flying the flags of Australia and the United Kingdom. The deck for the roadway and railway were then constructed. The deck was completed in June 1931. On 19 January 1932, the first test train, a steam locomotive, safely crossed the bridge.
When complete, the bridge carried six lanes of road traffic on its main roadway. Additionally, two extra lanes of road traffic, which were formerly two tram tracks, were located on its eastern side. On its western side it had a footpath, two railway tracks, and a bicycle path. The main roadway across the bridge is known as the Bradfield Highway, named after the man who oversaw construction. The highway is approximately 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) long, making it one of the shortest highways in Australia.
The bridge was formally opened on Saturday, 19 March 1932. At the time, it was the world’s widest long-span bridge at 48.8 metres (160 feet). The Labor Premier of New South Wales, Jack Lang, was to open the bridge by cutting a ribbon at its southern end. However, just as Lang was about to cut the ribbon, a man in military uniform rode in on a horse, slashing the ribbon with his sword and opening the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the name of the people of New South Wales before the official ceremony began. This notorious man was Francis de Groot (see photo below). For his dastardly deed, he was convicted of offensive behaviour and fined £5 after a psychiatric test proved he was sane.
***
On 14 March 1932, Australia issued a set of three stamps of the same design to commemorate the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The task of designing stamps to commemorate such an epic moment in history was placed upon the shoulders of RA Harrison of the Note Printing Branch. The bridge was only partly constructed when work on the initial design of the commemorative began. Consequently, it was necessary to study drawings of the proposed design of the bridge. RA Harrison also took an avid interest in the progress of the bridge's construction. Once completed, the design was sent to FD Manley who engraved the dies.
The stamp design depicts the bridge in a foreshortened perspective and incorporates the landing sheds, the roadway, and a ferry in the foreground. To add a sense of proportion, the overseas liner RMS Orford was added to the design. It can be seen sailing under the bridge.
It is worth noting that because a massive number of the 2d stamps were required, it was decided to produce the bulk of them by the letterpress method on watermarked paper. The rest of the 2d, the 3d and 5/- stamps were all recess printed. Because the 2d stamps were printed using two different methods there are two different sizes to collect.
Until next time...
+-+Copy.jpg)
