Under the direction of Dr J.J.C. Bradfield of the NSW Department of Public works, the bridge was designed and built by British firm Dorman Long and Co Ltd of Middlesborough and was opened in 1932. The bridge's design was influenced by the Hell Gate Bridge in New York City. It is the sixth longest spanning-arch bridge in the world and the tallest steel arch bridge, measuring 134 metres (440 ft) from top to water level. It was also the world's widest long-span bridge. at 48.8 metres (160 ft) wide, until construction of the new Port Mann Bridge in Vancouver was completed in 2012.
At each end of the arch stands a pair of 89 metre (202ft) concrete pylons, faced with granite. The pylons were designed by the Scottish architect Thomas S. Tall, a partner in the architectural fim John Burnet and Partners. This pylon contains a public lookout tower.
Some 250 Australian Scottish and Italian stonemasons and their families relocated to a temporary settlement in Moruya, NSW, 300km (164 miles) south of Sydney, where they quarried around 635,664 cubic feet of granite for the bridge pylons. The stonemasons cut, dressed and numbered the blocks, which were then transported to Sydney on three ships built specifically for this purpose. The Moruya quarry was managed by John Gilmore, a Scottish stonemason who emigrated, with his young family to Australia in 1924, at the request of the project managers. The concrete used was also Australian made.
There is so much more to learn about this bridge on Wikepedia if you are interested.
I only spent a few hours in Sydney in the 1980s en route home from New Zealand and we spent most of it on the harbour taking in the sights which were very beautiful. I didn't much like the city itself as there were far too many people for my liking as back then Perth was still quite a sleepy hollow, unlike it is now.
