| Historical notes: | In 1815 government architect Francis Greenway, in a report to Governor Macquarie, proposed the building of a bridge from Dawes Point at the city's edge to the northern shore. However it was not until 1922 that legislation was passed and acted upon, authorising the construction of a bridge. Tenders were invited in 1923 in accordance with general plans and specification prepared by Dr JJC Bradfield, Chief Engineer, Sydney Harbour Bridge and Railway Construction. The plans and specification provided the alternatives of a cantilever or an arch bridge.
Twenty proposals were received from six different companies of various types of design. The tender of Dorman Long & Co Ltd, of Middlesborough, England, for an arch bridge was accepted, the design being substantially in accordance with one of Dr Bradfield's proposals. The detailed design was carried out by the contractor's consulting engineer, Sir Ralph Freeman, and the fabrication and construction were under the direct charge of Mr Lawrence Ennis, a director of the firm. The design and construction of the bridge were supervised at all stages by Dr Bradfield and his staff.
First work on the bridge commenced in 1924 with construction of the bridge approaches and the approach spans. Construction of the approach spans was undertaken concurrently with erection of the steelwork for the actual bridge structure. The building of the approaches on the north side included the construction of North Sydney Station, Milsons Point Station and a number of underbridges to carry the railway. The approaches were designed and built by the Sydney Harbour Bridge Branch of the Public Works Department and the Metropolitan Railway Construction Branch of the NSW Government Railways. The northern approaches were built using spoil from the excavation of the North Sydney station site to build a ramp up to the main bridge level. Retaining walls of concrete, built by Monier Concrete, were built along Broughton and Alfred Streets and Bradfield and Pacific Highways.
Concrete had been extensively used for foundations and walls since the 1890s. By 1910 reinforced concrete was in use, but not for superstructures directly supporting railway tracks. The Bellevue Street underbridge at Glebe was the first to use it for this purpose, in 1919.
The Milsons Point station was constructed between 1929 and 1932 as part of the northern approaches. It was initially called Kirribilli Station, but was changed to Milsons Point before its opening. By June 1931 the station platform had been completed and a portion of the platform awnings had also been erected. The railway decking had advanced as far as Milsons Point, tracks had begun to be laid and the transoms delivered for installation. By January 1932 the platforms had been covered with asphalt, the brickwork of the shops in the arcade below the station was completed as was the tiling, the laying of magnesite flooring in the station office, terrazzo flooring in the lavatories, the erection of the metal awnings at the Alfred Street and Broughton Street entrances, terracotta facing to the station and installation of gates and barriers. Trackwork was completed and ballast laid along the tracks at the same time.
On 19 March 1932 the Milsons Point station was officially opened as part of the larger bridge opening celebrations to roadway, railway and pedestrian traffic by the then premier of NSW, JT Lang. |