The Bridge: The Arch that Cut the Sky

In 1918–19 an influenza pandemic took an estimated 15,000 Australian lives, and millions more around the world. One hundred years on, as we grapple with COVID-19, this five-part series rakes through the archives of the State Library of NSW with historians, public health experts and scientists to trace the path of the 1918-19 pandemic. An eerily familiar story of loss, resilience and discovery in a world turned upside down.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is more than a harbour crossing. It's a place of celebration, protest, adventure and inspiration.

The opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge on 19 March 1932 was shared by a million people. Although it was a celebration, it was not without politics and drama.

Building the Harbour Bridge was no easy feat, taking over 8 years, 6 million hand-driven rivets, 1400 labourers and the lives of 16 people.

Floating bridges, swing bridges, span bridges, subaqueous bridges, even filling in the harbour were all proposals to join a growing city.

An ever-expanding colonial city in need of a harbour crossing that would take 100 years to realise.