SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

The Sydney Opera House is built on Bennelong Point, a promontory that forms the east bank of Sydney Cove. The first known concert on Bennelong Point was held in March 1791 when Bennelong, the Aboriginal man after whom the promontory was named, provided an evening of entertainment for the Governor and his party. The site was initially occupied by Fort Macquarie which was designed by Francis Greenway in 1817. Later, it was the site of the Bennelong Point Tram Depot. This in turn was demolished to make way for the Opera House.
Public pressure to build a suitable concert facility in Sydney intensified in the 1940s. In 1955 Premier J.J. Cahill announced an international competition for the design of 'an opera house'. Danish architect Jørn Utzon's entry was selected as the winning design. His design was for a complex with two theatres side by side on a large podium. This was covered by interlocking concrete shells, which acted as both wall and roof. A third smaller shell set apart from the others was to cover the restaurant.
The construction of the Opera House was at times difficult and controversial with Jørn Utzon resigning from the project in 1966. The Opera House was officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 20 October 1973.