The Sydney Harbour Bridge turns 80 years old today. I could not imagine Sydney without the old coathanger, as it is affectionately known, but at the time of its construction in the 1930s, it was deeply unpopular because it was very expensive, and almost sent the State of New South Wales bankrupt during The Great Depression. You can read some fun facts about the Sydney Harbour Bridge here.
To celebrate, I bought this snowdome from The Museum of Sydney (known as "The MOS"):
The snowdome design is reproduced from a print by Douglas Annand and Arthur Whitmore in 1931, and features a typical "Chesty Bond" type lifesaver and a couple picnicking on the beach. Douglas Annand was born in the same town as me, so I feel a connection to this print.
Even Google is celebrating:
And of course, I have to make this occasion personal to me with a self-portrait of me at the Opera Bar on the Opera House forecourt, with the Harbour Bridge in the background, just before Christmas last year:
I am not asleep, although it looks like it. I kinda like this photo, even though my eyes are closed - it was a happy occasion, with my two work colleagues and I enjoying a girly bubbly drink before going out to dinner.
I have never done the bridge climb and am unlikely to, as I hate heights. However, I have walked across the pedestrian footpath that leads from one edge of the Bridge to the other, which is quite a spectacular walk in itself. I used to drive past the Bridge every day on the bus and train when I lived in Sydney for a year, so it was very much a part of my life for a while, and I miss it.
Happy birthday to the Sydney Harbour Bridge!
