Sydney Harbour Bridge million, which was not paid off in full until 1988. The bridge was formally opened on Saturday, 19 March 1932. Amongst those who attended and gave speeches were the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Philip Game, and the Minister for Public Works, Lawrence Ennis. The Premier of New South Wales, Jack Lang, was to open the bridge by cutting a ribbon at its southern end. However, just as Lang was about to cut the ribbon, a man in military uniform rode up on a horse, slashing the ribbon with his sword and opening the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the
Sydney Harbour Bridge and 6,000 people celebrated a picnic on the bridge accompanied by live music. The event was repeated in 2010. Although originally scheduled again in 2011, this event was moved to Bondi Beach due to traffic concerns about the prolonged closing of the bridge. On 19 March 2012 the 80th anniversary of the Sydney Harbour Bridge was celebrated with a picnic dedicated to the stories of people with personal connections to the bridge. In addition, Google dedicated its Google Doodle on the 19th to the event. The proposal to upgrade the bridge tolling equipment was announced by the NSW Roads Minister