Forty years ago The Queen opened the Opera House, the incomparable design of Jørn Oberg Utzon, AC.
The Opera House was the dream of a humble man of remarkable vision, the great Joe Cahill, Labor Premier and a dedicated supporter of the constitutional monarchy.
Without Joe Cahill there would be no Opera House; without Jørn Oberg Utzon, AC, it would not be so spectacularly beautiful.
The inscription on a plaque records Joe Cahill's thoughts "If we in our lifetime did nothing more than express our love of the arts by providing a building worthy of them, even when names are forgotten, the building will always remain as a testimony to what was done in the year 1954 by a group of citizens for the encouragement of talent and culture."