Sydney Harbour Bridge in Qld colours

The Sydney Harbour Bridge will be draped in Queensland colours for a week in
mid-July following the conclusion of the State of Origin matches, the NSW government
has confirmed.
The bet between the rival states has traditionally seen the losing side fly the
other state's official flag from their respective iconic bridges.
The maroon flag was going to fly on top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge from next
Thursday following the final State of Origin match next Wednesday.
But the Aboriginal flag will be flying over the bridge as this falls within NAIDOC
(National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee) week celebrations.
The maroon flag will therefore be displayed on top of the bridge for a week from
July 12-19, NSW Acting Premier Carmel Tebbutt said in a statement on Friday.
In June, the Blues suffered a fifth straight State of Origin series loss after
Queensland won the second of three games in the series 34-6.
The traditional bet involving the losing state flying the winner's flag - either on
Sydney Harbour Bridge or Brisbane's Story Bridge - started in 1999 with a wager
between Queensland's Peter Beattie and NSW's Bob Carr, when the Maroons won the
series.
Over the past decade there has been some controversy, including in 2002 when Mr Carr
refused to fly the flag when Queensland retained the Origin shield through a drawn
series.
In recent years a signed Queensland jersey has hung in the NSW premier's office as a
sign of Queensland's dominance.



Delete & Prev | Delete & Next