Hip hip hooray - the beloved coathanger is 80 today
This morning, along with the rest of Australia, we celebrated the 80th anniversary of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
To mark the occasion, the Sydney Symphony performed “Fanfare for the Common Man” – an homage to the Bridge, and to all the people who helped to create the beloved ‘coathanger’ - at the summit of the Bridge to an intimate audience of Bridge Heroes.
The Bridge Heroes, invited by BridgeClimb to be part of today’s celebrations, represent how the Bridge plays a part in all of our lives - from its construction through to its everyday operations.
Meet the Bridge Heroes:
- Jim, Phillip and Michael Bradfield, grandsons and great-grandson of the late Dr JJC Bradfield, Chief Engineer
- Laurence Agius, nephew of Mr Charles Ferguson (born Farrugia) who claimed to have placed the very first rivet in the Bridge.
- Ralph Bradfield Bonner shares the same birth date as the Bridge: 19 March 1932. Mr Bonner was named after the leading figures who led the construction of the Bridge.
- Joan McDonald (nee Crawford) was born in an ambulance on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, returning to his birthplace from the NSW Mid North Coast for the celebrations.
- Lloyd Poulton, BridgeClimb’s most frequent climber. Today he made his 46th journey to the summit.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a iconic symbol of Australia and today we celebrate its importance to us today, and every day since it opened to the public in 1932.