If Dr John Bradfield were alive today he would have been a savvy influencer.

Bradfield (26 December 1867 – 23 September 1943) is the remarkable engineer behind the design and construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge as well as Brisbane’s Story Bridge a little later. He was born in Sandgate, Brisbane.

It has long been thought that the first radio broadcast from the bridge occurred during the ceremony that accompanied its opening on March 19, 1932 with the national institutions of Australia including the National Library, National Museum and NFSA possessing audio, film and images from the day.

But research auditor Dr Rob Hall discovered that Bradfield, in his quest for a grand vision of Sydney, had in fact broadcast from the Bridge before that on 2FC, which is now ABC Radio National Sydney.

The archival main image shows Dr Bradfield centre on the city-side pylon with Cecil Hall checking the script and N Lyons holding the square microphone ahead of the broadcast which took place on Sunday October 20, 1929 from 3 till 4:30 pm, two and a half years before the opening!

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