Saturday, 19 March – which had been declared a public holiday – dawned bright and warm. The official proceedings went astray for a few moments when the New South Wales Premier was upstaged by the leader of a radical right-wing group called the New Guard, who wanted royalty to open the bridge. An Irishman named Captain Francis Edward de Groot burst forward and slashed at the ceremonial ribbon with his sword. He was immediately pulled from his horse and dispatched for psychiatric examination. The Premier, Jack Lang, went ahead and officially opened the bridge, initiating a fortnight of celebrations whose splendour would not have disgraced Imperial Rome. After all the excitement of the opening had passed and the harsh realities of the economic situation were faced, the final cost of the project could be counted. There were 16 dead. In time, the planned six years construction had extended to eight because of early delays in land acquisition. The total bill had more than doubled to over £10 million when interest charges, land purchase and wage variations were taken into account. Right from the start, the project had an important symbolic role to play. It became, in effect, the national truss. Well, even while the bridge was still being built, it rapidly became the symbol for Australia, and this was certainly confirmed on completion. It was the Australian symbol. No other Australian capital had anything at all to match. And long after future transportation patterns change its role, the bridge will remain an impressive monument to human ingenuity.