I recently came across some 50+ yrs old photos, magazines and paper cuttings. Most of the photos were taken in the early 1930s and the printed material 1920 - 1957. Come with me on a trip down memory lane. For those that weren't born before WW2, it will have to be a somewhat imaginary trip.

• Remember when there was no Sydney Harbour bridge. The traffic crossed the harbour on non-tethered punts. That's Fort Denison (Pinchgut) dead in the centre of the background.
  
  

• Dual loading docks meant faster turn-around. Some punts were large, others smaller. There were nine in all, the Barangaroo, the Bennelong, the Kamilaroi, the Kedumba, the Killara, the Kooroongabba, the Kara-Kara, the Kalang and the Koondooloo.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}
  

• The Sydney car-ferry "Kalang".
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}
  

• The Sydney Harbour Bridge was but a hole in the ground on the south side of the harbour, when this pix was taken. Koondooloo takes on yet another load of cars for the trip across the harbour in the 1920s.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}
    This punt, the "Koondooloo", had an interesting history. Built in 1924 in Scotland, she came out to Australia under her own steam. She was the largest of the car-ferries and worked in Sydney until replaced by the Bridge in 1932. It spent the time from 1936 to 1938 as a single deck showboat. In 1938 it had a second deck added and remained this way till 1943, when it was rebuilt as a powered barge. It then joined McArthur's Navy, flying the Stars & Stripes, carrying what ever was necessary round the shallow bays, inlets and islands of Papua/New Guinea in WW2. It survived the war and returned to Australia, working from 1950 as a car ferry on the Stockton run at Newcastle.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Graeme Andrews}
    Another punt, the "Kalang", was transformed into Sydney's premier triple-deck showboat and for a time shared the harbour with the two-deck "Koondooloo". Subsequently the "Koondooloo" went to Newcastle and the "Kalang" had Sydney Harbour all to itself. Over the years patronage began to drop and the "Kalang" changed owners and was renamed "The Sydney Queen". Unfortunately the new name didn't bring in the customers and eventually it was retired. It sat forlornly tied up at the wharf until overseas interests purchased it along with the recently refurbished "Koondooloo".
  
  ^{From a Photo by Sydney Ferries Ltd}
    In Jan 1972 the "Sydney Queen" and the "Koondooloo" were being towed to the Phillipines. Both were temporarily moored in Trial bay, South West Rocks, on the north coast of New South Wales while enroute. Insufficient mooring ropes and a bad storm saw both break free and wash up on Main Beach. It was impossible to refloat them. Subsequently they were burnt to enable the engines to be removed for scrap. Rusting remnants of these unfortunate boats are still there.
  
  
  
  ^{The above three images from Photos by Graeme Andrews}
  

• Remember when the punt was too slow. We needed a harbour bridge. How did they get all that steel up there?
  
  <sup>From a Photo by Unknown
  
  From a Photo by Unknown</sup>
  

  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}
  

  One of the four main support bearings. When the bridge is at maximum load, each bearing will be carrying 10,000 tons.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}

  One of two giant 570 ton creeper cranes which actually built the arches. After building each single section, they crawled on to it to build the next one.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}

  Sydney's floating crane "Titan" helps the creeper crane fix the first girders of the bridge in place. Sadly, the Titan met a similar fate to some of the punts. After having been sold to overseas interests, it was being towed to the new owners when, unfortunately, being somewhere off the coast opposite North West Rocks, it turned turtle and sank.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}

  In the next series of pix you can see the huge bunch of 128 steel cables, each 2&3/4inch dia and 1200ft long, holding back each of the partly-built arch-ends. I wonder how many times the engineer, who decided how big the cables had to be and how many, did his calculations. Remember there were no computers. Each cable was tested to 350tons, which was more than twice the expected load, so I guess he didn't trust his slide-rule too much.
  
  The cables are attached to the top chord of the arch by two large fish-plates.
  

  The cables leave the bridge, enter the 45° U shaped tunnel, come out the other side then go back up to the bridge.
  

  The cables run down one leg of the 132ft deep U shaped cable tunnel.
  

  At the bottom of the 132ft deep U shaped cable tunnel. The cables run in greased grooves. There are 40,000 tons of rock above to hold down the 15000 ton half-arch.
  
  ^{From Photos by Unknown}
  

  
  

  The crawler crane weaves its steel web with special rust resistant silicon steel, 30% stronger than normal mild steel.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Baden Mullaney}

  Face to face with a crawler crane as it sits on the end of its steel web.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}

  The North Shore Spans are in place but the restraining cables are yet to be fitted. The building on the right is part of the workshops where the bridge girders were fabricated.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}

  The workshops rise from the soil.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Robert Bowden.}

  Inside the workshops, the first deck hanger is finished.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown.}

  That sheet of steel is 2 inches thick.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Robert Bowden.}

  A pile of deck hangers wait to be called for.
  
  The Inspector checks one of the large fish-plates which will connect the cables to the Bridge.
  
  ^{From Photos by Henri Mallard.}

  The North Shore arch is under way now that the cables are fitted.
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}
  The arch takes shape, even though all the individual pieces are dead straight.
  
  ^{From Photos by Unknown}
  

  What a lunch-time view!
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}

  It's back to work for this rivetter as he indicates which hole he wants the next rivet in. The man underneath will push a red-hot rivet up through the hole and hold it there while the rivetter rounds over the end. As it cools, it shrinks, causing it to grab the steel plates tightly. And so another of the approx 5.5 million rivets will be in place.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Henri Mallard}

  After completion, the two halves sat, just 3 ft apart, hanging on their support cables. When the wind blew hard enough, the two ends, of the 15000 ton half-arches, drifted back and forth approx 3 inches. It took phenomenal manufacturing accuracy to get the two half-arches aligned this well. The large thick-set man, standing on the tip of the left-hand arch, is Lawrence Ennis, who had the responsibility of actually building the bridge. In the gap beneath the men you can see the 7ft long tapered registration pin which will make sure the arch ends fit perfectly. The photo was taken from the opposite side of the right-hand arch.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}

  After the cables had been slackened enough to close the gap, the creeper cranes filled in the remaining "v" shaped section above the join.   Milson's Point railway station is down near the water on the left. The Bridge girders were fabricated in the big buildings next to it on the site now partly occupied by Luna Park.
  
  ^{From a Photo in The Sydney Mail, August 1930}

  Workmen join the last section at the centre of the top of the arch.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}
  The cables have done their job.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}

  The arch now finished, the deck hanging commenced. Here a part of the first hanger is being hauled into position.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown.}

  The first of 21 girders, weighing 98 tons, is lifted the 160ft above the water to meet the two hangers it will be mated with.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Henri Mallard.}

  The first 98 ton deck-girder is finally in position, suspended on its 192ft hangers.
  
  ^{From a Photo in the Sydney Mail, October 1930.}

  And so the roadway in the sky, grows.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}

  A bird's eye view of hanging the deck.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Ted Hood}
  A closer look at the deck.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}
  The suspended roadway is almost finished. Deck girder No 21 is the only one left to hang.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}
  Two lions guard the view from Neutral Bay Heights of a bridge without pylons.
  
  ^{From a Photo in the Sydney Mail, 1931.}
  The pylons nearing completion.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown.}
  Not much more to do. Notice the low railing on the pedestrian walkway. What a wonderful view you must have had before a number of suicides forced the current high fence to be fitted.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}
  

  Load tests being carried out just before the hand-over from the builders. 7000 tons of steam locomotives (96) would have plunged into the harbour had the test failed, but it didn't. The bridge passed with flying colours, placing a thrust of 44.1 million lbs on the Sydney sandstone on each side of the harbour. The combined weight of the steam-locos caused the deck to flex downwards just 3 inches.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}

  Finished at last. The Sydney Harbour Bridge finally became our Sydney Harbour Bridge.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}
  

  Steam had the honour of pulling the first train over the bridge, and also the honour of carrying a very special VIP, Dr Bradfield himself. This man spent 40 yrs of his life championing the cause of a harbour bridge. He was able to pull all the engineering, financial and political parts of the puzzle together to produce one of Australia's long lasting landmarks. No doubt his insights into human nature helped, as shown by the following nugget of wisdom. He gave this advice to a young engineer on his first field trip, surveying the city railway tunnels.
  "You will be down amongst the tunnellers, working in muddy and hazardous conditions. The language can be a bit blue and usually revolves around beer, women and horses. Take no notice of this. With few exceptions they are decent family men. If you show them respect, they will do anything willingly for you; but if you try and boss them you will get nowhere, and neither will the job."
  Maybe modern managers could learn a thing or two from Dr Bradfield.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unkown}

  On reaching the centre of the bridge the train stopped and its load of engineering passengers lined up for a photo. Lawerence Ennis, the big man responsible for building the bridge, is front centre. Dr Bradfield is front right.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}

  A tram coming off the Sydney end of the Bridge on opening day, 1932. Most people decided to walk across.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}

  Looking past the Western side of the Bridge towards the sea.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}

  Fort Denison protects the bridge from any Amarda that may come sailing up the harbour.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}

  Impressive from any angle.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}

  Impressive though it may be, the Bridge is put in perspective in this aerial photo of part of the 200 mile shoreline of our magnificent Sydney Harbour, looking Westward in the late afternoon.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Unknown}

  This is an infra-red view of Sydney and its Harbour from 4 miles up. Looking towards the East from above Parramatta.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Sydney Ferries Ltd}

  This is a satellite view of Sydney and its Harbour from 420 miles up. The arrow points to the Harbour Bridge.
  
  ^{From a Photo by Landsat}

   
   

  Like to see more?  

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  While the main plates of the Bridge are of special rust resistant silicon steel, unfortunately the rivets are not and they do rust, especially on the Eastern side of each rivet where they are exposed to the salt-laden Easterly sea breeze.

  All Photos, unless stated otherwise, were taken with various box-cameras and are from the late Fred Yates collection.
    ©  Gary Yates   Locofonic Recordings Australia   This page first written 30-9-2001 last updated 20-3-2003.