1988: Queen Elizabeth II opens Darling Harbour

Above: The Sydney Morning Herald produced a special supplement to mark the official opening of Darling Harbour on May 4, 1988. 

On May 4, it marked 30 years since the Queen officially opened Darling Harbour on the same day in 1988. Darling Harbour was opened to the public in January, but much of the precinct was still a construction site.

Source: Darling Harbour Authority. 1988. "The A-H of Seeing The Queen" (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph, May 4: 14. 

Since January, Harbourside opened in two stages and Exhibition Centre (demolished in 2014 for the new complex) was now ready for public use.

Source: Bilkey, M. 1988. "Frantic rush to get Darling Harbor ready". The Daily Telegraph, May 4: 13. 

The Queen arrived on the Royal Yacht Britannia before being driven to Tumablong Park where she officially declared that Darling Harbour was open.

She also visited the First State 88 exhibition at the Exhibition Centre and did a public walkabout.

Below are newspaper clippings from The Daily Telegraph (May 5, 1988) and The Daily Mirror (May 4, 1988).