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Majestic, dramatic, awe-inspiring -

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these are the bridges that are
worldwide icons

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as well as engineering marvels.

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She's beautiful.

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Each of them broke new ground -
the first, the biggest,

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the longest and the tallest.

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I'm Rob Bell, an engineer, and I am
on a global adventure to discover

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how and why these magnificent
structures were built

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and to learn about the

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sweat and the sacrifice that went
into their construction.

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Wahey!

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I am going to take you closer than
ever before.

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Oh, this is magnificent!

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Inspect them from every
conceivable angle.

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Oh, yeah!

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And meet the men and women who
keep them working round the clock,

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no matter what.

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Check this out!

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These are The World's Greatest
Bridges.

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Sydney, Australia's oldest and
largest city,

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and one of the world's most
beautiful waterfronts.

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It's known as the harbour city and
the very best way to arrive here has

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to be by boat, just as the first
European settlers did

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some 230 years ago.

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Sail into the harbour and you will
pass two world-renowned structures,

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the Sydney Opera House...
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..and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

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Rising to a height of 440 feet,

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it is the world's tallest
steel-arched bridge,

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connecting the northern suburbs of
Sydney with the city centre.

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It weighs more than 39,000 tonnes,

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spans 1,650 feet and is
160 feet wide.

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It carries eight lanes of traffic,
two railway lines,

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a footpath and a dedicated
cycle path.

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Every day, more than 200,000 cars
travel across it.

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When it opened on the 19th of March,
1932,

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it instantly became
a world-renowned landmark.

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Since then, millions have passed
across it, over it and under it.

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Like a giant, triumphing gateway,

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it signals your arrival here
into Australia.

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The bridge had taken a century from
first proposal to completion.

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The construction itself lasted
eight years and cost £6 million.

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And its arrival marked a new stage
in this young city's remarkable
evolution.

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Sydney was founded in 1788,

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when 11 British ships landed,
right about here.

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On board were more than 1,000
settlers, including some 850
convicts.

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The captain described this as
without exception

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the finest harbour in the world.

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He named it Port Jackson.

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Within four years of the first
shipload,

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another 4,000 convicts arrived.
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They were followed by the first free
settlers from Britain, who travelled

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here to make a new life.

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By 1871, 200,000 people called
it home.

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As the south side of the harbour
became crowded,

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some began settling directly
opposite.

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The north shore is so close, look,
you could swim to it.

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Yet to get there by land,

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you would have to travel a good 15
miles all the way round

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and in the 19th century, that
journey would have taken

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about a day.

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The alternative was a ferry.

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The first service was started in
1816 by an enterprising ex-convict

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from Jamaica.
Billy Blue, as he was known,

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plied his trade wearing
an old naval officer's coat.

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Demand was such that he soon had
a fleet of 11 boats.

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60 years on, and Sydney Cove had
been transformed into Circular Quay,

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and the hub of Sydney Harbour's
ever-growing ferry network.

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By 1904,

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the number of ferry passengers had
increased to 19 million a year.

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75 ferries were running every hour
to keep up with demand.

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This city's greatest natural
transport advantage, its harbour,

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had become a transport disaster.

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The solution everyone knew

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was a bridge between the south and
the north shores.

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In fact, this wasn't a new idea.
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Throughout the 19th century, various
bridge proposals had been submitted

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but had all been rejected by
successive governments.

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The designs were considered too
fantastical, too unsightly,

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too much of a risk to shipping or
simply too expensive.

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But by 1900,

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a solution was needed urgently so
the government launched a worldwide

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competition to find the best design
and construction plan.

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30 of the top entries were put on
public display

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here at the Queen Victoria Building.

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Once a market,
but now a smart and chic mall.

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But the judges deemed them all to be
unsatisfactory and too lacking in

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detail. The only answer,
a second competition.

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This time with a much more
detailed brief.

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The bridge had to allow a clearance
of 170 feet above the water.

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The main span needed to be 1,192
feet long

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and the deck a minimum of
60 feet wide.

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It also needed to accommodate
two railways, two roadways,

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two tram tracks and two footpaths.

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It was this submission from
Norman Selfe that won in the end.

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A cantilever bridge,

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a design where the beams are
anchored at just one end

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and supported by large towers.

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The judges advised the government
that construction should start

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immediately and be completed within
five-and-a-half years.

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But then, a change of government
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brought the entire project to a
grinding halt

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before it even got started.

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The designers were furious.

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Over a period of three years,

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they had invested a huge amount of
time and money

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into what they described

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as the Sydney bridge guessing
competition.

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And all for nothing.

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And much to the anger of the people,

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it was looking like Sydney Harbour
would never get its bridge.

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The Sydney Harbour Bridge,

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once the highest man-made structure
in Australia

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and still the most famous.

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Walking across, you get a real
appreciation

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of the scale of what is here.

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It is not just the size,
it is solidly built too.

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And you get a real sense of that
looking up.

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The width of the steel blades that
make up the arches.

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All the truss work between the
arches.

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Not to mention the imposing
granite base pylons at each end.

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It's seriously impressive.

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But at the beginning of
the 20th century,

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it seemed unlikely this magnificent
bridge was ever going to be built

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as the project was hit by one delay
after another.

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Norman Selfe's design,

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now more than ten years old,
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was outdated, and following his
death in 1911,

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the doors were left wide open for a
new generation of bridge designers.

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The bridge we see and admire today
might not have existed if it weren't

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for the drive and the determination
of one man,

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John Jacob Crew Bradfield - and even
if it had gone ahead without his

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involvement, it would certainly have
looked very different.

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Bradfield began his career as a
draughtsman.

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In 1891,

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he joined the New South Wales public
works department and went to live on

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Sydney's north shore.

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That meant travelling to work by
ferry

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so he understood commuters' demands

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for a bridge all too well.

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As an advising engineer on the
abortive bridge design competition,

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he witnessed what a farce it had
been.

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But in 1912, when the government

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took another look at building a
bridge,

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he was determined to make it happen.

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After being appointed chief engineer
of the Harbour Bridge and

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Metropolitan Railway construction,

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Bradfield submitted two designs
himself.

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In 1913, one of these was accepted.

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It was a cantilever bridge

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with each span built outside with
from huge piers.

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Steel trusses were to be used to
give it strength and rigidity.

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Connecting Dawes Point on the south
shore to Milsons Point on the north,

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it would carry four lines of
railway,

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two roadways and a footpath.

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Although still a cantilever design,

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it was far more ambitious than any
past submission.

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The budget was agreed,

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the design was agreed and the
time frame was agreed.

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But then the First World War
broke out.

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The money for the project was
diverted to the war effort and once
again,

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the bridge was cancelled.

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It was to take a further eight years
before the state government

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were once again in a position to
consider Bradfield's proposal.

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Luckily for them, Bradfield was
a patient and determined man,

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something his grandson Peter
remembers well.

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I think he, he knew how important it
was to weld the city together to,

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to get the east and the north and
the south and the west together

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and that bridge was absolutely
essential.

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He was a visionary in many senses.

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Always extremely meticulous in
everything he did.

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He didn't have a localised view of
things,

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he had a national view of things.

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So dedicated was Bradfield that he
travelled the globe to meet

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the world's top bridge building
companies,

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learning all he could about the
latest construction technologies

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and techniques.
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When he returned home,

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he was no longer wedded to his
cantilever design.

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Instead, he asked the government to
accept submissions

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for an arched bridge.

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The main reason Bradfield changed
his mind was a practical one.

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Arches are naturally incredibly
strong and engineers have been using

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them since ancient times and
nature's been using them even
longer.

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Take this eggshell, for example,
or half an eggshell.

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The shape of it creates a natural
arch

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and it's incredible for something

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so small and so thin how much force
it will take before it starts

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cracking.

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Let me show you. Right.

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There we go, well, it easily
takes the weight of the tray,

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but let's load it up.

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Bottle of water here.

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Let's pop that on top.

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It easily takes the weight of one
bottle of water.

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All right, let's try another one.

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Two bottles of water, easy peasy.

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It's the arch that is taking all of
that force.

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Because I'm trying to compress it,

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those forces pushing down are taken
out through the sides of the arch or

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through the structure of the
eggshell and into supports below,

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or the table in this case.

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Third bottle, let's have a look.
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Fourth bottle, let's see what
happens.

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Taking this up to 2.4, almost
2.5kg of weight now.

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It's still staying strong.

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Let's try a fifth bottle.

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Now, this is going to take it up
to...

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..three kilos.

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Will it take it?

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Our eggshell there took five bottles
of water but not quite six.

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That's three kilograms of weight it
could take down.

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And all because of that arch shape.

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It's definitely smashed.

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Before construction tenders for this
new arch design were even accepted,

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Bradfield began preparing
the ground.
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On the 28th of July 1923,

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the turning of the first sod
ceremony

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took place on the north shore.

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What should have been a cause for
celebration was for many a time of

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great concern as 500 houses in the
immediate area

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were compulsory purchased and
destroyed.

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Some people wrote letters to the
government.

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This one's from a Mr Lockhart,

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an 82-year-old who stood to lose his
furniture business.

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He writes, "Dear Sir,

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"my wife wrote some weeks ago re
compensation for loss of home and
means of living.

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"In reply, you stated that all the
department could grant would be the

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"cost of cartage. The amount is
small but would be very acceptable
as we have no

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"means and are both too old to go
out to work."

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Another letter, this one from
a Mrs Pitcairn,

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a widow whose daughter taught
music at home.

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She writes, "My one desire is
sufficient to get a home again.

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"Indeed, since we lost our home,

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"we've had to sell many things for
necessities to keep out of debt."

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She goes on, "Through the bridge,
everything is taken from us.

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"At this time, I had only one wish -

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"to take my own life, and only my
religion held me back."

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Though some people in the government
may have been sympathetic to these

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pleas, they were afraid of setting
an expensive precedent.

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A blanket policy was laid out.

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00:15:01,435 --> 00:15:03,293
There would be no compensation.

243
00:15:05,514 --> 00:15:08,988
Over on the South Shore,
in an area called the Rocks,

244
00:15:09,028 --> 00:15:10,926
the residents had even less sway.

245
00:15:12,138 --> 00:15:14,076
It was this area where the poorer,

246
00:15:14,116 --> 00:15:17,550
less fortunate members of society
made their homes,

247
00:15:17,590 --> 00:15:20,620
packed with tiny bars,
brothels and hovels.

248
00:15:21,791 --> 00:15:25,588
The government wasted no time
driving these residents from their

249
00:15:25,627 --> 00:15:28,576
homes before auctioning them off to
building supply merchants

250
00:15:28,616 --> 00:15:30,434
who demolished them.

251
00:15:31,605 --> 00:15:34,876
When it came to the government's
shiny new bridge,

252
00:15:34,917 --> 00:15:37,825
it was far more concerned with what
it would look like

253
00:15:37,865 --> 00:15:40,248
than the effects
on the local population.

254
00:15:42,024 --> 00:15:45,417
Bradfield had drummed up interest in
the project during his

255
00:15:45,458 --> 00:15:47,639
round-the-world fact-finding tour

256
00:15:47,679 --> 00:15:50,587
and he'd since received more than
20 designs from

257
00:15:50,627 --> 00:15:53,697
companies based in the
United States, in Britain,

258
00:15:53,738 --> 00:15:56,363
in Canada, as well as here in
Australia.

259
00:15:56,403 --> 00:16:01,654
And on the 24th of March 1924,
he made his decision.

260
00:16:01,694 --> 00:16:06,419
He awarded the contract to the
English firm Dorman Long and company

261
00:16:06,460 --> 00:16:09,367
and their consultant designer,
Sir Ralph Freeman.

262
00:16:11,387 --> 00:16:14,336
Bridge A3, as it was known,

263
00:16:14,376 --> 00:16:18,494
would be the largest structure
Australia had ever seen.

264
00:16:18,535 --> 00:16:24,392
It would be strong and it would look
strong and its granite-faced pylons

265
00:16:24,432 --> 00:16:28,834
here would, according to Bradfield
anyway, give it an air of dignity.

266
00:16:29,844 --> 00:16:34,812
The design provided for a single,
great, central arch

267
00:16:34,852 --> 00:16:36,751
spanning 1,650 feet,

268
00:16:36,791 --> 00:16:40,992
crossing Sydney Harbour from north
to south in a single stride

269
00:16:41,032 --> 00:16:46,443
and rising at its centre to a height
of 440 feet.

270
00:16:46,484 --> 00:16:49,270
From this, the trackway was
suspended

271
00:16:49,310 --> 00:16:53,431
at an average height of 170 feet
above sea level,

272
00:16:53,471 --> 00:16:58,559
passing off the arch at either end
onto a series of five approach spans

273
00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:02,679
formed of horizontal girder
structures on granite piers.

274
00:17:04,254 --> 00:17:10,070
At 50,000 tonnes, this would be the
world's heaviest structure.

275
00:17:10,111 --> 00:17:14,028
The steel sections and even the
rivets holding them together would

276
00:17:14,068 --> 00:17:17,139
be the largest ever produced for
a bridge project.

277
00:17:17,178 --> 00:17:18,430
20 years earlier,

278
00:17:18,471 --> 00:17:22,106
he'd considered an arched bridge to
be a bit of an eyesore,

279
00:17:22,146 --> 00:17:26,953
but now he was a total convert and
had completely ditched his original

280
00:17:26,993 --> 00:17:29,780
proposal of a cantilevered bridge.

281
00:17:29,820 --> 00:17:33,374
Bradfield had been won over to the
steel-arched bridge design after

282
00:17:33,415 --> 00:17:36,565
seeing New York's Hell Gate Bridge.

283
00:17:36,606 --> 00:17:42,906
Built in 1916, it was the first
steel arch to span 1,000 feet.

284
00:17:42,946 --> 00:17:46,622
Although only a fraction the size
of the Sydney Harbour Bridge,

285
00:17:46,662 --> 00:17:49,045
they bear an uncanny resemblance,

286
00:17:49,085 --> 00:17:52,073
even down to the decorative
stone pylons.

287
00:17:53,891 --> 00:17:59,142
Bradfield estimated that the steel
arch would cost £350,000 less than

288
00:17:59,182 --> 00:18:04,311
the cantilever bridge, and with new
advances in steel making it both

289
00:18:04,351 --> 00:18:05,846
lighter and stronger,

290
00:18:05,886 --> 00:18:10,894
the arch, to Bradfield, was becoming
not just practical but irresistible.

291
00:18:12,550 --> 00:18:16,468
Bradfield had approved the design
by Dorman Long and is now the

292
00:18:16,508 --> 00:18:19,174
responsibility for getting it built
largely fell

293
00:18:19,214 --> 00:18:23,010
to their English director
of construction, Lawrence Ennis.

294
00:18:24,141 --> 00:18:28,503
During a 43-year career, he'd built
bridges all over the world.

295
00:18:28,544 --> 00:18:32,381
For this latest project, he moved
to Australia,

296
00:18:32,422 --> 00:18:36,378
describing it as the most difficult
he'd ever encountered.

297
00:18:38,237 --> 00:18:40,660
His task was Herculean.

298
00:18:40,700 --> 00:18:45,224
It would take five years before
construction of the giant steel arch

299
00:18:45,264 --> 00:18:49,182
even got under way. Before that,
there were plans to be drawn up,

300
00:18:49,222 --> 00:18:53,866
workshops and machinery to be built,
and granite to be quarried.

301
00:18:53,908 --> 00:18:56,411
And eventually, once the work began,

302
00:18:56,451 --> 00:18:59,683
there would be those that would give
their lives for the bridge.

303
00:19:08,609 --> 00:19:10,871
The Sydney Harbour Bridge.

304
00:19:10,911 --> 00:19:13,293
After years of argument and delay,

305
00:19:13,334 --> 00:19:17,696
its construction finally started
in 1923.

306
00:19:17,736 --> 00:19:21,412
But it would still be another five
years before the famous steel arch

307
00:19:21,452 --> 00:19:22,542
would begin to appear.

308
00:19:24,522 --> 00:19:29,489
Granite was needed to encase the
reinforced concrete twin-towered
pylons

309
00:19:29,529 --> 00:19:31,226
standing either side of the arch.

310
00:19:32,356 --> 00:19:34,498
290 feet high,

311
00:19:34,538 --> 00:19:39,383
they don't actually serve any
structural purpose but Bradfield
insisted on

312
00:19:39,424 --> 00:19:42,736
them because they made the bridge
look reassuringly sturdy.

313
00:19:44,554 --> 00:19:47,826
The first step was finding a nearby
granite quarry

314
00:19:47,866 --> 00:19:49,521
accessible from Sydney.

315
00:19:49,562 --> 00:19:53,034
And what better way to look at what
they found than from the air?
316
00:19:54,408 --> 00:19:57,518
The granite itself came from just
down there,

317
00:19:57,558 --> 00:19:59,336
at a place called Moruya,

318
00:19:59,376 --> 00:20:03,051
about 170 miles south of Sydney
by sea.

319
00:20:03,092 --> 00:20:07,897
It's been quarried here since 1850
and was once described as the best

320
00:20:07,938 --> 00:20:09,554
granite outside of Aberdeen.

321
00:20:11,855 --> 00:20:14,158
An incredible 9,000 square
kilometres

322
00:20:14,198 --> 00:20:16,501
of Australia's
south-eastern coast is

323
00:20:16,541 --> 00:20:21,104
made up of granite, so why did they
choose Moruya above

324
00:20:21,144 --> 00:20:25,628
all the other sites?
Well, the answer was quantity,

325
00:20:25,668 --> 00:20:29,020
quality, and ease of access to
the Moruya River.

326
00:20:31,484 --> 00:20:33,099
Three steamships were built

327
00:20:33,141 --> 00:20:35,806
specially to transport the rock down
the river

328
00:20:35,846 --> 00:20:38,834
and then across the sea to Sydney.

329
00:20:38,875 --> 00:20:41,096
But first, it had to be mined.

330
00:20:42,228 --> 00:20:45,943
At the time, Moruya was a tiny
community and they didn't have

331
00:20:45,983 --> 00:20:48,325
the necessary skilled manpower,

332
00:20:48,366 --> 00:20:51,395
so Dorman Long went on a
recruitment drive.

333
00:20:52,607 --> 00:20:55,919
John Gilmore was one of the workers
they signed up.

334
00:20:55,959 --> 00:20:57,615
In 1924,

335
00:20:57,655 --> 00:21:01,047
he, along with his wife, Mary, and
their nine children

336
00:21:01,088 --> 00:21:04,319
moved from Scotland
out to Moruya.

337
00:21:04,359 --> 00:21:07,348
The work was hard and the hours
long,

338
00:21:07,388 --> 00:21:11,548
but soon a bustling community was
established next to the quarry in

339
00:21:11,589 --> 00:21:14,093
an area that became known as
Granite Town.

340
00:21:14,133 --> 00:21:15,709
At its height, then,

341
00:21:15,749 --> 00:21:18,536
roughly how many people would have
been living here in Granite Town?

342
00:21:18,576 --> 00:21:20,030
Over 300.

343
00:21:20,070 --> 00:21:24,271
Wow.At the height of the works,
too, there were 64 children at the
school.

344
00:21:24,311 --> 00:21:26,331
So paint a picture for me, then.

345
00:21:26,372 --> 00:21:28,633
What would we have seen here in
Granite Town

346
00:21:28,673 --> 00:21:30,248
if we'd had been here back then?

347
00:21:30,288 --> 00:21:33,640
There were 72 cottages made of
timber.

348
00:21:33,681 --> 00:21:37,155
There were bachelors' quarters
for the single men.

349
00:21:37,195 --> 00:21:40,385
There was a post office, a
cooperative store,

350
00:21:40,426 --> 00:21:41,799
a school and a hall.

351
00:21:41,839 --> 00:21:44,303
So this became its own
community, then?

352
00:21:44,344 --> 00:21:47,373
Yes, yes. They would enjoy social
activities in the hall,

353
00:21:47,413 --> 00:21:49,876
so practically every Saturday night,
it was the place to be.

354
00:21:49,916 --> 00:21:51,937
They'd have concerts,

355
00:21:51,977 --> 00:21:58,237
the Italians had a band and the
Scottish enjoyed the dancing.

356
00:21:58,277 --> 00:22:00,862
And then the quarry itself was quite
nearby, was it?

357
00:22:00,902 --> 00:22:03,002
Yes, just over there.It's just over
that hill?

358
00:22:03,043 --> 00:22:04,901
Yes.I mean, it is really close by.

359
00:22:04,941 --> 00:22:08,698
Very close by. When they would blast
the rock away from the quarry

360
00:22:08,738 --> 00:22:13,140
face, there are memoirs of people
recording things falling off shelves

361
00:22:13,180 --> 00:22:15,685
and...Really?Yes.Because of the
vibration?Yes.

362
00:22:15,724 --> 00:22:20,248
It's this very same quarry which
provided the Sydney Harbour Bridge

363
00:22:20,289 --> 00:22:25,902
with around 50,000 tonnes of
numbered stones, each one dug,

364
00:22:25,942 --> 00:22:30,103
shaped and then shipped to their
destination 200 miles north.

365
00:22:31,275 --> 00:22:34,829
Whilst I'm here, I can't resist
trying my hand
366
00:22:34,869 --> 00:22:36,888
at a bit of stone masonry.

367
00:22:36,928 --> 00:22:41,291
What were the techniques those
quarrymen were using to get the
granite so...

368
00:22:41,331 --> 00:22:43,714
Well, so beautiful and so
pristine

369
00:22:43,754 --> 00:22:45,894
for the Sydney Harbour Bridge?

370
00:22:45,935 --> 00:22:49,367
Once they'd produced that large
block from the quarry face,

371
00:22:49,408 --> 00:22:52,720
then they moved it out as far as
they could and then started cutting
it up

372
00:22:52,761 --> 00:22:55,466
into smaller blocks using feathers
and wedges.

373
00:22:55,506 --> 00:23:00,717
We've got a bit of a demonstration
set up for you on a smaller section
of stone.OK.

374
00:23:00,757 --> 00:23:04,191
So, holes would have been drilled in
the line where you wanted to cause

375
00:23:04,231 --> 00:23:08,996
the split. And the feathers and
wedges, or feathers and plugs,

376
00:23:09,037 --> 00:23:10,046
they go into the hole.

377
00:23:11,097 --> 00:23:14,611
OK.A wedge would fit between them.
378
00:23:14,651 --> 00:23:17,317
So the idea...
So these, the feathers here,

379
00:23:17,357 --> 00:23:20,467
they sit down into the rock, down in
the hole that you drilled,

380
00:23:20,507 --> 00:23:23,334
and then as you drive a wedge
through,

381
00:23:23,375 --> 00:23:26,364
I mean, you can see what
happens there.

382
00:23:26,404 --> 00:23:29,312
The feathers get separated and
ideally then,

383
00:23:29,352 --> 00:23:31,532
that's separating the rock on each
side of it?

384
00:23:31,572 --> 00:23:34,521
That's right. So, the feathers are
designed and the wedge so that there

385
00:23:34,562 --> 00:23:36,663
is equal pressure on both sides.

386
00:23:36,703 --> 00:23:39,448
So, we've got our feathers and
wedges all nicely lined up

387
00:23:39,490 --> 00:23:41,710
along the line we want to split
the rock.

388
00:23:41,751 --> 00:23:44,578
Is it brute force now?
Yeah, it's brute force now, yeah.

389
00:23:44,618 --> 00:23:48,577
Just remember, a few taps on each
one about the same strength
390
00:23:48,617 --> 00:23:51,120
and go along to each one and then
come back again.

391
00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:54,715
OK.And keep on doing that process
until it splits.

392
00:23:54,756 --> 00:23:58,673
I'm actually quite excited to get
involved and see if I can split this

393
00:23:58,714 --> 00:24:00,814
enormous chunk of granite with just

394
00:24:00,854 --> 00:24:02,955
what is a relatively small tool in
my hands here.

395
00:24:02,995 --> 00:24:06,267
But done the right way,
fingers crossed...

396
00:24:06,307 --> 00:24:08,003
Right, let's give it a shot.

397
00:24:11,153 --> 00:24:12,849
That's not too hard?No, it's good.

398
00:24:12,891 --> 00:24:16,121
OK, good. I tell you, this feels
like it is

399
00:24:16,161 --> 00:24:19,150
quite a nice, delicate process,
actually.

400
00:24:21,694 --> 00:24:23,189
So now I come back through?Yes.

401
00:24:26,744 --> 00:24:28,156
Wahey!

402
00:24:28,197 --> 00:24:30,216
Has that gone all the way through?
Yes.

403
00:24:30,256 --> 00:24:32,074
It's definitely started.

404
00:24:32,114 --> 00:24:33,972
Let's have a look.

405
00:24:34,012 --> 00:24:35,831
Yeah. As you were talking to me.

406
00:24:35,871 --> 00:24:37,324
Whoa, look at that!

407
00:24:42,656 --> 00:24:43,664
Look at that!

408
00:24:45,321 --> 00:24:47,543
Look at this beautiful clean
granite.

409
00:24:47,583 --> 00:24:52,349
So, that's the finish that I imagine
Bradfield looked at and said, "Yeah,

410
00:24:52,389 --> 00:24:54,610
"that's the finish that I want to
see on these blocks."

411
00:24:54,651 --> 00:24:57,599
Really? It wouldn't have needed much
more work than that

412
00:24:57,639 --> 00:24:58,731
on a nice clean split?

413
00:24:58,771 --> 00:25:01,921
Yeah, if you can get it exactly
right for all the bridgework.

414
00:25:01,961 --> 00:25:04,303
I mean, that is stunning, though.

415
00:25:04,344 --> 00:25:06,202
I'm so pleased with that.
416
00:25:06,243 --> 00:25:07,777
Over seven years,

417
00:25:07,818 --> 00:25:13,593
a total of 173,000 blocks of stone
were produced this way.

418
00:25:13,633 --> 00:25:16,258
Each of them hewn, cut,

419
00:25:16,298 --> 00:25:18,641
dressed and arranged into position

420
00:25:18,682 --> 00:25:22,640
like a giant jigsaw puzzle
before their shipment.

421
00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:25,427
The quarry also provided the bridge
builders

422
00:25:25,467 --> 00:25:27,244
with a further 18,000 metres

423
00:25:27,284 --> 00:25:32,858
of finished stone and 200,000 yards
of crushed stone for use in

424
00:25:32,898 --> 00:25:34,715
the concrete foundations.

425
00:25:34,756 --> 00:25:39,400
Foundations on which the bridge
could finally take shape.

426
00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:41,501
Now, the bridge starts and finishes,

427
00:25:41,541 --> 00:25:46,064
rises and falls, here, from this
super-sized hinge.

428
00:25:46,104 --> 00:25:47,923
And there are four of these in total

429
00:25:47,963 --> 00:25:51,719
- two on this side and another two
on the other side.

430
00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:54,547
And you need the flexibility of
these hinges.

431
00:25:54,587 --> 00:25:59,150
You couldn't have it locked down
into the concrete foundation,

432
00:25:59,190 --> 00:26:02,260
not just because of the phenomenal
winds that blow through here

433
00:26:02,300 --> 00:26:04,361
but because of the way the steel

434
00:26:04,401 --> 00:26:07,430
expands and contracts in
the Australian sun.

435
00:26:07,470 --> 00:26:11,630
On a really hot day here, the arch
can rise

436
00:26:11,670 --> 00:26:14,902
an incredible 18cm.

437
00:26:14,942 --> 00:26:16,275
Without these hinges,

438
00:26:16,315 --> 00:26:19,061
there'd just be too much stress on
the steel,

439
00:26:19,101 --> 00:26:20,919
causing it to bend and buckle

440
00:26:20,960 --> 00:26:22,252
and eventually fail.

441
00:26:23,262 --> 00:26:24,796
As well as expansion,

442
00:26:24,838 --> 00:26:30,128
a steel bridge of this size exerts a
weight of around 20,000 tonnes on

443
00:26:30,168 --> 00:26:32,874
each hinge, so the hinges had to
be built

444
00:26:32,914 --> 00:26:35,378
on top of huge, angled foundations.

445
00:26:36,590 --> 00:26:40,427
Work on these foundations began
in 1926.

446
00:26:40,467 --> 00:26:45,030
Four large holes, 39-feet deep, were
dug and then filled

447
00:26:45,070 --> 00:26:48,019
with a special concrete mix.

448
00:26:48,059 --> 00:26:51,734
In order to bear the enormous load
of the bridge without cracking,

449
00:26:51,775 --> 00:26:57,874
the concrete had to be laid in
one, continuous 14-hour pour.

450
00:26:57,914 --> 00:27:01,145
Once the foundations and hinges were
in place,

451
00:27:01,185 --> 00:27:04,942
work could begin on these -
the towers or pylons,

452
00:27:04,982 --> 00:27:08,779
each of them
encased in the granite from Moruya.

453
00:27:08,819 --> 00:27:11,040
And only then could they finally

454
00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:15,201
begin construction of the arch
across the harbour -

455
00:27:15,241 --> 00:27:16,857
not before time.

456
00:27:16,897 --> 00:27:21,905
By 1928, the stretch of water was
dangerously crowded.

457
00:27:21,945 --> 00:27:23,278
A few months earlier,

458
00:27:23,319 --> 00:27:27,478
a ferry full of schoolchildren
collided with a steamship.

459
00:27:27,518 --> 00:27:31,355
It sank immediately and 40 people
drowned.

460
00:27:31,395 --> 00:27:35,152
For the people of Sydney, the bridge
couldn't come soon enough.

461
00:27:38,261 --> 00:27:41,129
But there were still big challenges
ahead.

462
00:27:41,169 --> 00:27:45,774
Not least how to support the arch as
it was built across the deep waters

463
00:27:45,815 --> 00:27:50,499
of the harbour. The task fell to
Dorman Long's consultant designer

464
00:27:50,540 --> 00:27:54,537
Ralph Freeman, a long-standing
expert in this field.

465
00:27:56,679 --> 00:28:00,879
Until the two ends of the arch being
built from the north and south
shores

466
00:28:00,919 --> 00:28:03,746
had extended enough to meet in
the middle,

467
00:28:03,786 --> 00:28:07,947
Freeman needed a way to support the
weight of all that steel sticking

468
00:28:07,987 --> 00:28:09,764
out from the land.

469
00:28:09,805 --> 00:28:14,369
The answer came from the famous
Zambezi River arched bridge beneath

470
00:28:14,409 --> 00:28:18,164
Victoria Falls, which Freeman helped
build in 1905.

471
00:28:19,377 --> 00:28:22,850
In order for the arch to be built
across the deep ravine,

472
00:28:22,890 --> 00:28:27,252
Freeman devised a system using thick
steel cables anchored in place to

473
00:28:27,293 --> 00:28:31,412
hold the arch up on both sides
whilst it was constructed,

474
00:28:31,452 --> 00:28:35,169
a method he now intended to use with
the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

475
00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:41,105
The cables ran down through these
iron pipes,

476
00:28:41,146 --> 00:28:44,417
which were fixed into this
concrete saddle,

477
00:28:44,458 --> 00:28:48,375
before heading down
into a tunnel 40 metres deep and

478
00:28:48,415 --> 00:28:50,596
being pinned into the ground.
479
00:28:50,637 --> 00:28:54,959
Just as the foundations and hinges
are critical today for the bridge to

480
00:28:54,999 --> 00:28:57,301
stand up, this saddle,

481
00:28:57,341 --> 00:29:00,936
the tunnel and all 1,600 miles of
steel cable

482
00:29:00,976 --> 00:29:03,803
were essential during its
construction.

483
00:29:06,873 --> 00:29:10,346
Although the two sides of the arch
were worked on simultaneously,

484
00:29:10,386 --> 00:29:14,223
the southern end was built slightly
ahead of the northern end to detect

485
00:29:14,264 --> 00:29:16,202
any errors and help with alignment.

486
00:29:18,586 --> 00:29:21,009
The steel girders were hauled from
barges

487
00:29:21,049 --> 00:29:26,703
by two specially built creeper
cranes, each weighing 575 tonnes.

488
00:29:28,642 --> 00:29:30,620
As they put a new panel into place,

489
00:29:30,661 --> 00:29:33,610
they crept out onto it to put
the next section in.

490
00:29:35,588 --> 00:29:42,172
Assembling the bridge was a mammoth
task involving some 1,400 riveters,

491
00:29:42,212 --> 00:29:46,938
boilermakers, steel constructors
and riggers every year.

492
00:29:46,978 --> 00:29:49,886
The work was hard and it was hot.

493
00:29:51,420 --> 00:29:53,520
It was also dangerous.

494
00:29:53,561 --> 00:29:56,712
There were no handrails or steps
like there are today.

495
00:29:56,752 --> 00:29:59,579
Instead, men would climb up on
the rivets

496
00:29:59,619 --> 00:30:02,487
or, using one of these
so-called podgers,

497
00:30:02,527 --> 00:30:06,929
a kind of pointy-end spanner that
they'd jam into the rivet holes

498
00:30:06,969 --> 00:30:10,403
and use as hand and foot holds,
a bit like mountaineers.

499
00:30:10,443 --> 00:30:13,351
But even before the arches had
left the grounds,

500
00:30:13,391 --> 00:30:16,380
seven men had lost their lives.

501
00:30:16,420 --> 00:30:20,823
The first two recorded deaths
were at the Moruya granite quarry.

502
00:30:20,864 --> 00:30:24,176
The earliest was in April 1926.

503
00:30:24,216 --> 00:30:26,477
A man was sitting on the body of
a crane
504
00:30:26,517 --> 00:30:29,951
when it swung round and severed
his leg.

505
00:30:29,991 --> 00:30:34,232
The second came less than a year
later when a large block of granite

506
00:30:34,272 --> 00:30:35,847
toppled from a ledge,

507
00:30:35,887 --> 00:30:39,118
crushing one of the workmen below
against the quarry wall,

508
00:30:39,158 --> 00:30:40,330
killing him.

509
00:30:41,622 --> 00:30:46,469
In all, 16 men gave their lives
building this bridge.

510
00:30:46,509 --> 00:30:50,185
Nearly all of them were killed as a
result of construction accidents.

511
00:30:50,225 --> 00:30:53,456
Only two died falling from this
steel arch.

512
00:30:55,516 --> 00:31:00,565
But amongst the deaths there were
also some incredibly lucky escapes.

513
00:31:00,605 --> 00:31:04,967
The more celebrated involved that of
a riveter named Vince Kelly.

514
00:31:06,380 --> 00:31:11,065
Vince was working on the road deck
level, about 150 feet above the
water,

515
00:31:11,105 --> 00:31:14,538
fixing rivets with his powerful
pneumatic gun when
516
00:31:14,579 --> 00:31:17,244
he slipped and fell off
the platform.

517
00:31:17,284 --> 00:31:19,143
As an experienced diver,

518
00:31:19,183 --> 00:31:23,384
he instinctively knew his best
chances of cheating death

519
00:31:23,424 --> 00:31:24,958
were by straightening his body,

520
00:31:24,999 --> 00:31:28,997
pointing his toes, and raising his
arms above his head.

521
00:31:29,037 --> 00:31:31,986
By turning himself into a kind of
human spear,

522
00:31:32,026 --> 00:31:37,357
he'd reduce the impact as he hit the
water at more than 80mph.

523
00:31:37,397 --> 00:31:42,083
But still, his chances of survival
were less than one in ten.

524
00:31:42,123 --> 00:31:46,162
Remarkably, Vince's technique worked
and he did survive,

525
00:31:46,202 --> 00:31:49,877
breaking six ribs but otherwise none
the worse when plucked from

526
00:31:49,918 --> 00:31:52,786
the river. For his extraordinary
feat of survival,

527
00:31:52,826 --> 00:31:55,856
he was awarded a special
commemorative gold medal.
528
00:32:00,096 --> 00:32:05,063
Despite the risks, the bridge would
become a life-saver for many others.

529
00:32:05,104 --> 00:32:07,325
Before the 1929 Wall Street crash,

530
00:32:07,365 --> 00:32:10,839
which sent the world's economy
spiralling into depression,

531
00:32:10,879 --> 00:32:15,039
unemployment here in Australia was
already 10%.

532
00:32:15,079 --> 00:32:18,149
Afterwards, it more than doubled.

533
00:32:18,189 --> 00:32:20,007
But this construction project

534
00:32:20,047 --> 00:32:22,592
continued to provide job
opportunities to

535
00:32:22,633 --> 00:32:26,064
men who otherwise may have become
destitute.

536
00:32:26,105 --> 00:32:29,054
It kept on breathing life into
the city,

537
00:32:29,094 --> 00:32:32,810
so much so it was given
the nickname "the iron lung".

538
00:32:34,426 --> 00:32:36,162
As the economy worsened,

539
00:32:36,202 --> 00:32:39,110
working hours were cut so more men
could be employed.

540
00:32:40,161 --> 00:32:42,140
In such desperate times,
541
00:32:42,180 --> 00:32:45,532
seeing the arch gradually stretch
across the harbour,

542
00:32:45,573 --> 00:32:48,279
the two sides getting closer and
closer,

543
00:32:48,319 --> 00:32:50,904
gave Australians something to be
proud of.

544
00:32:52,478 --> 00:32:55,710
Finally, on the 19th of August 1930,

545
00:32:55,750 --> 00:33:01,364
the two halves of the arch touched
for the first time right here in the

546
00:33:01,405 --> 00:33:05,000
middle of the bridge. It had only
taken two years since the start of

547
00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:07,625
construction, but at long last,

548
00:33:07,665 --> 00:33:11,138
Sydney North and Sydney South
were united.

549
00:33:15,096 --> 00:33:19,579
Up high on the bridge, Bradfield and
Freeman joined Lawrence Ennis,

550
00:33:19,619 --> 00:33:23,012
the man who had overseen the
day-to-day management of the
construction.

551
00:33:24,021 --> 00:33:27,576
It was Ennis who made the first
crossing from south to north along

552
00:33:27,616 --> 00:33:31,494
the lower cord of the arch,
400 feet above the water.
553
00:33:34,159 --> 00:33:37,592
It would be another two years before
the deck was fitted and the bridge

554
00:33:37,632 --> 00:33:39,247
declared open to the public.

555
00:33:40,944 --> 00:33:46,114
But in private, a feud was simmering
between two of its key players,

556
00:33:46,154 --> 00:33:48,012
Bradfield and Freeman,

557
00:33:48,052 --> 00:33:52,616
which would soon explode into
bitter and open warfare.

558
00:34:01,905 --> 00:34:07,318
Before the world famous Harbour
Bridge, there were two Sydneys.

559
00:34:07,358 --> 00:34:10,105
After it, there was only one.

560
00:34:10,145 --> 00:34:15,314
United by a monumental arch that
rose above the water and the
rooftops.

561
00:34:16,687 --> 00:34:19,110
When completed in 1932,

562
00:34:19,150 --> 00:34:23,351
it brought together 300,000
residents on the north shore

563
00:34:23,392 --> 00:34:25,330
with another 600,000 on the south.

564
00:34:26,986 --> 00:34:32,156
Today, the population of Sydney is
in excess of five million and over

565
00:34:32,196 --> 00:34:35,953
one million vehicles cross the
bridge every week.

566
00:34:35,993 --> 00:34:39,143
To cope with this relentlessly
heavy use,

567
00:34:39,183 --> 00:34:42,899
a large team work round-the-clock to
ensure

568
00:34:42,939 --> 00:34:45,605
that the 485,000 square metres

569
00:34:45,645 --> 00:34:48,714
of steelwork remains properly
maintained.

570
00:34:50,370 --> 00:34:53,844
I just love getting in behind the
skin of these giant structures.

571
00:34:53,884 --> 00:34:56,590
This is where you learn how the
whole thing lives.

572
00:34:58,448 --> 00:35:00,225
Part of the maintenance programme

573
00:35:00,265 --> 00:35:05,072
includes repainting the exposed
steel sections every five years.

574
00:35:05,112 --> 00:35:08,949
A team of specialist painters use
30,000 litres of bespoke

575
00:35:08,989 --> 00:35:14,684
Sydney Harbour Bridge grey paint
just to complete one coat.

576
00:35:14,724 --> 00:35:19,046
There is, I think, six million
rivets on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

577
00:35:19,087 --> 00:35:22,802
We've got about 90...
85-90 maintenance workers

578
00:35:22,842 --> 00:35:25,670
which includes painters, riggers,
carpenters,

579
00:35:25,710 --> 00:35:30,112
boilermakers, and it's still not
enough.

580
00:35:32,819 --> 00:35:34,757
Back in the late 1920s,

581
00:35:34,797 --> 00:35:38,069
concerns over the bridge's future
maintenance couldn't have been

582
00:35:38,109 --> 00:35:39,966
further from people's minds

583
00:35:40,007 --> 00:35:43,601
as controversy over who actually
designed the bridge

584
00:35:43,642 --> 00:35:45,540
was gaining momentum.

585
00:35:45,581 --> 00:35:48,085
John Bradfield, the chief engineer,

586
00:35:48,125 --> 00:35:52,084
had without doubt been the driving
force in getting it built and it was

587
00:35:52,124 --> 00:35:56,040
his proposal that the government had
finally accepted.

588
00:35:56,081 --> 00:35:59,272
Ralph Freeman, the consultant
engineer for Dorman Long,

589
00:35:59,312 --> 00:36:03,311
felt he was entitled to at least
equal credit.

590
00:36:03,351 --> 00:36:05,735
He had produced all the
detailed plans,

591
00:36:05,774 --> 00:36:10,622
calculations and drawings as well as
providing the solution for

592
00:36:10,662 --> 00:36:13,125
supporting the arch during its
construction.

593
00:36:13,165 --> 00:36:17,528
But this had all been done under
the close scrutiny of Bradfield.

594
00:36:20,193 --> 00:36:23,343
My grandfather spent hundreds and
hundreds of hours and had a team of

595
00:36:23,383 --> 00:36:27,867
people checking every calculation
that the contractors did and signing

596
00:36:27,907 --> 00:36:32,026
off on every calculation that was
done for the bridge.

597
00:36:32,066 --> 00:36:36,510
The bridge wouldn't be built unless
Grandfather has been there from day

598
00:36:36,550 --> 00:36:38,973
one, and he was.

599
00:36:39,014 --> 00:36:42,608
It was a 30-year project and the
bridge is where it is today,

600
00:36:42,649 --> 00:36:47,617
why it's there today in the form
it's there today,

601
00:36:47,657 --> 00:36:51,454
because of his
overall supervision.

602
00:36:51,494 --> 00:36:54,806
Even during the final stages of
construction,

603
00:36:54,846 --> 00:36:56,946
Bradfield was ever-present.

604
00:36:56,987 --> 00:37:00,501
He appeared in all the official
photographs and wrote articles for

605
00:37:00,541 --> 00:37:03,246
the public and engineering
community.

606
00:37:03,287 --> 00:37:07,608
To the world, he was the designer of
the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

607
00:37:09,223 --> 00:37:11,728
Freeman wanted recognition of his
own,

608
00:37:11,768 --> 00:37:13,909
so he wrote to Bradfield, pointing

609
00:37:13,949 --> 00:37:18,957
out that he had been working on
the design since 1921, and added,

610
00:37:18,997 --> 00:37:22,996
"I ask you to use your influence as
far as you can to prevent
publication

611
00:37:23,036 --> 00:37:27,075
"of the statement that the design of
the bridge is yours."

612
00:37:27,116 --> 00:37:31,114
He went on further and demanded
that he would "personally like it to

613
00:37:31,154 --> 00:37:35,233
"be known that the designs of the
bridge submitted with Dorman Long's
tender
614
00:37:35,273 --> 00:37:38,303
"were prepared under my direction."

615
00:37:38,343 --> 00:37:40,686
Polite but strong request.

616
00:37:40,727 --> 00:37:42,624
Bradfield was unsympathetic.

617
00:37:42,665 --> 00:37:46,381
He replied, "We are producing
between us the steelwork

618
00:37:46,421 --> 00:37:50,944
"of a structure of worldwide
significance, the details of which

619
00:37:50,984 --> 00:37:56,235
"are prepared by you but are subject
to my revision before approval."

620
00:37:56,275 --> 00:38:00,920
And he went on, "Your request that I
should proclaim that the design is

621
00:38:00,960 --> 00:38:05,888
"yours would be incorrect if
construed in any sense."

622
00:38:05,929 --> 00:38:10,048
When Freeman sailed from England to
Australia in 1929,

623
00:38:10,088 --> 00:38:14,288
he confronted Bradfield,
who refused to back down.

624
00:38:14,329 --> 00:38:18,287
An exasperated Freeman went to
the papers.

625
00:38:20,226 --> 00:38:24,910
When the story broke in the Sydney
Morning Herald, it was a scandal.

626
00:38:24,951 --> 00:38:27,374
Freeman's claims were astonishing.

627
00:38:27,414 --> 00:38:31,171
For years, Australians had
celebrated Bradfield as the designer

628
00:38:31,211 --> 00:38:34,926
of their bridge. Now some unknown
Englishman has come a long trying to
steal the glory.

629
00:38:34,968 --> 00:38:40,500
Not just from a local hero,
but from their country itself.

630
00:38:40,540 --> 00:38:42,439
Neither man would back down,

631
00:38:42,479 --> 00:38:47,810
both of them taking to the press to
stake their claims and attack each
other.

632
00:38:47,851 --> 00:38:49,588
In fact, the argument became so
heated

633
00:38:49,628 --> 00:38:51,889
the Institute of Civil
Engineers threatened

634
00:38:51,930 --> 00:38:57,059
them both with expulsion should the
so-called newspaper controversies
continue.

635
00:38:58,110 --> 00:39:00,008
As the argument raged,

636
00:39:00,048 --> 00:39:03,319
the workers on the ground got on
with what really mattered -

637
00:39:03,360 --> 00:39:05,339
the actual building.

638
00:39:05,379 --> 00:39:08,368
When the arch was complete,
the creeper cranes

639
00:39:08,409 --> 00:39:10,185
worked their way back down,

640
00:39:10,225 --> 00:39:13,659
constructing the roadway and other
parts of the bridge

641
00:39:13,699 --> 00:39:14,991
from the centre out.

642
00:39:16,445 --> 00:39:20,484
Horizontal cross beams were attached
to vertical hangers which hung from

643
00:39:20,525 --> 00:39:24,240
the arch above. The deck for
the roadway and railway,

644
00:39:24,280 --> 00:39:27,794
over 3,772 feet long,

645
00:39:27,835 --> 00:39:29,975
was built on top of the cross beams,

646
00:39:30,015 --> 00:39:34,136
with the deck itself being completed
by June 1931.

647
00:39:34,176 --> 00:39:39,628
Rails for trains and trams were laid
and the road was surfaced using

648
00:39:39,668 --> 00:39:42,052
concrete topped with asphalt.

649
00:39:42,092 --> 00:39:44,394
Power and telephone lines and water,

650
00:39:44,435 --> 00:39:49,967
gas and drainage pipes were also all
added to the bridge in 1931.

651
00:39:50,007 --> 00:39:55,419
And on the 19th of January 1932,
construction came to an end.

652
00:39:55,460 --> 00:39:57,721
Three weeks of testing followed,

653
00:39:57,763 --> 00:40:02,204
including load testing using 96
steam engines positioned end to end.

654
00:40:03,416 --> 00:40:05,839
This bridge is so incredibly strong.

655
00:40:05,880 --> 00:40:10,363
Even if every roadway, every railway
and footpath was completely rammed,

656
00:40:10,404 --> 00:40:12,342
it would happily take it.

657
00:40:12,382 --> 00:40:16,502
It's been tested to withstand a
100mph hurricane and

658
00:40:16,542 --> 00:40:19,450
a temperature variation of
120 degrees.

659
00:40:21,106 --> 00:40:26,316
In March 1932, it was finally ready
for its grand opening.

660
00:40:26,356 --> 00:40:29,668
The dispute over who designed it
rumbled on.

661
00:40:29,708 --> 00:40:34,838
In the end, a compromise was
reached, as the plaque here says.

662
00:40:34,878 --> 00:40:37,868
"The general design and
specification were prepared

663
00:40:37,908 --> 00:40:42,148
"and the whole supervised on behalf
of the government of New South Wales
664
00:40:42,189 --> 00:40:44,370
"by JJC Bradfield."

665
00:40:46,268 --> 00:40:48,771
Freeman's name is also included -
here, look.

666
00:40:48,812 --> 00:40:53,902
"Ralph Freeman as consulting and
design engineer for the
contractors."

667
00:40:53,942 --> 00:40:57,658
The plaque gives future
generations the chance to
acknowledge the hard

668
00:40:57,698 --> 00:41:02,099
work of both men, a point not lost
on Bradfield's grandson.

669
00:41:02,140 --> 00:41:05,452
I think the things that's clear, and
Grandfather recognised this,

670
00:41:05,492 --> 00:41:10,097
was that not one person could build
a bridge on his own.

671
00:41:11,550 --> 00:41:17,044
I mean, the bridge involved a huge
amount of determination, ingenuity,

672
00:41:17,084 --> 00:41:22,617
engineering excellence, and not
one person to provide all those
things all the time.

673
00:41:22,657 --> 00:41:25,566
But I think that...

674
00:41:26,696 --> 00:41:30,291
..he has the most claim to say that
the design was his...

675
00:41:31,461 --> 00:41:34,126
..but Freeman's role can't be
ignored.

676
00:41:36,187 --> 00:41:40,468
The bridge opened amidst much
pomp and ceremony.

677
00:41:40,508 --> 00:41:43,417
With most of the population of
Sydney in attendance,

678
00:41:43,458 --> 00:41:48,586
the premier of New South Wales cut
the ribbon, signifying the opening

679
00:41:48,626 --> 00:41:49,798
of the bridge.

680
00:41:49,838 --> 00:41:51,656
After the official ceremonies,

681
00:41:51,696 --> 00:41:55,170
the bridge was opened up for the
public to walk across for the very

682
00:41:55,210 --> 00:41:59,168
first time and, incredibly, up to
a million people did so.

683
00:41:59,209 --> 00:42:02,641
That was about the population of
Sydney at the time.

684
00:42:02,682 --> 00:42:07,164
But the first to be driven across in
a car was Dr John Bradfield.

685
00:42:08,376 --> 00:42:12,051
At a time when there were only
30,000 cars and trucks

686
00:42:12,092 --> 00:42:13,464
in the entire city,

687
00:42:13,504 --> 00:42:18,837
the bridge could carry 6,000
vehicles and 160 trains every hour.
688
00:42:18,877 --> 00:42:22,674
Every person in Sydney could have
crossed in a single afternoon.

689
00:42:25,622 --> 00:42:26,995
And, as planned,

690
00:42:27,035 --> 00:42:31,438
the new bridge drastically cut the
number of ferry passengers from

691
00:42:31,478 --> 00:42:34,508
47 million before the bridge
opened to 20 million.

692
00:42:37,576 --> 00:42:40,928
Massive, majestic and breathtaking,

693
00:42:40,969 --> 00:42:44,604
the Sydney Harbour Bridge was one of
the great engineering challenges of

694
00:42:44,644 --> 00:42:49,128
its day. It not only altered
the life of a city forever,

695
00:42:49,168 --> 00:42:53,731
it became a symbol of a bold, young
nation and a changing world.

696
00:42:54,781 --> 00:42:58,578
Ralph Freeman was without question
responsible for the precise design,

697
00:42:58,619 --> 00:43:02,173
but without Bradfield,
it wouldn't look like this.

698
00:43:02,214 --> 00:43:05,444
It wouldn't stand in this precise
location

699
00:43:05,485 --> 00:43:07,787
or perhaps even be here at all.

700
00:43:07,827 --> 00:43:09,765
Whoever has claim,

701
00:43:09,805 --> 00:43:14,046
it's impossible today to imagine
this city or even this continent

702
00:43:14,087 --> 00:43:16,187
without the Sydney Harbour Bridge

703
00:43:16,227 --> 00:43:20,549
and in my mind,
it's one of the engineering wonders
of the modern world.

704
00:43:46,680 --> 00:43:49,992
Subtitles by Ericsson