|
|
THE BRIDGE THAT CROSSED THE WORLD 28-3-07
Peter Holmes
It has been a very strange couple of weeks in the sporting world; a few scandals here and there with the usual maelstrom of gossip supported by a modicum of fact. Then all the scuttlebutt was rendered totally and utterly insignificant by the tragic happenings in Kingston, on the Caribbean island of Jamaica, where respected cricket coach Bob Woolmer was murdered in the name, we presume, of sport, thus tainting the Cricket World Cup with accusations of match-fixing in the process.
Pointless and very sad, granted, but not the first time that a renowned sporting figure has been unceremoniously murdered after a poor performance and probably not the last. Steve McClaren wants to thank his lucky stars that he is the magnificent manager of England and not of some loony fundamentalist backwater, but we'll leave the Republic of Tyneside out of this.
As the dedicated members of ComeOnBoro.com are very well aware, Woolmer's demise was probably numptee McClaren's fault anyway, as is global warming, the extortionate price of petrol, and that annoying jock itch I get on those sultry summer days.
One thing is for sure fellow sufferers, during this missive I will not be discussing football in any way, shape or form.
Not of the three lions massive letdown variety anyway.
Most certainly not of the ex. Sporting Lisbon faggoty dancing winker imitating Michael Flatley with a football variety.
And not even of the legendary Boro hero Cruncher Morrison MBE best tackle ever on a twat variety.
This week's rant is actually a small homage to the 'Infant Hercules', to the small town in the north of England whose work hardened sons became world renowned for their skills at turning raw materials from the earth into some of the industrial and modern worlds greatest engineering fetes.
Indeed a homage of respect to those creative engineering souls who toiled and tortured themselves to produce some of the world's greatest and enduring man made structural masterpieces. One example of which, the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge, turned seventy-five years old recently on a balmy weekend in New South Wales. In true celebration it was closed for the day so Sydneysiders could celebrate its omnipresence and pay their respect with a slow stroll across the harbour on the normally busy lanes of the freeway.
Two opposite sides of the planet sharing a common bond with a very significant part of Australian and Teesside history forever intertwined. Seventy-five tumultuous years last weekend since the two sides of a magnificent Sydney harbour were finally joined and the affectionately named giant coat-hangar was officially opened, freeing Aussies to cross where they previously needed a ferry or the swimming ability of Ian "Torpedo" Thorpe.
Teesside's indelible link to Sydney was duly forged when the then NSW Government led by the charismatic and ebullient Jack Lang decided to bridge the harbour to join the two sides of Sydney as one.
Lang, an old style hard nut, a true Labour man of the people, totally unlike the politically correct spin obsessed morons we see plying their trades in the corridors of power today. Lang, a rare breed who put people before money, faced near civil war with the Federal Government to get this edifice funded.
In consultation with the great engineer Bradfield, he decided to bridge the two halves of Sydney harbour between Dawes and Milsons point. After the mass of politics and governmental bullshit was finally ploughed into the records, Bradfield as chief of the whole project decided that the best steel in the world was made by Dorman Long of Middlesbrough who were consequently given the tender to supply all the high grade silica steel along with their world renowned bridge building acumen.
The project was the single biggest ever undertaken in it's time, containing more steel and rivets than any other structure - 51,000 tonnes with 38,000 tonnes in the arch alone. Design Engineering was managed by Dorman Long's own expert Ralph Freeman, who took inspiration from the 'baby coat-hangar' over the Tyne in Newcastle and the Hell Gate Bridge over the Hudson in New York. Freeman and Bradfield built up a competitive and not always harmonious rivalry, mirroring the usual sporting relationship we have come to expect between Poms and Aussies.
Many Teessiders made their way to NSW to help during the construction phase with steel being forged in the mills of Middlesbrough then shipped constantly from the busy dockyards along the Tees to Sydney harbour. Their skills and valued expertise was vital to the success of the project and many settled in NSW on completion of the project and started new chapters of Teesside family dynasties in colonial Australia.
Ignoring the stiflingly stuffy protocol of the time, Premier Jack Lang eventually opened the bridge himself on 19th March 1932, while under the threat of assassination from a royalist military group, the New Guard. Remember, Australia was still a colony of Mother England and normally a member of the royal family was usually asked to oblige with the ceremonial scissors cutting the blue ribbon.
Finally the modern transformation of Sydney duly began and the Sydney Harbour Bridge revitalised NSW and pulled the state through and out of the great depression of the 1930's helping to bridge a road to prosperity which turned Sydney into one of the worlds truly great cosmopolitan trading centres.
'The Bridge' remains one of the most enduring examples of Teesside's engineering ingenuity and prowess, and the first sight of that battleship grey behemoth is truly awe-inspiring. To see the giant coat-hangar in the flesh with 'Dorman Long Middlesbrough' rolled into the many sections of steel certainly swelled my heart with pride. As it does whenever I spot the mark on some piece of steel, or perched underneath some steel structure in Australia or anywhere else in the world for that matter.
This is one chapter of the story because so many other major engineering projects were built by Dorman Long specialising in bridge construction using Teesside steel. The CV includes; The Menai Suspension bridge, the Tyne Bridge, the 10,000 foot plus Strostrom rail bridge in Denmark and no fewer than three bridges across the mighty Nile to go with many more on the African continent. All built with steel stamped and made by Dorman Long in Middlesbrough.
They christened us Smoggies but way before that nickname we were really Steelies.
Of all the projects that Teessiders have been involved with, the bridge that crossed the world before being constructed on the balmy shores of Sydney Harbour is the one we can be most proud of.
Standing proud and belligerent it's an enduring legacy to the men of steel.
Enough said,
ErimusRed.
BACK TO PETER HOLMES' LETTER FROM AUSTRALIA INDEX
|
|
|
|
