Bridges under construction

Roland Wakelin, New Zealand/Australia 1887–1971 / The Bridge under construction 1928 / Oil on composition board / 96.5 x 118cm / Purchased 1994. QAG Foundation Grant. Celebrating the Queensland Art Gallery's Centenary 1895–1995 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Roland Wakelin Estate / View full image
Roland Wakelin's (17 April 1887–1971) subject choice The Bridge under construction 1928 (illustrated) is an indication of the raging interest in the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. During these years the growing curve of the Harbour Bridge fascinated both modern and traditional artists.
The conservative establishment celebrated it as an achievement of the 'heroic' age of engineering design; contemporary artists saw the Bridge as a sweeping arch of steel which seemed to embody all the energy of the time. For Wakelin, the Bridge represented a convergence of the various paths he had undertaken in order to arrive at a 'modernist' practice.
Roland Wakelin The Bridge under construction [Sydney] 1928

Roland Wakelin, New Zealand/Australia 1887–1971 / The Bridge under construction 1928 / Oil on composition board / 96.5 x 118cm / Purchased 1994. QAG Foundation Grant. Celebrating the Queensland Art Gallery's Centenary 1895–1995 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Roland Wakelin Estate / View full image
His interest in the project was shared by many other artists and observers. To name just a few, the Bridge was photographed by Harold Cazneaux (illustrated), drawn and painted by Grace Cossington Smith (illustrated), and etched by Jessie Traill, who described it as 'looking like net-work against the evening sky' (illustrated).
Construction of the Bridge began on the approaches to the span in 1923 from Dawes Point and Milsons Point, on the bridge itself in 1925, and concluded in January 1932, with the bridge officially opening on March 19 that year. The building was tracked by continual reports in the daily press which published regular photographs, bulletins and even line drawings of the real and anticipated progress of its construction.
Harold Cazneaux Bridge, West Circular Quay [Sydney] 1931

Harold Cazneaux, Australia 1878–1953 / Bridge, West Circular Quay 1931 / Gelatin silver photograph on paper 30 x 24.3cm / Purchased 2011. Andrew and Lilian Pedersen Trust / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / View full image
Grace Cossington Smith Before the arches met [Sydney] c.1930

Grace Cossington Smith, Australia 1892-1984 / Before the arches met c.1930 / Crayon and coloured pencils over pencil on cream wove paper / 37.8 x 43.4cm / Purchased 1976. Godfrey Rivers Trust / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © QAGOMA / View full image

Construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, c.1930 / FL383247 / Courtesy: State Library New South Wales / View full image
Jessie Traill The Red Light, Harbour Bridge, June 1931 [Sydney] 1932

Jessie Traill, Australia 1881–1967 / The Red Light, Harbour Bridge, June 1931 1932 / Aquatint, hand-coloured on yellowed Oriental paper / 41.6 x 31.7cm / Purchased 1949 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Jessie Traill/Copyright Agency / View full image
Wakelin utilised the spiral as a technique, the effect of which was to place the viewer in the middle of a 'whirlwind'. Acknowledging the accelerating pace of modern life with imagery that suggested the vortex was something of a commonplace in visual culture at this time.
The notion of the 'modern' as something that had to be manufactured and experienced was very influential, both for those who wholeheartedly endorsed it and those who feared it. Such concerns certainly enlivened public debate about the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which was being built during the early years of the Depression. Even self-proclaimed progressives like Margaret Preston expressed reservations about the 'great towering structure that sends everything around it out of perspective' (illustrated).
Margaret Preston Bridge from North Shore [Sydney] c.1932

Margaret Preston, Australia 1875–1963 / Bridge from North Shore c.1932 / Woodcut, hand-coloured on paper / 20.3 x 24.5cm (sight) / Purchased 2003. QAG Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Margaret Preston/Copyright Agency / View full image
A suggestion of this tension is captured in Wakelin's The Bridge under construction, where the artist uses large blocks of colour in the foreground to emphasise the sweep of the street down the hill; the arch of the bridge itself picks this up and completes the spiral, pushing the eye to the end point on which a crane is perched. Detail is minimised — the futuristic-looking trams operate without untidy overhead wires and the architecture is monumentalised into large planes. Everything is dwarfed by the enormous span of steel. Here Wakelin has succeeded in combining colour and form with a dominant, penetrating rhythm. The painting vibrates with colour and light.

Roland Wakelin, New Zealand/Australia 1887–1971 / The Bridge under construction 1928 / Oil on composition board / 96.5 x 118cm / Purchased 1994. QAG Foundation Grant. Celebrating the Queensland Art Gallery's Centenary 1895–1995 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Roland Wakelin Estate / View full image

Construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, c.1928 / Series 07: Box 37 No. 430 / Courtesy: State Library New South Wales / View full image
Meanwhile in Brisbane
There was also major building activity in Australia’s larger cities like Brisbane during the 1920s and 30s, typified locally by the construction of the Grey Street Bridge (1928–30 March 1932) linking South Brisbane to North Quay (illustrated), officially opening eleven days after the Sydney Harbour Bridge and nearly eight years before the Story Bridge (1935–6 July 1940), linking Kangaroo Point to Petrie Bight (illustrated).
The Story Bridge, built as part of the State Government’s response to the Great Depression, remains one of Queensland’s most iconic landmarks. By the 1920s, Brisbane had outgrown the Victoria Bridge which remained the sole inner-city river crossing. This second permanent bridge (illustrated) was built in 1897 lasting until 1969, when it was demolished for the current Victoria Bridge.
Second permanent Victoria Bridge

Poul C Poulsen, Australia 1857–1925 / Victoria Bridge c.1897 / Albumen photograph on paper mounted on card / 14.5 x 20.5cm / Gift of Glenn R Cooke through the QAG Foundation 2009 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / View full image

Construction of the second permanent Victoria Bridge, Brisbane, c.1896 / 99183505988202061 / Courtesy: John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Brisbane / View full image
A 1926 report by the Cross River Commission, recommended the creation of several new bridges. The William Jolly Bridge (at the time known as the Grey Street Bridge) was constructed, but a bridge at Kangaroo Point would not begin for several more years.
Rivalry between Brisbane and Sydney was intense. Brisbane was immensely proud of its new bridges, their openings were grand events, and the construction of both inspired numerous artists.
Official opening of Grey Street Bridge, Brisbane

Crowds of people gathered for the opening of the Grey Street Bridge, 1932 / 34276 / Courtesy: John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Brisbane / View full image

Official opening of the Grey Street Bridge, 1932 / 150516 / Courtesy: John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Brisbane / View full image
Vida Lahey Building the [Grey Street] bridge [Brisbane] 1931

Vida Lahey, Australia 1882–1968 / Building the bridge 1931 / Watercolour and gouache over pencil on wove paper on cardboard / 24.5 x 28.5cm (comp.) / Acc. 1:0299 / Gift from the estate of Mrs Gladys Powell 1941 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © QAGOMA / View full image
Vida Lahey The new [Grey Street] bridge [Brisbane] 1931

Vida Lahey, Australia 1882–1968 / The new bridge 1931 / Watercolour on paper / 48.7 x 53.5cm / Purchased 1997 with funds from M.I.M. Holdings Limited through the QAG Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © QAGOMA / View full image

Queensland Cement and Lime Company / Arch of the Grey Street Bridge under construction c.1929 / 10189-0001-0050 / Courtesy: John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Brisbane / View full image
Official opening of Story Bridge, Brisbane

Crowds of people gathered for the opening of the Story Bridge, 1940 / PR1820952 Neg 0941N / Courtesy: State Archives of Queensland / View full image

Crowds of people gathered for the opening of the Story Bridge, 1940 / PR1820954 Neg 0943N / Courtesy: State Archives of Queensland / View full image
Geoffrey Powell (Construction of Story Bridge, Brisbane) 1939

Geoffrey Powell, Australia 1918-89 / (Construction of Story Bridge, Brisbane) 1939, printed 2005 / Gelatin silver photograph on paper / 50.5 x 39.5cm / Purchased 2005 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Estate of Geoffrey Powell / View full image
Story Bridge, Brisbane

Construction of the Story Bridge, 16 October 1939 / 99183874777702061 / Courtesy: John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Brisbane / View full image

Story Bridge, 1940 / 99183513255202061 / Courtesy: John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Brisbane / View full image
Edited extract from ‘Painting a Symphony. Roland Wakelin: The Bridge under construction‘ by Dr Candice Bruce from Brought to Light: Australian Art 1850-1965, Queensland Art Gallery, 1998.
Curatorial extracts, research and supplementary material compiled by Elliott Murray, Senior Digital Marketing Officer, QAGOMA