The Evolution of the Sydney Opera House Quiz

Answer: 1957

In 1955, an international competition was launched by NSW premier Joseph Cahill. a total of 233 entries were received. One of the judges, noted Finnish/American architect Eero Saarinen pulled the winning design from a pile of 30 rejected submissions. (The second place submission looked like a "vacuum cleaner filter").

In 1957, Jorn Utzon, a Danish architect was declared the winner and awarded the prize of 3000 pounds (about US$6000). (Mr Utzon moved his office to Palm Beach in Sydney so he could oversee the construction). Both designs were published on the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald in January 1957.

The paper reported Utzon's "controversial design" was "cheapest to build", at 3.5 million pounds (AUS $7 million).

Answer: 1902

Fort Macquarie was demolished in 1901 to make way for Fort Macquarie Tram Depot which became part of the Sydney tram network. Despite being on prime real estate it was an ideal location as it offered a terminus very close to the city centre. It housed 12 tracks and was the main Sydney tram depot for 53 years.

Answer: 1973

On the 20th October, 1973, Queen Elizabeth II opened the Sydney Opera House. She observed the difficulty of the design and the complexity of the construction, "The Sydney Opera House has captured the imagination of the world, though I understand that its construction has not been totally without problems" but then added, "The human spirit must sometimes take wings or sails, and create something that is not just utilitarian or commonplace." There was a fanfare around the Opera House and on the Harbour.

The original cost of $7 million had blown out to $102 million when finished but few cared as it had all been paid for by a state lottery.

Answer: 1788

Bennelong isalnd was first known as Dubbagullee by the local Gadigal people of the Eora nation.
When the first fleet arrived in 1788, it was named Cattle Point as it was used keep cattle and horses penned (the island was tidal) that had been brought from Cape Town by Governor Phillip. It was also know as Limeburners' Point a little later as the island was covered with discarded oyster shells from the indigenous people. The shells were regathered to form lime for making mortar to help in the construction of buildings in the new settlement.

Answer: 1790

Bennelong was an Aboriginal man that served as an interlocutor to the Governor of New South Wales. Bennelong was kidnapped and brought to the settlement at Sydney Cove in November 1789 on the governor's orders. Arthur Phillip, was under instructions from King George III to make relationships with the indigenous populations but the Eora people explicitly avoided any contact with the newcomers making kidnap the only last ditch way of establishing contact.

In time Bennelong and the governor became allies and respected each others' ways.

In 1790 Bennelong persuaded him to build a hut as a residence on this point or tidal island. The point then was named eponymously.

Answer: 1948

Eugene Goossens was an English conductor and composer that conducted American orchestras such as Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra before coming to Australia in 1947 to conduct the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Goosens almost immediately lobbied for a opera house for large theatrical production and succeeded in gaining the support of New South Wales Premier Joseph Cahill by 1953.

He even persuaded Premier Cahill to build the proposed opera house on Bennelong Point rather than in Cahill's preferred position on the western side of the city> Mr Goosens, though did not get to see his vision constructed as he had to leave the country because of a scandal in 1956.

Answer: 1965

The construction of the opera house was problematic. Construction started in 1959 with a four year expected completion date. Two major hurdles were identified:
Bennelong Point was not made of sandstone but was actually loose alluvial deposits permeated with seawater: 700 concrete shafts, 1 metre wide were sunk down to bedrock to provide a stable platform for the foundations.
The second major problem was the weight of the roof. As the podium (base) was being constructed, the shape of the roof (sails) had not been finalised. The geometry was complex and unclear. There were only vague ideas how the roof was going to be anchored to the podium, let alone how much the roof would weigh. Whilst the roof was the focal point of the design, the engineering associated with effect on the podium could not be estimated. Whilst being built, the podium was the largest concrete structure ever built in the southern hemisphere. The podium took five years to build.
The 1.056 million tiles (120 mm square) that make up the sails of the roof were a Utzon masterpiece: The tiles had to be gloss but not cause glare. Mr Utzon found exactly what he needed in Japan; "ceramic bowls with a subtle coarseness caused by a granular texture in the clay".

All this came at a price, and not just cost overruns. the time needed to find complex structural solutions took its toll on all stakeholders including the architect. Mr Utzon resigned. A young Australian was appointed - Peter Hall, and he was charged with designing the interiors.

Answer: 2007

The Sydney Opera House was listed on the Register of the National Estate in 1980, the National Trust of Australia register in 1983, the City of Sydney Heritage Inventory in 2000, the New South Wales State Heritage Register in 2003, and the Australian National Heritage List in 2005.

However its crowning achievement came on n 28 June 2007, when the Sydney Opera House became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It became the 19th such site in Australia and only the second Australian building to be granted such status.

Answer: 1996

The size and the spectacle of the Sydney Opera House attracted the big acts and the The House had been host to many many concerts and functions. One of the biggest was in 1990 when Nelson Mandela addressed a huge crowd from the top of the Monumental Steps soon after his prison. Perhaps, though the biggest was in 1996 when Crowded House performed their farewell concert.

The concert was held on the forecourt, near the Monumental Steps with a crowd of greater than 100,000 people, some estimated there were 250,000 people in attendance.

It was a memorable night and I was one of many to witness it.

Answer: 1817

A battery of guns was placed on the eastern shore of Bennelong Point in 1798 when the HMS Supply was withdrawn from service. Bennelong Point was a key location to defend the Sydney Cove settlement as invaders who entered Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) had to sail past Bennelong Point to reach the settlement.
In 1817 Governor Macquarie ordered a fort be built under the architectural watch of Francis Greenway. the finished building was a square fort with circular bastions at each corner and a castellated square tower containing 15 guns in total. the fort capable of storing 350 kegs of gunpowder.

As part of the construction, the tidal separation of the island was filled in with rocks and a smooth platform was developed turning the tidal island into a congruence with the mainland. This fill-in material became a problem when building the foundations of the opera house 140 years later.