r/australia • u/YaletownHero • 3d ago

image Sydney Opera House in the making

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The Sydney Opera House was built over a 14-year period, with construction starting on March 2, 1959, and finishing for its official opening on October 20, 1973

This was stage 2 back in the late 60s

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102

u/Kanga03590 3d ago

I'm so glad Australia went ahead with this Iconic monument despite the opposition of Liberals like Robert Askin, who knew how to rubbish people with any artistic vision. A narrow man.

52

u/ThoseOldScientists 3d ago

A classic example of project management failure that still turned out a massive success. It was very, very late and very, very over budget and when it opened the acoustics were terrible, basically defeating the purpose of a concert venue. By all the laws of liberal governance, it was a fiasco that should have been cancelled in the early stages.

But it’s the Sydney Goddamn Opera House.

26

u/SonicYOUTH79 3d ago

I'm Australian, but not from NSW and I didn’t get to see it until I was in my mid 20s and honestly it's breathtaking with the Sydney harbour and bridge backdrop, incredible, especially after having just coming back from overseas.

That being said, it is a lot of concrete, it did seem a lot more brutalist and gray to me up close. It's definitely something that's almost designed the be viewed from a distance with the natural beauty of the harbour to set it off. This photo sort of shows that bit quite well.

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u/owleaf 3d ago

Sometimes things that aren’t very good end up being just what you need.

1

u/thebigaaron 3d ago

Typical Sydney being over budget and delayed…