Sydney Harbour Bridge construction

This series of photographs was commissioned by the Department of Public Works. As a group they document the construction of the Sydney City Underground Railway and the Sydney Harbour Bridge between 1922 and 1932.

Building a bridge to link the city of Sydney with the North Shore was first suggested by Francis Greenway in 1825, however it would be nearly 100 years before the first competitive designs and tenders were finally accepted.

In 1921 tenders were finally called and Chief Engineer John J Bradfield oversaw this massive project through to its opening in 1932. The Powerhouse Museum’s collections of photographs provides a good overview of the significant phases of this massive infrastructure project.

The photographs are thought to have been printed under the supervision of A. J. Kent, New South Wales Government Printer, between 1923 and 1943. All the original negatives were taken between 1922 and 1932 and while they were taken by different photographers, they were all done under the supervision of Robert Bowden, at the Public Works Department.