Our independent travel guide to Sydney Harbour Bridge (VIDEO) celebrates the vision and ambition that built the bridge - while exploring the complicated political moment from which it sprang.
Work on Sydney Harbour Bridge began during the post WWI boom years of the early 1920s. In the middle of construction, the New York stock exchange crashed. The Great Depression hit the Australian economy especially hard. At its peak, unemployment in Australia may have hit 30%. In Sydney left and right wing political hostility sometimes spilled over into violence.
The Harbour Bridge project came to symbolise resilience and endurance in difficult times. When it opened in 1932, it lifted the spirits of a city weighed down by gloom and poverty. It was a bridge to rival the greatest in the world - a national triumph bringing much-needed hope and optimism.
As Sydney Harbour Bridge approaches its centenary, it's as central to the city’s identity as it was when it opened.
Our latest video (see above) Sydney’s First Icon - Sydney Harbour Bridge a Travel Guide tells the story of the bridge and the historic neighbourhood from which it sprang.
Check out our full Rusty Compass independent guide to the Sydney Harbour Bridge here.
Check out our Old Compass Travel walking tours of Sydney here.
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