SYDNEY HA,.RBOUR BRIDGE. ~ . ~~~ERE have been many changes in.the State administration of New South Wales ·--~~~~ since the lat~ Sir Henry Parkes dramatically paraphrased the call of Horatius j ~~ Codes : "Now who will stand at my right hand, and build the bridge with me ? " . But Sydney, the principal seaport of Australia, which in importance is only _ exceeded by four ports in the United Kingdom-London, Liverpool, the Tyne, and Cardiff--still remains with a missing link in her roadway and railway services. The first suggestion to link Sydney with North Sydney was made in I8IS by Francis H. Greenway, Government Architect, in a r.eport to Governor Macquarie. In letters to The A·ustralian some y~a:rs later, Greenway wrote;- · · . "Tim~ in the event of the Bridge being thrown across from Dawes Battery to the North Shore, a toWn. would be built on that shore, and would have formed with these buildings, a grand whole; that would have indeed surprised anyone on entering the Harbour: and haye given an idea of strength and magnificence that would have - reflected credit and glory on the Colony and the Mother Country." The first-known drawing of a ! ~ridge to North Sydney was made in I857 by a Sydney Engineer, Mr.~ Peter Henderson, for. a' bridge from near Dawes Point; Sydney, to near Milson's · Point, North Sydney. In i878, l\fr. W. C. Bennett, then Commissioner for Roads and Bridges, stated that he favoured a floating bridge from Dawes Point to Milson's Point, to carry vehicles, passengers, and, if necessary, a railway train. In I8Jg, Mr. 1. S. Parrott prepared a sketch design of a truss bridge of seven spans from Dawes Point to Milson's Point, J the longest span being.sao feet. In I88o, negotiations were opened between the Govern­ ment and Mr. J •. E. Garbett, representing a company which was prepared to top.struct a high-level bridge· to the North Shore at a cost of £8so,ooo, upon condition that the Govern­ ment guaranteed an amount equal to 3! per cent. upon the cost of construction for a period of thirty years. Sir John Fowler prepared plans for a suspension bridge_ to Milson's Point for vehicular traffic at an estimated cost of Sir HENRY PARKES. £4oo,ooo. Tunnel connection as a · counter proposal to a bridge was first m?-de by Mr. C. O'Neill, - M.Inst.C.E., in conjunction with Mr. Gipps, C.E. His proposal was made in January, I885,'and in I887 the Govemme.nt was asked to guaran-tee 4 per cent. on the cost of the two tunnels proposed-{me for railway traffic, an_d one for road traffic. SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE. In January, r888, a deputation waited upon the late Sir Henry Parke'? to urge the construction of a bridge as an undertaking fitting to mark the Centenary of the Colony. Public agitation continued, and in response thereto, in March, r8go, the Government appointed a Royal Commission to inquire into the proposed extension of the railway into the City and the North Sydney connection. Eight schemes were submitted for connecting North Sydney by bridge, whilst at least four witnesses favoured a tunnel. The Royal Commission reported "that at present it was inexpedient to connect the North Shore with Sydney by means of a bridge or tunnel, but the Commission is of the opinion, upon the evidence before it, that, if it should be found necessary to connect North Shore with Sydney, it should be by means of a high­ level bridge, and that if it were possible to throw a bridge across in one span, such plan should be adopted." From r8g6 t o r8gg, four Bills were introduced into Parlia­ ment with the object of securing the connection by private enter­ prise. Two of these Bills provided for a bridge connection, the other two Bills for tunnel connection. No progress was made with any of these Bills. After two deputations had 1 urged that the construction of a bridge be put in hand by the Go vernment, or failing that, by private enterprise, the Ron. E. W. O'Sullivan, then Minister for Public Works, on the 4th January, r goo, called for com­ petitive designs and tenders. None of the designs received were con­ sidered satisfactory. Mr. O'Sullivan, on 25th March, rgor, appointed an Advi­ sory Board which called for competitive designs and tenders throughout the world for a bridge from Dawes Point to McMahon's Point, and after mature consider­ ation recommended the acceptance of the tender of J Stewart & Co., at a total cost, including approaches, of £r,g4o,oso. The Sir GEORGE FULLER (Premier). incoming Government did not accept the tender recommended. In igo8, another Royal Commission was appointed to report on the best practical method of establishing communication between Sydney and North Sydney. The Commission reported in favour of separate subways for railway, tramway, and vehicular traffic, based on a depth of . water of 40 feet above the subways at low-water, as against the bridge recommended by the Advisory Board. As a result of a deputation from the Master Carriers' Association, the Ron. Arthur Griffith, Minister for Public Works, announced in Parliament on rgth July, rgrr, that " Cabinet SOUVENIR. had that day decided that a definite prbposal for a bridge to carry tramway, vehicular, and pedestrian traffic, but not a railway, should be submitted immediately to the Public Works Committee, and concurrently with that, a proposal for a subway to connect the North Sydney Railway system with the City system." In giving evidence before the Public Works Committee in rgrr and rgrz, Mr. J. J. C. Bradfield, who in rgoo:...rgo3, with Professor Warren and Mr. H. H. Dare, checked the designs and tenders received during the regime of the Hon. E. W. O'Sullivan, emphasised the fact that the depth of water as proposed, viz., 40 feet, was too little for the prospective shipping, and a subway providing for this depth only would block the development of the harbour. He gave most interesting evidence in support thereof, but space in this brief history will not admit of its publication. Mr. T. R . Johnson, the then Chief Commissioner for Railways, was strongly opposed to the tramway subway recommended by the Royal Commission, holding that the trams should not be brought across the Harbour, but that North Sydney, Mosman, Manly, Willoughby, Lane Cove, and the Shire of Warringah should be connected to the city by means of fast electric railway service. Mr. Bradfield submitted designs and estimates for both suspension and cantilever bridges, but recommended the latter type of bridge on account of the heavy railway loading which the bridge would have to carry. In this recommendation he was supported by Professor Warren and lVIr. T. R. Johnson, Chief Railway Commissioner. Hon. J. H. CANN. Two designs for cantilever bridges were submitted by him, both having the same clear span of r,6oo feet without piers in the fairway, the headway for shipping in the design with low piers being 170 feet over the central 6oo feet reducing to 50 feet at the piers; the other design, reqommended by the Public Works Committee, has a headway of 170 feet over the central. 6oo feet and not less than 156 feet over the whole fairway at high water. The cost of the former bridge would at present day prices be, · perhaps, £3oo,ooo less than the design adopted giving the better headway. After a lengthy inquiry, during which the advantages of bridge and subway connection were fully considered, and acting on the advice of lVIr. David Hay, JVI.Inst.C.E., of the firm of lVIott and Hay, London, the Public Works Committee reported :- · · · "That in the opinion of the Committee, it is expedient to connect Sydney and North Sydney by means of a bridge, and they recommend the adoption of the scheme submitted by lVIr. J . J. C. Bradfield, Chief Engineer, .Metropolitan Railway Construction, for the construction of a cantilever bridge from Dawes Point to Milson's Point, carrying four lines of railway, one road­ way 35 feet wide, one rhotor roadway IJ feet 6 inc·hes wide, and one footway I5 feet wide, at ·an estimated cost of £2,750,ooo." · · Hon. J. ESTELL, M.L.C. In rgr6 the Hon. J. H. Cann, lVI.L.A., twiCe introducfd ·- a Bill in the Assembly for the co.nstruction of the bddge, providing for the tax of !d. in the £ on the unimproved value capital of lands benefited in th!'! City of Sydney and the Shires and Municipalities on the northern side of the Harbour. This Bill twice passed through all its stages in the Legislative Assembly; in the Legislative Council, however, the Bill was rejected once at the second reading, and once at the third reading stage, by three votes. SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE. In August, 1920, a deputa­ tion of Members of Parliament, Aldermen and Councillors repre­ senting the municipalitie and shires on the northern side of the harbour, waited on the Hon. John Storey, the then Premier. and urged the construction :: the bridge. The Minister app-owd that the tax be imposed iiD.IIleCia:ely on the passing of t he .-\c = "'tead of upon the completion o: - e bridge as in the two fofiilf'r R' ~. On account of the increa:: · cost of the bridge the ta x ~ -=xed at W. in the £, in lie o: ~ . in the former Bills. In - _~ me Han. J ohn Estell, . LL-~. = duced a Bill fo r the cons cr'on of the bridge embodymg - e aboYe pro­ visions, which pa::.:: the Legisla­ tive As embh- an s ood fo r its second reading in e Council when Parliament di-::.-o.