AustLit

It was Saturday 19 March 1932. Although the Great Depression gripped Australia there was huge excitement on that day as Sydney and the rest of the country awaited the Grand Opening Ceremony of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Jack Lang, the 'Red' Premier of New South Wales, eagerly approached the blue ribbon stretching across the Bridge. had offended King George V by insisting on opening the Bridge himself. He had not only offended the King...

'Before Lang could cut the ribbon, Francis Edward De Groot, dressed in the uniform of the King's Hussars, galloped forward on his horse and sliced through the ribbon with his cavalry sabre. He declared the Bridge open 'in the name of the decent citizens of New South Wales'. There was uproar and the police on duty swiftly apprehended De Groot. He was soon consigned to the Lunatic Reception House. 

'The New South Wales government, aided enthusiastically by senior police officers, endeavoured to brand De Groot a lunatic and to suppress news of his embarrassing action. Despite that, the surprise opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge has passed into folklore. (Publication summary)