What if Sydney Harbour Bridge ran in three directions?

What if Sydney Harbour Bridge ran in three directions?
By Christian Fleetwood


Ever wondered what Sydney Harbour Bridge could have looked like if a different design was chosen? Here are six that got beaten to the punch.

In 1900, the federal government organised a worldwide competition for the design and construction of Sydney Harbour Bridge.

More than 70 designs were proposed and all of them were rejected. Dorman Long, designer of the iconic arched suspension bridge, eventually won the contract in 1924 with his ‘coathanger’ design after successive competitions.

istock_Sydney Harbour Bridge

Sydney Harbour Bridge: the largest steel arch bridge in the world and one of the most iconic landmarks in Sydney

To mark the 96th anniversary (which occurred last Sunday) since construction first started on the bridge, Budget Direct Travel Insurance has revealed six modern renders of designs that were beaten by Long’s.

Here’s what the Sydney Harbour Bridge could have looked like, had these designs not been beaten by the ‘coathanger’.

Architect: Norman Selfe

Despite Norman Selfe’s design not being used for Sydney Harbour Bridge, he was successful and well-regarded enough to have an area of the city – Normanhurst – named after him during his lifetime.

Sydney Harbour Bridge: Norman Selfe design

Architect: Dorman Long & Co. Ltd

The eventual winners of the 1924 competition and creators of the bridge we know today, Dorman Long & Co reportedly submitted seven tenders in association with architects Sir John Burnet and Partners, and as engineers Ralph Freeman and Georges Imbault.

Tender A3 was the design chosen, but this is one of the alternate approaches they proposed.

Architect: F. Ernest Stowe

Francis Ernest Stowe was an architect and engineer who practised at Parramatta and submitted this radical design in the 1922 competition to build a bridge across Sydney Harbour.

The design came in response to Doctor JJC Bradfield’s plans, which Stowe claimed would result in the destruction of much of the North Shore area. Stowe’s plans were narrowly rejected by the government.

The design links Balls Head, Miller’s Point and Balmain, meeting in the middle with a central, 500-foot tower on Goat Island, which was designed to double as a war memorial – with Goat Island to be renamed Anzac Isle.

Sydney Harbour Bridge: Ernest Stowe

Architect: P.E. Henderson

A high column of masonry on each side and a terrace-like bridge of iron were the chief features of Peter Henderson’s proposal.

At an estimated cost of some £250,000 (around $447,000 today minus inflation), the main span was calculated at 1,250 feet, with the side spans being around 450 feet each in length.

Architects: David B. Steinman & Holton D. Robinson

Two American architects and engineers, Robinson and Steinman created a design for the tender put in by English Electric Company of Australia in 1924.

Between them, the two designed bridges in countries as diverse as the United States, Thailand, England, Portugal, Italy, Brazil, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Canada, Korea, Iraq and Pakistan.

Sydney Harbour Bridge: David Steinman design

Architect: McClintic Marshall Products Company

An American steel manufacturing company founded by Howard Hale McClintic and Charles Donnell Marshall in 1900, McClintic Marshall Products Company was involved in the construction of the George Washington Bridge, Grand Central Building, the Waldorf-Astoria hotel and the Golden Gate Bridge.

The company put in several tenders for the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

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