Bookable
An Apollonaut travel guide
Moments in a longer story.
Selected milestones in the history of Bennelong Point and the Sydney Opera House.
On this page
Point, competition and opening
These dates describe the place you can learn about here. They are not a company timeline for Apollonaut.
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1790
Bennelong’s hut
Governor Arthur Phillip builds a brick hut on the point for Woollarawarre Bennelong.
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1821
Fort Macquarie
Fort Macquarie is completed on the point; it is demolished around 1902.
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1955
A design competition
An international competition is launched on 13 September and draws 233 entries from 32 countries.
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1957
Utzon wins
Jørn Utzon is announced the winner on 29 January.
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1959
Construction begins
Work starts on the site in March, after the tram depot is demolished in 1958.
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1966
Utzon leaves
Utzon leaves the project on 28 February; Peter Hall and others complete the interiors.
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20 October 1973
The opening
Queen Elizabeth II formally opens the Sydney Opera House.
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2003–2005
Heritage listings
The building joins the NSW State Heritage Register (2003) and the National Heritage List (2005).
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2007
World Heritage
The Sydney Opera House is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
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2012
The Joan Sutherland Theatre
The Opera Theatre is renamed the Joan Sutherland Theatre.
Follow the stories behind the dates
A timeline is a beginning. The longer history introduces the people and places; the sources below provide further context.
Read at the source
Sources & further reading
Links lead to the original publishers.
