OPENING CEREMONY

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVI, Issue 3445, 19 March 1932, Page 5

OPENING CEREMONY

DREAM OF CENTURY REALISED. IDEAL WEATHER CONDITIONS. t * (Press Association.— Copyright.) (Received 1 p.m.) ' Sydney, March 19. The great day for which the people of Sydney have waited a decade in .patient hope dawned on a perfect and cool day with a cloudless sky. Indeed there were citizens of Sydney nearly a century ago with visions of a bridge spanning the waters of Port Jackson to bring the City and North Shore* areas into closer touch. The difficulty of financing such a venture,'however, was an obstacle which the pioneers found too much for them. When the War had accustomed people to think in millions the dreamers gave pleace ,to practical realists,' and the scientist and engineer evolved the means of creating a structure which would link the two sides of the harbour while permitting ships to follpw their lawful occasions, carrying the life stream of the people—their commerce—to and fro. To-day in the presence of many thousands of spectators gathered from every State and from lands beyond the sea, the hopes of years were consummated, and “The Bridge” (there is only one bridge in people’s minds these days) was publicly opened for traffic. The day .having been proclaimed a public holiday, and an additional attraction being the Royal Show, the city is thronged by record crowds. .

Message from King

The opening ceremony took place at the southern approach or city side of the bridge overlooking Observatory Park. At 10 a.m. the Governor [Sir Philip Game) delivered the opening address. He read a message from His Majesty the King, and then : pressing a button on the dais, unveiled a tablet naming the bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Mr. Lang Declares Bridge Open. The Premier, Mr. J. T. Lane, then declared the bridge open for traffic, and unveiled a commemorative tablet. '"'Speeches followed by the Minister of Works (the Hon. M. A. Davidson), the Lord Mayor of Sydney (Mr. Walder), the Mayor of North Sydney (Mr. Primrose), the Parliamentary representatives of the districts served by the bridge, the Chief Engineer of the Bridge (Dr. Bradfield), and representatives of the builders, Messrs. Dorman Long (Messrs. Kitson, deputy chairman, and Ennis, director of construction.) In the presence of the Governor and the official party the Premier then, cut the ribbon stretched across the entrance to the bridge proper, to the accompaniment of bands playing ' national airs, a salute of twenty-one guns from a battery in one of the parks, and -the acclamations of the assembled multitudes on the _ neighbouring foreshores on both sides of the harbour, and' on every headland from which even a distant view of the scene was obtainable. Aerial and Military Displays. Combined aerial and aquatic displays occupied the spectators' attention. A squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force planes, which had been waiting at a great altitude above Paramatta River, picked up tke signal and swooped down towards'the crown of the bridge arch, whence they flew away again in a thrilling manoeuvre. Simultaneously a huge fleet of motor launches and similar craft manoeuvred on the harbour and under the bridge. Before the ceremony at the southern approach was .finished, a schoolboy, the last of a relay of boys from an outbdck township, delivered at the dais a . congratulatory message from country schcfcjs. This was read to '■ cheering thousands, who, if they did not hear the words, at least sensed the tenor of the message and gave it a cordial reception. . "~***The official party then crossed the bridge to the north side, where the • Mayor of North Sydney cut the ribbon to signalise the opening of the thoroughfare into the Northern - Suburbs. The scissors used by the Premier at the Southern end were presented by the abridge builders, bift those used at the Northern end were the same as those used recently at a similar ceremony at Killvankull Bridge, t New York and had bsen sent by the Mayor of New .York as a goodwill offering. ': The balance of to-day's programme comprises a land pageant of an historical character, a number of floats carrying tableaux illustrative of the evolution of Australian settlement, history, industry and national activities of all sorts, making an impressive -display. These were headed by marching school children and returned soldiers. s Simultaneously a marine procession led by a number of ocean liners, wjth the Maloja in the van, passed under the bridge. A harbour regatta and various sports will occupy the afternoon, and to-night, the bridge and city front will be illuminated.