quintessentially aussie — kangaroos, koalas and the opera house

a golden tribute to australia’s iconic architectural wonder

“it is the symbol of modern australia. it’s the most recognized thing… internationally, apart from the kangaroo and the koala, and the most loved.”

those words, spoken by louise herron, CEO of the sydney opera house, perhaps said it best. speaking to australia’s ABC radio, herron called danish architect jorn utzon’s architectural masterpiece “the image of australia to the world”, (except for kangaroos and koalas).

fifty years to the day after the magnificent performing arts center opened its doors on a promontory jutting out over sydney harbor, utzon was well remembered. it’s been more than half a century since local politicians and bureaucrats harrassed him and eventually ran him off in disputes over cost overrruns. time has shown that his insistence on spending that extra dollar (or tens of millions of dollars) to fulfill his extravagant vision of a world class opera house has been more than vindicated.

utzon went back to denmark and vowed never to return to australia after his unpleasant experience. he died without seeing his creation in person. but his eldest son and daughter, jan and lin utzon, were honored guests at a golden anniversary extravaganza the opera house hosted for sydney’s cultural illuminati. (i.e. the folks who keep the lights on and pay the bills). as the price of admittance, attendees all wore (at least) a touch of gold.

the anniversary also provided a golden opportunity to tally up the value sydney has received for the US$102 million dollar investment it made in australia’s culture back in the mid-20th century. can its value even be quantified?

david redhill has been following the evolution of “the house” since he witnessed its opening as a teenager. years later, the adult redhill became a consultant with the international business advisory firm deloitte, where he remembered the grand opening and contemplated the question of what the expenditure that had seemed so large in 1973 had become in current dollar. in other words, what was the return on investment that sydney and australia had received from the opera house. after discussing the question of the house’s value with CEO louise herron at the 40th anniversary celebration in 2013, redhill developed a complex mathematical framework for longitudinally tracking the financial impact of herron’s development program for the house — what it had gained in terms of the sydney’s and australia’s role and reputation, not just domestically, but in the international arts community. ten years ago, the formula yielded a valuation of US$4.6 billion. using the same metrics today, redhill calculates the current value at US$11.4 billion. and that’s not counting its brand value.

“whatever the total income it generates directly,” redhill wrote, “it’s obvious that the opera house is worth more in the minds and hearts of australians. its pre-eminent value is social, and its brand is peerless.”

that article containing its lofty valuation was enough to get redhill and his wife amanda invited to herron’s backstage birthday party, where he could be seen wearing “a touch” of gold. some other invitees may have overdone it on the gold theme.

among the extremists was steve coburn, son of john coburn, the artist who created the exotic “curtain of the sun” tapestry that was on display in the joan sutherland theater for the weekend’s festivities.

steve came outfitted in yellow pants, an eye popping yellow paisley sports coat, and a lemon yellow hatband. that outfit might have been considered a faux pas at many of sydney’s high society functions, but was perfectly de rigueur at this golden-hearted celebration. (see picture above).

for the 400 invited “golden guests”, it was a night to remember.

let it not be said, however, that the rest of australia was ignored by the party’s planners. this is the people’s house, after all, and the entire complex was open to the public for the remainder of the birthday weekend. an estimated 37,000 free-ticketed visitors paraded through the concert halls, serenaded along their journey by musicians playing mini-concerts …

some non-musical performers also got in the act, performing dance scenes from famous 18th century operas on the concourse overlooking sydney harbor.

the birthday celebration made headlines the world over, with news outlets in several countries adding stories of their citizens’ contribution to the construction of “the house”. the irish times newspaper capped its coverage with a sidebar about an irishman (irishperson?) whose engineering skills were instrumental in creating the sail-like (but challenging to construct) roof panels.

The Irishman and structural engineer Peter Rice played a central role in creating the revolutionary modern structure, using his mathematical expertise and artistic intuition to convert concrete, steel, and glass into the world-renowned white sails roof structure.

(tip o’the hat to trish mc carthy, spouse of the irish ambassador to australia, for spotting that article)

visitors used to seeing the familiar white sails of the opera house exterior were treated to the view from the inside out — almost as stunning.

and while, on the night of the anniversary, viewers from across the water had the unparalleled view of the laser-lighted opera house pictured at the top of this post, partygoers at the birthday celebration had the opposite perspective; spectacular in a different light.

too bad they only do these big 50 year birthday parties every half century or so. we can’t wait for the next one, if only to see if the opera house will have displaced kangaroos and koalas to become #1 in the minds and hearts of australians. from a financial standpoint, it’s already a no-brainer. for an investment of US$102 million, sydney now has $11.4 billion (with a B) in value, and as analyst david redhill’s value survey revealed,

“…three aussie icons stand head and shoulders above all others as quintessentially australian and universally loved; the koala, the kangaroo and the sydney opera house. no other human-built creation even comes close.

so to jorn utzon (RIP wherever you are), please remember: the penny-pinching bureaucrats and politicians who ran you off in a dispute over minor details may have won the battle of that day, but half a century on, the evidence is clear. your vision has, and will, endure. $11.4 billion worth (at least), and counting!

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