One of the overlooked stories of the Sydney Harbour Bridge is regarding the granite supports at each end: they don’t get a mention when birthdays come around, and they don’t get cleaned during the regular maintenance program. It’s a shame because the history of how the supports came about is interesting.
In fact, the granite structures are purely decorative, they support nothing. It’s the steel that does the heavy lifting. However, John Bradfield, who built the bridge wanted the bridge to reflect strength and reliability so designed the granite ends to be massive. He needed skilled stone masons used to working with granite and found them in Aberdeen which is known as the ‘Granite City’. Many families were brought to Australia from Aberdeen and settled in a custom-built village near Moruya in Southern NSW, where the granite was to be quarried. As well, a handful of Italian masons were employed.
When the bridge was finished, most of the families returned to their homeland although several would have stayed. The Guardian published a great school photo from the time – not a smile! It wouldn’t surprise me if there were members of my family there. Unfortunately, I haven't yet worked out how to paste the photo here. I'll take advice and try later.
In the meantime, try this link: https://images.app.goo.gl/6ECg4AhFjtfTzQFK7
Highlight it and right-click. The studious fellow with the tie, in the middle of the second-back row looks familiar.
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