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I ar var den 80 ar sedan vackra Sydney Harbour Bridge byggdes.


Lite fun facts...

The Sydney Harbour Bridge – Australian icon, postcard favourite and international TV star every New Year’s Eve. But what do you really know about Sydney’s beloved ‘coat hanger’?

• Construction on the Sydney Harbour Bridge started in 1924. It took 1,500 men, eight years, 53,000 tonnes of steel and six million hand driven rivets to complete the world’s biggest Meccano Set.
• When finished in 1932 the final bill was £10 million – more than double the original quote. In today’s money, that’s more than $1.5 billion. The loan wasn’t paid off until 1988.
• The top of the arch rises and falls up to 18 centimetres when the temperature changes. They put in special hinges to accommodate this.

• At the time, Grey was the only colour paint available in such quantities. It took 272 thousand litres just to get the first coat on.
• Paul Hogan worked as painter on the bridge before he found better paying day jobs on TV and making Crocodile Dundee movies.

• Retired cavalry officer, Francis De Groot somehow worked his way into the honour guard at the Bridge opening. Just as the ribbon was about to be cut, he galloped forward on his horse and slashed it with his sword, declaring the Bridge open in the name of 'the decent citizens of New South Wales'. 
• After retying the ribbon as best they could, the ceremony continued. De Groot was carried off to a mental hospital, declared insane and later fined for the cost of the ribbon.

• In the early years, 11 thousand cars travelled over the Bridge each day. Now more than 160 thousand make the journey.
• In 1976 the billionth vehicle crossed the bridge. The first 500 million took more than 33 years. The second 500 million, less than 11 years.

• Before BridgeClimb opened in 1998, it was a rite of passage for the bravest (craziest?) young Sydneysiders to climb the bridge illegally. Since BridgeClimb opened, the most frequent climber is an 83 year-old from Sydney who has done it 26 times.
• 2.5 million people (58% of them international visitors) have legally enjoyed what Lonely Planet call, “one of the top ten adrenaline experiences in the world.” 5,000 were engaged by the time they climbed down.
• Big celebs love the bridge. Will Smith, Matt Damon, Nicole Kidman, Kylie Minogue, Justin Timberlake, Cameron Diaz, Robert De Niro, Pierce Brosnan, Cate Blanchett, Teri Hatcher, Prince Harry, and Crown Prince Fredrick, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark and many others have all made the climb.