98-916: David Wenham AM is an Australian actor who has appeared in film, television and theatre. He is known for his roles as Faramir in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , Friar Carl in Van Helsing and Van Helsing: The London Assignment , Dilios in 300 and its sequel 300: Rise of an Empire , Al Parker in Top of the Lake , Lieutenant John Scarfield in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales , and Hank Snow in Elvis . He
196-600: A bow on the left shoulder, although they may wear the same insignia as males if so desired. A gold lapel pin for daily wear is issued with each badge of the order at the time of investiture; AK/AD and AC lapel pins feature a citrine central jewel, AO and AM lapel pins have a blue enamelled centre and OAM lapel pins are plain. The different levels of the order are awarded according to the recipients' levels of achievement: Since 1976 any Australian citizen may nominate any person for an Order of Australia award. People who are not Australian citizens may be awarded honorary membership of
294-561: A challenge to take the prime ministership in September 2015. Two months after coming into office, the new republican prime minister announced that the Queen had approved his request to amend the Order's letters patent and cease awards at this level. Existing titles would not be affected. The move was attacked by monarchists and praised by republicans. The amendments to the constitution of
392-456: A cost of £ 3,500,000 ($ 7 million) and completion date of 26 January 1963 ( Australia Day ). In reality, the project was completed ten years late and 1,357% over budget in real terms. In 1972, a construction worker was fired, leading the BLF -affiliated workers to demand his rehiring and a 25% wage increase. In response to this, all the workers were fired, and in revenge the workers broke into
490-709: A distance, they actually feature a subtle chevron pattern composed of 1,056,006 tiles in two colours: glossy white and matte cream. The tiles were manufactured by the Swedish company Höganäs AB which generally produced stoneware tiles for the paper-mill industry. Apart from the tile of the shells and the glass curtain walls of the foyer spaces, the building's exterior is largely clad with aggregate panels composed of pink granite quarried at Tarana . Significant interior surface treatments also include off-form concrete, Australian white birch plywood supplied from Wauchope in northern New South Wales, and brush box glulam . Of
588-475: A large payment for their troubles. Before the Sydney Opera House competition, Jørn Utzon had won seven of the 18 competitions he had entered but had never seen any of his designs built. Utzon's submitted concept for the Sydney Opera House was almost universally admired and considered groundbreaking. The Assessors Report of January 1957 stated: The drawings submitted for this scheme are simple to
686-589: A member of the British Empire, members of the colonies and later federated nation of Australia were able to have achievement awarded under the British Imperial Honours system . However, existing criticism of the aristocratic nature of the awards grew following a cash-for-honours corruption scandal in the UK in 1922. Moves to abolish the awards federally and the states were unsuccessful; however
784-653: A member of the Sydney Opera House Executive Committee, states: "Utzon came up with an idea of making all the shells of uniform curvature throughout in both directions." Peter Jones, the author of Ove Arup's biography, states that "the architect and his supporters alike claimed to recall the precise eureka moment ...; the engineers and some of their associates, with equal conviction, recall discussion in both central London and at Ove's house." He goes on to claim that "the existing evidence shows that Arup's canvassed several possibilities for
882-501: A modern expressionist design , with a series of large precast concrete "shells", each composed of sections of a sphere of 75.2 metres (246 ft 8.6 in) radius, forming the roofs of the structure, set on a monumental podium. The building covers 1.8 hectares (4.4 acres) of land and is 183 m (600 ft) long and 120 m (394 ft) wide at its widest point. It is supported on 588 concrete piers sunk as much as 25 m (82 ft) below sea level. The highest roof point
980-417: A philistine, he had been exposed before Parliament and dumped as Country Party leader for 19 years of falsely claiming a university degree. The Opera House gave Hughes a second chance. For him, as for Utzon, it was all about control; about the triumph of homegrown mediocrity over foreign genius. Differences ensued. One of the first was that Utzon believed the clients should receive information on all aspects of
1078-651: A recording studio, retail shops, cafes, restaurants, bars including the Opera Bar and Opera Kitchen. Guided tours are available, including a frequent tour of the front-of-house spaces, and a daily backstage tour that takes visitors backstage to see areas normally reserved for performers and crew members. Planning began in the late 1940s when Eugene Goossens , the Director of the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music , lobbied for
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#17327806858251176-585: A representation of the states (with whom Whitlam's government was constantly in dispute) through the state badges within the Commonwealth Coat of Arms . The original three-level structure of the Order of Australia was modelled closely upon the Order of Canada , though the Order of Australia has been awarded rather more liberally, especially in regard to honorary awards to non-citizens. As of July 2024 only 30 non-Canadians have been appointed to
1274-493: A suitable venue for large theatrical productions. The normal venue for such productions, the Sydney Town Hall , was not considered large enough. By 1954 Goossens succeeded in gaining the support of New South Wales Premier Joseph Cahill , who called for designs for a dedicated opera house. It was also Goossens who insisted that Bennelong Point be the site: Cahill had wanted it to be on or near Wynyard Railway Station in
1372-424: Is 67 metres above sea-level which is the same height as that of a 22-storey building. The roof is made of 2,194 pre-cast concrete sections, which weigh up to 15 tonnes each. Although the roof structures are commonly referred to as "shells" (as in this article), they are precast concrete panels supported by precast concrete ribs, not shells in a strictly structural sense. Though the shells appear uniformly white from
1470-511: Is a Sydney Swans supporter. Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II , Queen of Australia , on the advice of then prime minister Gough Whitlam . Before the establishment of the order, Australians could receive British honours , which continued to be issued in parallel until 1992. Appointments to
1568-444: Is a convex golden disc decorated with citrines, with a blue royally crowned inner disc bearing an image of the coat of arms of Australia. The ribbon of the order is royal blue with a central stripe of mimosa blossoms. Awards in the military division are edged with 1.5 mm golden bands. AKs, male ACs and AOs wear their badges on a necklet and male AMs and OAMs wear them on a ribbon on the left chest. Women usually wear their badges on
1666-434: Is a registered charity, whose stated purpose is "[t]o celebrate and promote outstanding Australian citizenship". It also supports the "community and social activities" of members and promotes and encourages the nomination of other Australians to the Order. The Order also runs a foundation that provides scholarships to tertiary students that show potential as future leaders and are involved in community activities. Branches of
1764-482: Is adapted from the Karin Slaughter novel of the same name . In 2022, Wenham returned to work with director Baz Luhrmann again to play the role of country singer Hank Snow in the biographical film Elvis . In November 2022, Wenham played Scrooge in a production of A Christmas Carol, his performance was praised as showing Scrooge as traumatised. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in
1862-467: Is also one of the first in the world to use araldite to glue the precast structural elements together and proved the concept for future use. It was also a first in mechanical engineering. Another Danish firm, Steensen Varming , was responsible for designing the new air-conditioning plant, the largest in Australia at the time, supplying over 600,000 cubic feet (17,000 m ) of air per minute, using
1960-580: Is known in his native Australia for his role as Diver Dan in SeaChange and Price Galese in Les Norton . Wenham has five older sisters; Helen, Anne, Carmel, Kathryn, and Maree; and one older brother, Peter. He was raised in the Roman Catholic faith and attended Christian Brothers' High School, Lewisham , Sydney. Wenham started his career as an actor after graduating from Theatre Nepean at
2058-563: Is likely to feel a bit second-rate, and the public is likely to agree. We hate to be the first to say it, but there is no doubt that the Order of Australia (OA) will be labelled as the Ocker Award. Satire and mockery also greeted the awards, being dubbed "Gough’s Gongs" and "the Order of the Wombat". The newly elected Liberal Fraser government decided to once again make recommendations for imperial awards, whilst maintaining and expanding
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#17327806858252156-553: The 2023 Australia Day Honours . Wenham met actress and yoga teacher Kate Agnew at a play at Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, Australia in 1994. They began a relationship that year. They have two daughters. As of 2020, they live together in a $ 2.75 million-dollar house in Brisbane, Australia . On 20 September 2006, Wenham read a poem called "The Crocodiles are Crying" by Rupert McCall at the memorial service for Steve Irwin . Wenham
2254-488: The Australian Labor Party remained opposed and generally refused to recommend awards whilst in office, with this a part of the party's platform since 1918. This was confirmed in a resolution adopted unanimously by the party conference in 1921. However, the non-Labor parties remained supportive, with the long running Menzies government making significant use of the imperial system. The Order of Australia
2352-525: The Herald offered the view that: "It was not his [Utzon's] fault that a succession of Governments and the Opera House Trust should so signally have failed to impose any control or order on the project ... his concept was so daring that he himself could solve its problems only step by step ... his insistence on perfection led him to alter his design as he went along." The Sydney Opera House opened
2450-701: The Melbourne Theatre Company 's mid-year production of Arthur Miller 's The Crucible . In 2014, Wenham starred as Patrick Jones in Paper Planes , released on 15 January 2015. That same year, Wenham voiced the role Jacko a frilled-neck lizard, in Blinky Bill the Movie . In 2016, Wenham played the role of John, the adoptive father of Saroo Brierley in Lion . Wenham played the role of
2548-696: The Sydney Symphony Orchestra . As one of the most popular visitor attractions in Australia, the site is visited by more than eight million people annually, and approximately 350,000 visitors take a guided tour of the building each year. The building is managed by the Sydney Opera House Trust , an agency of the New South Wales State Government. On 28 June 1998 the Sydney Opera House became a UNESCO World Heritage Site , having been listed on
2646-639: The Sydney central business district and the Royal Botanic Gardens , and near to the Sydney Harbour Bridge . The building comprises multiple performance venues, which together host well over 1,500 performances annually, attended by more than 1.2 million people. Performances are presented by numerous performing artists, with many resident companies such as Opera Australia , the Sydney Theatre Company and
2744-519: The University of Western Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts (Performing Arts) in 1987. Wenham's television credits include several telefilms, such as his AFI award-winning role in 1997's Simone de Beauvoir's Babies ; and his role as the outwardly laid back but deeply enigmatic diver Dan Della Bosca in the 1998 and 1999 seasons of the ABC television series SeaChange . His role as "Diver Dan" has made
2842-437: The premier , Joseph Cahill , authorised work to begin in 1958 with Utzon directing construction. The government's decision to build Utzon's design is often overshadowed by circumstances that followed, including cost and scheduling overruns as well as the architect's ultimate resignation. The building and its surrounds occupy the whole of Bennelong Point on Sydney Harbour , between Sydney Cove and Farm Cove , adjacent to
2940-871: The (now defunct) Register of the National Estate since 1980, the National Trust of Australia register since 1983, the City of Sydney Heritage Inventory since 2000, the New South Wales State Heritage Register since 2003, and the Australian National Heritage List since 2005. The Opera House was also a finalist in the New7Wonders of the World campaign list. The facility features
3038-829: The 2007 film 300 . He reprises his role of Dilios in both the 2014 sequel, 300: Rise of an Empire and the video game, 300: March to Glory for Sony PlayStation Portable, which contains a substantial amount of new dialogue. Minor roles of Wenham's in overseas films include in The Crocodile Hunter as a park ranger, and briefly in Moulin Rouge! as Audrey. Wenham stars in the music video for Alex Lloyd 's single " Brand New Day ". In 2008's Australia , he reunited with Hugh Jackman playing antagonist Neil Fletcher. In 2009, he appeared in Public Enemies as one of John Dillinger 's men. He also returned to
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3136-409: The 2400 precast ribs and 4000 roof panels in an on-site factory and also developed the construction processes. The achievement of this solution avoided the need for expensive formwork construction by allowing the use of precast units and it also allowed the roof tiles to be prefabricated in sheets on the ground, instead of being stuck on individually at height. The tiles themselves were manufactured by
3234-474: The 435 people who have received the nation's top Order of Australia honours since they were first awarded in 1975, shows they disproportionately attended a handful of elite Victorian secondary schools. Scotch College alumni received the highest number of awards, with 19 former students receiving Australia's [then] highest honour". On 26 January 1980 the Order of Australia Association was created as an incorporated body with membership open to award recipients. It
3332-466: The Australian television series Killing Time . This ten-part series shows Fraser's fall from grace as he defends many Melbourne criminals during the 1980s and 1990s. It was shown on TV1 in late 2011. Wenham plays New Zealand detective Al Parker alongside Elisabeth Moss in the 2013 BBC series Top of the Lake . In 2013, Wenham returned to the stage to play the lead role of John Proctor , in
3430-568: The Ministry's criticism of the project's costs and time, along with their impression of Utzon's designs being impractical, this ultimately led to his resignation in 1966 (see below). The cost of the project so far, even in October 1966, was still only A$ 22.9 million, less than a quarter of the final $ 102 million cost. However, the projected costs for the design were at this stage much more significant. The second stage of construction
3528-486: The New South Wales government insisting contracts be put out to tender . Utzon was highly reluctant to respond to questions or criticism from the client's Sydney Opera House Executive Committee (SOHEC). However, he was greatly supported throughout by a member of the committee and one of the original competition judges, Harry Ingham Ashworth . Utzon was unwilling to compromise on some aspects of his designs that
3626-514: The Opera House project) all played a very significant part in the design development. As Peter Murray states in The Saga of the Sydney Opera House : ... the two men—and their teams—enjoyed a collaboration that was remarkable in its fruitfulness and, despite many traumas, was seen by most of those involved in the project as a high point of architect/engineer collaboration. The design of
3724-418: The Order of Australia and the award of 199 Honorary Medals of the Order of Australia. Notable honorary awards include: Since 1975, just over 30 per cent of recipients of an Order of Australia honour have been women. The number of nominations and awards for women is trending up, with the 2023 Australia Day Honours resulting in the highest percentage of awards for women to date (47.1 per cent, 47.9 per cent in
3822-465: The Order of Australia is a convex disc (gold for AKs, ADs and ACs, gilt for AOs, AMs and OAMs) representing a single flower of mimosa . At the centre is a ring, representing the sea, with the word Australia below two branches of mimosa. The whole disc is topped by the Crown of St Edward . The AC badge is decorated with citrines , blue enamelled ring, and enamelled crown. The AO badge is similar, without
3920-597: The Order of Australia. This was done by with the addition of two additional award levels: Knight or Dame (AK or AD) above the level of Companion, and the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) below Members. The Civil Division was also renamed the General Division, so that awards could be given to those in the Defence Force for non-military achievement. These changes were made on 24 May 1976. The reaction to
4018-486: The Order of Canada, while 537 non-Australians have been appointed to the Order of Australia, with 46 to the Companion level. Public reaction to the new awards was mixed. Only the state Labor governments of Tasmania and South Australia agreed to submit recommendations for the new awards, with the remaining governments affirming their committent to the existing imperial honours system. Newspaper editorials similarly praised
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4116-439: The Order were gazetted on 22 December 2015. Yvonne Kenny AM represented the Order at the 2023 Coronation . King Charles III , when he was Prince of Wales , was appointed a Knight of the Order of Australia (AK) on 14 March 1981. As he is not an Australian citizen, even though he was the heir to the Australian throne at the time, this would have required the award to be honorary. To overcome this issue, his appointment
4214-594: The Order would be determined by the Council of the Order of Australia. Awards of the Order of Australia are sometimes made to people who are not citizens of Australia to honour extraordinary achievements. These achievements, or the people themselves, are not necessarily associated with Australia, although they often are. On 1 July 2024, the Australian Honours website listed appointments for 46 Honorary Companions, 118 Honorary Officers, 174 Honorary Members of
4312-441: The Queen to reinstate the level of knight or dame and the Queen co-signed letters patent to bring this into effect. The change was publicly announced on 25 March, and gazetted on 17 April 2014. Up to four knights or dames could be appointed each year, by the Queen of Australia on the advice of the prime minister after consultation with the chairman of the Order of Australia Council. Five awards of knight and dame were then made, to
4410-497: The Swedish company Höganäs Keramik . It took three years of development to produce the effect Utzon wanted in what became known as the Sydney Tile, 120mm square. It is made from clay with a small percentage of crushed stone. Ove Arup and Partners' site engineer supervised the construction of the shells, which used an innovative adjustable steel-trussed "erection arch" (developed by Hornibrook's engineer Joe Bertony ) to support
4508-574: The actor something of a sex symbol , although he dislikes thinking of himself as such, and he has been voted Australia's "sexiest man alive". A portrait of Wenham by artist Adam Cullen won the Archibald Prize in 2000. Australian films Wenham has starred in include The Boys (1998) based on the play of the same name premiered at Griffin Theatre Company and in turn based on the murder of Anita Cobby ; Molokai (1999), based on
4606-559: The association are in all the states and territories of Australia as well as the UK and the USA. Total inductees as of July 2024 . The order of wearing Australian and other approved honours is determined by the government. The award is parodied in the play Amigos , where the central character is determined to be awarded the AC, and uses persuasion, bribery and blackmail in his (ultimately successful) attempts to get himself nominated for
4704-502: The award to Prince Philip in a ReachTEL poll. The Australian Labor Party continued to oppose knighthoods and damehoods. Leader of the opposition Bill Shorten stated in March 2014 that the party would again discontinue the level if it were to win the next Australian federal election. The knighthood decision was a significant factor that caused Liberal party members to question Abbott's leadership, with Malcolm Turnbull succeeding in
4802-475: The award. During the 1996 season of the popular television programme Home and Away , the character Pippa Ross was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for her years of service as a foster carer. Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour , it is widely regarded as one of
4900-411: The awards as an example of Australia's greater independence, whilst also noting that the awards would likely appear second-rate. The Australian stated that There is no longer a British Empire; everyone knows that. But somehow the phrase "imperial honours" still carries a ring of regal authenticity that somehow transcends nationalism. For the time being a recipient ... of the Order of Australia
4998-528: The building; stage II (1959–1963) consisted of building the upper podium; stage III (1963–1967) the construction of the outer shells, based upon the image of whales breaching the water; stage IV (1967–1973) interior design and construction. Stage I started on 2 March 1959 with the construction firm Civil & Civic , monitored by the engineers Ove Arup and Partners . The government had pushed for work to begin early, fearing that funding, or public opinion, might turn against them. But Utzon had still not completed
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#17327806858255096-519: The changes to the awards were similarly split along party lines. Following the 1983 federal election , Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke recommitted to the end of recommendations for imperial awards. No knighthoods were awarded during his first term in office and he advised the abolition of the knight/dame level after being re-elected in 1986. During the time the division was active from 1976 to 1983, twelve knights and two dames were created. On 19 March 2014, monarchist prime minister Tony Abbott advised
5194-531: The citrines. For the AM badge, only the crown is enamelled, and the OAM badge is plain. The AK/AD badge is similar to that of the AC badge, but with the difference that it contains at the centre an enamelled disc bearing an image of the coat of arms of Australia . The colours of royal blue and gold are taken from the livery colours of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms , the then national colours . The star for knights and dames
5292-429: The clients wanted to change. Utzon's ability was never in doubt, despite questions raised by Davis Hughes, who attempted to portray Utzon as an impractical dreamer. Ove Arup actually stated that Utzon was "probably the best of any I have come across in my long experience of working with architects" and: "The Opera House could become the world's foremost contemporary masterpiece if Utzon is given his head." In 1965 Utzon
5390-399: The competition were: Professor Henry Ashworth ( University of Sydney ), Cobden Parkes ( New South Wales Government Architect ); Professor Leslie Martin (Professor of Architecture of Cambridge University and architect of Royal Festival Hall 1951) and American architect Eero Saarinen . The winner, announced in Sydney on 29 January 1957, was Danish architect Jørn Utzon . Utzon's design
5488-772: The completion of the final plans. After the 1965 election of the Liberal Party, with Robert Askin becoming Premier of New South Wales , the relationship of client, architect, engineers and contractors became increasingly tense. Askin had been a "vocal critic of the project prior to gaining office." His new Minister for Public Works, Davis Hughes , was even less sympathetic. Elizabeth Farrelly , an Australian architecture critic, wrote that: at an election night dinner party in Mosman, Hughes' daughter Sue Burgoyne boasted that her father would soon sack Utzon. Hughes had no interest in art, architecture or aesthetics. A fraud, as well as
5586-419: The construction site with a crowbar and brought their own toolboxes. Workers' control was applied to the site for five weeks as the construction workers worked 35 hours a week with improved morale, more efficient organization and fewer people skipping work. The workers agreed to end their work-in when management agreed to give them a 25% wage increase, the right to elect their foremen, four weeks annual leave and
5684-449: The costs or work involved in design and construction. Tensions between the client and the design team grew further when an early start to construction was demanded despite an incomplete design. This resulted in a continuing series of delays and setbacks while various technical engineering issues were being refined. The building was unique, and the problems with the design issues and cost increases were exacerbated by commencement of work before
5782-417: The design and construction through his practice, while the clients wanted a system (notably drawn in sketch form by Davis Hughes) where architect, contractors, and engineers each reported to the client directly and separately. This had great implications for procurement methods and cost control, with Utzon wishing to negotiate contracts with chosen suppliers (such as Ralph Symonds for the plywood interiors) and
5880-447: The design team found a solution to the problem: the shells all being created as sections from a sphere. This solution allows arches of varying length to be cast in a common mould, and a number of arch segments of common length to be placed adjacent to one another, to form a spherical section. With whom exactly this solution originated has been the subject of some controversy. It was originally credited to Utzon. Ove Arup's letter to Ashworth,
5978-478: The different roofs before completion. On 6 April 1962, it was estimated that the Opera House would be completed between August 1964 and March 1965. Stage III, the interiors, started with Utzon moving his entire office to Sydney in February 1963. However, there was a change of government in 1965, and the new Robert Askin government declared the project under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public Works. Due to
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#17327806858256076-463: The exception of awards recommended by the soon to be independent government of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea ); however this did not affect the constitutional right of state governments to recommend imperial awards. According to the governor general's then-secretary Sir David Smith , Whitlam was furious when he first saw Devlin's design for the insignia of the order, due to the inclusion of
6174-485: The final designs. Major structural issues still remained unresolved. By 23 January 1961, work was running 47 weeks behind, mainly because of unexpected difficulties (inclement weather, unexpected difficulty diverting stormwater, construction beginning before proper construction drawings had been prepared, changes of original contract documents). Work on the podium was finally completed in February 1963. The forced early start led to significant later problems, not least of which
6272-482: The firm GBQC Architects. The grand prize was 5,000 Australian pounds . Utzon visited Sydney in 1957 to help supervise the project. His office moved to Palm Beach , Sydney in February 1963. Utzon received the Pritzker Architecture Prize , architecture's highest honour, in 2003. The Pritzker Prize citation read: There is no doubt that the Sydney Opera House is his masterpiece. It is one of
6370-489: The general division). Advocacy groups such as Honour a Woman and the Workplace Gender Equality Agency have called for greater effort to be made to reach equal representation of men and women in the order. In December 2010, The Age reported a study of the educational backgrounds of all people who had received Knight/Dame and Companion level awards at that time. It reported: "An analysis of
6468-452: The geometry of the shells, from parabolas to ellipsoids and spheres." Yuzo Mikami, a member of the design team, presents an opposite view in his book on the project, Utzon's Sphere . It is unlikely that the truth will ever be categorically known, but there is a clear consensus that the design team worked very well indeed for the first part of the project and that Utzon, Arup, and Ronald Jenkins (partner of Ove Arup and Partners responsible for
6566-683: The governments of each respective state and territory, and three ex officio members (the chief of the Defence Force , the vice-president of the Federal Executive Council and a public servant responsible for honours policy). The Council chair as of August 2024 is Shelley Reys. The Council makes recommendations to the governor-general. Awards are announced on Australia Day and on the King's Birthday public holiday in June, on
6664-586: The governor-general to remove an individual from the order, who may cancel an award. Announcements of all awards, cancellations and resignations appear in the Commonwealth Gazette . Nomination forms are confidential and not covered by the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) . The reasoning behind a nomination being successful or unsuccessful—and even the attendees of the meetings where such nominations are discussed—remains confidential. As
6762-402: The great iconic buildings of the 20th century, an image of great beauty that has become known throughout the world – a symbol for not only a city but a whole country and continent. The Fort Macquarie Tram Depot , occupying the site at the time of these plans, was demolished in 1958 and construction began in March 1959. The Opera House was built in four stages: stage I (1957–1959) was planning out
6860-530: The lack of collaboration caused his resignation and later described the situation as "Malice in Blunderland". In March 1966, Hughes offered him a subordinate role as "design architect" under a panel of executive architects, without any supervisory powers over the House's construction, but Utzon rejected this. Utzon left the country never to return. Following the resignation, there was great controversy about who
6958-817: The life of Father Damien ; The Bank (2001); Gettin' Square (2003); Stiff (2004); The Brush-Off (2004) and Three Dollars (2005). Wenham has periodically appeared in Hollywood films; he is known for playing Faramir , son of Denethor II , in New Line Cinema's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King . He was seen in Van Helsing playing Hugh Jackman 's sidekick, Friar Carl. His character, Dilios, narrated and appeared in
7056-475: The main hall and further stated that increasing the number of seats to 3,000 as specified in the brief would be disastrous for the acoustics. According to Peter Jones, the stage designer, Martin Carr, criticised the "shape, height and width of the stage, the physical facilities for artists, the location of the dressing rooms, the widths of doors and lifts, and the location of lighting switchboards." The Opera House
7154-476: The northwest of the central business district . An international design competition was launched by Cahill on 13 September 1955 and received 233 entries, representing architects from 32 countries. The criteria specified a large hall seating 3,000 and a small hall for 1,200 people, each to be designed for different uses, including full-scale operas, orchestral and choral concerts, mass meetings, lectures, ballet performances, and other presentations. The jury for
7252-417: The occasion of a special announcement by the governor-general (usually honorary awards), and on the appointment of a new governor-general. The governor-general presents the order's insignia to new appointees. Appointments to the order may be made posthumously as long as a person was nominated for an award whilst they were still alive. Awardees may subsequently resign from the order, and the Council may advise
7350-478: The order are made by the governor-general , "with the approval of The Sovereign", according to recommendations made by the Council for the Order of Australia . Members of the government are not involved in the recommendation of appointments, other than for military and honorary awards. The King of Australia is the sovereign head of the order, and the governor-general is the principal companion and chancellor of
7448-618: The order at all levels. Nomination forms are submitted to the Director, Honours Secretariat, a position within the Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General of Australia , at Government House, Canberra , which are then forwarded to the Council for the Order of Australia . The council consists of 19 members: seven selected by the prime minister (described as "community representatives"), eight appointed by
7546-446: The order. The governor-general's official secretary , Paul Singer (appointed August 2018), is secretary of the order. The order is divided into a general and a military division. The five levels of appointment to the order in descending order of seniority are: Honorary awards at all levels may be made to non-citizens. These awards are made additional to the quotas. The order's insignia was designed by Stuart Devlin . The badge of
7644-457: The outgoing governor-general , Quentin Bryce ; her successor, Peter Cosgrove ; a recent chief of the Defence Force , Angus Houston ; a recent governor of New South Wales , Marie Bashir ; and Prince Philip . This last award was widely met with ridicule and dismay by many in the Australian media. The award was also heavily criticised in the community, with 72% disapproving and 12% in favour of
7742-521: The point of being diagrammatic. Nevertheless, as we have returned again and again to the study of these drawings, we are convinced that they present a concept of an Opera House which is capable of becoming one of the great buildings of the world. For the first stage, Utzon worked successfully with the rest of the design team and the client, but, as the project progressed, the Cahill government insisted on progressive revisions. They also did not fully appreciate
7840-681: The prime minister alone, rather than by the Council of the Order of Australia, as is the case with all lower levels of the order. In accordance with the statutes of 2014, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , was created a Knight of the Order by letters patent signed by the Queen on 7 January 2015, on Abbott's advice. Prince Philip's knighthood was announced as part of the Australia Day Honours on 26 January 2015 and his appointment attracted criticism of what Abbott described as his "captain's call". Abbott responded by announcing that future recommendations for appointments as Knights and Dames of
7938-500: The roof was tested on scale models in wind tunnels at University of Southampton and later NPL to establish the wind-pressure distribution around the roof shape in very high winds, which helped in the design of the roof tiles and their fixtures. The immensely complex design and construction of the shells was completed by Hornibrook Group Pty Ltd , who were also responsible for construction in Stage III. Hornibrook manufactured
8036-408: The shells involved one of the earliest uses of computers in structural analysis , to understand the complex forces to which the shells would be subjected. The computer system was also used in the assembly of the arches. The pins in the arches were surveyed at the end of each day, and the information was entered into the computer so the next arch could be properly placed the following day. In mid-1961,
8134-553: The stage, this time as the lead actor, Jerry Springer, in the British musical Jerry Springer: The Opera . During its 6-day run at the Sydney Opera House he played in sold-out performances alongside ARIA award-winning singer Kate Miller-Heidke . In 2010, he played the character 'Len' in the Australian drama film Oranges and Sunshine . Also in 2010, Wenham starred as the disgraced Melbourne lawyer Andrew Fraser in
8232-750: The two larger spaces, the Concert Hall is in the western group of shells, the Joan Sutherland Theatre in the eastern group. The scale of the shells was chosen to reflect the internal height requirements, with low entrance spaces, rising over the seating areas up to the high stage towers. The smaller venues (the Drama Theatre, the Playhouse and the Studio) are within the podium, beneath the Concert Hall. A smaller group of shells set to
8330-577: The villain Harold Meachum in the Netflix original television series Iron Fist , which premiered in March 2017. In 2018, Wenham plays the voice of Johnny Town-Mouse in Peter Rabbit , a role he reprised in the 2021 sequel Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway . In 2020, it was announced that Wenham was cast as Jasper Queller in the upcoming Netflix thriller series Pieces of Her , which
8428-422: The way for the immensely complex geometries of some modern architecture. The design was one of the first examples of the use of computer-aided design to design complex shapes. The design techniques developed by Utzon and Arup for the Sydney Opera House have been further developed and are now used for architecture, such as works of Gehry and blobitecture , as well as most reinforced concrete structures. The design
8526-670: The western side of the Monumental Steps houses the Bennelong Restaurant. The podium is surrounded by substantial open public spaces, and the large stone-paved forecourt area with the adjacent monumental steps is regularly used as a performance space. The Sydney Opera House includes a number of performance venues: Other areas (for example the northern and western foyers) are also used for performances on an occasional basis. Venues are also used for conferences, ceremonies and social functions. The building also houses
8624-427: The world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architecture. Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon and completed by an Australian architectural team headed by Peter Hall , the building was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20 October 1973, 16 years after Utzon's 1957 selection as winner of an international design competition. The Government of New South Wales , led by
8722-447: Was created by an amendment to the constitution of the Order of Australia by special letters patent signed by the Queen, on the recommendation of Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser . In March 2014 the knight and dame levels, which had been abolished in 1986 by Prime Minister Bob Hawke , were reintroduced to the Order of Australia by Tony Abbott . At the same time, Abbott announced that future appointments at this level would be recommended by
8820-498: Was established on 14 February 1975 by letters patent of Queen Elizabeth II , acting as Queen of Australia , and on the advice of the newly elected Labor prime minister , Gough Whitlam . The original order had three levels: Companion (AC), Officer (AO) and Member (AM) as well as two divisions: Civil Division and Military Division. Whitlam had previously announced in 1972 (on his third day in office) that his government would no longer nominate persons for British Imperial honours (with
8918-589: Was formally completed in 1973, having cost $ 102 million. H.R. "Sam" Hoare, the Hornibrook director in charge of the project, provided the following approximations in 1973: Stage I: podium Civil & Civic Pty Ltd approximately $ 5.5m. Stage II: roof shells M.R. Hornibrook (NSW) Pty Ltd approximately $ 12.5m. Stage III: completion The Hornibrook Group $ 56.5m. Separate contracts: stage equipment, stage lighting and organ $ 9.0m. Fees and other costs: $ 16.5m. The original cost and scheduling estimates in 1957 projected
9016-487: Was in the right and who was in the wrong. The Sydney Morning Herald initially opined: "No architect in the world has enjoyed greater freedom than Mr Utzon. Few clients have been more patient or more generous than the people and the Government of NSW. One would not like history to record that this partnership was brought to an end by a fit of temper on the one side or by a fit of meanness on the other." On 17 March 1966,
9114-428: Was no repetition in any of the roof forms, the construction of precast concrete for each individual section would possibly have been even more expensive. From 1957 to 1963, the design team went through at least 12 iterations of the form of the shells trying to find an economically acceptable form (including schemes with parabolas, circular ribs and ellipsoids ) before a workable solution was completed. The design work on
9212-437: Was owed more than $ 100,000 in fees. Hughes then withheld funding so that Utzon could not even pay his own staff. The government minutes record that following several threats of resignation, Utzon finally stated to Davis Hughes: "If you don't do it, I resign." Hughes replied: "I accept your resignation. Thank you very much. Goodbye." Utzon left the project on 28 February 1966. He said that Hughes's refusal to pay him any fees and
9310-504: Was progressing toward completion when Utzon resigned. His position was principally taken over by Peter Hall , who became largely responsible for the interior design. Other persons appointed that same year to replace Utzon were E. H. Farmer as government architect, D. S. Littlemore and Lionel Todd. Following Utzon's resignation, the acoustic advisor, Lothar Cremer, confirmed to the Sydney Opera House Executive Committee (SOHEC) that Utzon's original acoustic design allowed for only 2,000 seats in
9408-562: Was selected by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen from a final cut of 30 rejects. The runner-up was a Philadelphia -based team assembled by Robert Geddes and George Qualls, both teaching at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design . They brought together a band of Penn faculty and friends from Philadelphia architectural offices, including Melvin Brecher, Warren Cunningham, Joseph Marzella, Walter Wiseman, and Leon Loschetter. Geddes, Brecher, Qualls, and Cunningham went on to found
9506-525: Was that the podium columns were not strong enough to support the roof structure, and had to be re-built. The shells of the competition entry were originally of undefined geometry, but, early in the design process, the "shells" were perceived as a series of parabolas supported by precast concrete ribs. However, engineers Ove Arup and Partners were unable to find an acceptable solution to constructing them. The formwork for using in-situ concrete would have been prohibitively expensive, and, because there
9604-501: Was working closely with Ralph Symonds , a manufacturer of plywood based in Sydney and highly regarded by many, despite an Arup engineer warning that Ralph Symonds's "knowledge of the design stresses of plywood was extremely sketchy" and that the technical advice was "elementary to say the least and completely useless for our purposes." Australian architecture critic Elizabeth Farrelly has referred to Ove Arup's project engineer Michael Lewis as having "other agendas". By February 1966, Utzon
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