Building the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Extract from Cavalcade of Australia: 1901–1951 (1951)
On 19 March 1932 the Sydney Harbour Bridge opened to the public. The event marked the end of almost a century of speculation and planning around a bridge or tunnel that would cross the harbour. In 1922 the New South Wales Parliament passed the Sydney Harbour Bridge Act and preparation for the building got underway. Construction began on the approaches to the span in 1923 and on the bridge itself in 1925. More than 1600 people worked on the bridge during its construction.
Scenes from a documentary which uses archival film to highlight and illustrate the main events that occurred in the history of Australia in the fifty years following Federation. On the celebration of Australia's Jubilee as a Commonwealth, Australian film production organisations, both governmental and commercial, made archival material from their libraries available for this film.
NFSA: 1396113 Documentary courtesy National Film and Sound Archive
Activities
1. What does this short film clip show? Summarise what you see and hear.
2. Does the film appear to have a main purpose or message? If so, what do you think it is?
3. Who made the film clip and when was it made? Use this information to try to work out why the film was made. Does this change what you think about the purpose of the film?
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