MILESTONE: ANZAC Bridge turns 25 (1995-2020)

It's Sydney's No. 2 Bridge - ANZAC Bridge. On Saturday, the bridge will celebrate 25 years of service to Sydney.

The ANZAC Bridge replaced the swing bridge that was opened in 1903. The swing bridge has been retained for heritage purposes. The bridge also improved road travel for commuters travelling along the Victoria Road corridor, eliminating the delays associated with the previous bridge and doubling road capacity (from two to four lanes each way).

For boaties, the new bridge was taller and boats could easily navigate in and out of Blackwattle Bay.

The bridge was formally named ANZAC Bridge on November 11 1998.

Below is media coverage from The Daily Telegraph Mirror.

On December 4, 1995, The Daily Telegraph Mirror published a special four page liftout focusing on the official opening ceremony. On the previous day around 65 000 Sydneysiders walked across the bridge before being opened to traffic that evening.

The same edition (PM edition) also carried a page one report on the first peak hour run for the bridge. For the first weeks of operation, only two lanes were open each way. Congestion on the western approaches was heavier than normal.

The Daily Telegraph Mirror attempted to identify the causes of the congestion the following day (December 5).

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MILESTONE: The Sunday Telegraph turns 75

On this day in 1939, Sir Frank Packer launched The Sunday Telegraph as the sister paper to The Daily Telegraph. In 1939, it was a broadsheet and cost threepenny (2 cents). The media baron wanted to take on the Sunday market and got his wish.

Page One of the first edition on November 19, 1939.

Three years later (1942), it was converted to a tabloid to overcome rationing of newsprint. 

Packer reigned supreme over the paper until he made a decision to sell the paper and The Daily Telegraph to Rupert Murdoch and News Limited. it has been in his hands ever since. 

I recently managed to get a scan of the cover of its 50th Anniversary Edition in 1989, which happened to be November 19, 1989. 

From its beginning, in 1939 the paper has grown to be the biggest selling newspaper in Australia. As of mid-2014, approximately 488 500 copies are printed each week with a readership of 1.3 million people. 

While it is a Sydney newspaper, the paper itself is widely available on Sundays in the ACT, Victoria and Queensland. I believe that it stemmed from the merger of the paper with The Sunday Australian in 1972.