The Sydney Opera House

In 1967 my family arrived in Sydney*.

One of the first things I remember is seeing the Sydney Opera House with only half its tile cladding in place. I knew nothing about the building except that to my not quite seven year old eyes it was amazing. At the time I had no idea about the controversy surrounding it, and I suspect many outside Australia still don't.

"52 years ago (1968), with the help of David Attenborough, a 24-year-old Australian filmmaker named John Weiley wrote and directed Autopsy on a Dream. It screened just once. Weiley's film was a critical look at the turbulent, drawn-out creation of Australia's greatest landmark, from buoyant beginnings to a final act shrouded in controversy, as young Peter Hall inherited a gargantuan task from dismissed, beloved architect Jørn Utzon." (Sydney Opera House).

The film is fascinating for a number of reasons: the controversy behind the Opera House, the footage and sounds of Sydney in 1968, and the people interviewed.

It's almost an hour long, but for anyone interested in Australian history it's fascinating, and an hour well spent.

* for that story click here https://daysontheclaise.blogspot.com/search?q=Emigrating+to+Australia