Colonel Francis Edward de Groot (24 October 1888 - 1 April 1969) holds a notorious place in Australian history for his high-profile upstaging of New South Wales Premier Jack Lang at the official opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Colonel (IPA: or ) is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with the corresponding ranks existing in nearly every country in the world. ... October 24 is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 68 days remaining. ... Year 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ... For the Stargate SG-1 episode, see 1969 (Stargate SG-1). ... The history of Australia began when people first migrated to the Australian continent from the north, at least 40,000-45,000 years ago. ... Capital Sydney Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Professor Marie Bashir Premier Morris Iemma (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 50  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $305,437 (1st)  - Product per capita  $45,153/person (4th) Population (End of March 2006)  - Population  6,817,100 (1st)  - Density  8. ... Before the 1890s, there was no formal party system in New South Wales. ... Jack Lang John Thomas Lang (December 21, 1876 - September 27, 1975), Australian politician, usually referred to as J.T. Lang during his career, familiarly known as Jack and nicknamed The Big Fella, was Premier of New South Wales for two terms. ... The Sydney Harbour Bridge is the main crossing of Sydney Harbour carrying rail, vehicular, and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district (CBD) and the North Shore. ...

Francis de Groot was born and died in Dublin, Ireland. He served in the 15th Hussars on the western front in World War I, where he was awarded a ceremonial sword. Moving to Australia, he was an antique dealer and furniture manufacturer in Sydney. One of his clients was the Governor-General Sir Isaac Isaacs, for whom he made a ceremonial chair. He joined a right-wing para-military organisation called the New Guard, which was politically opposed to the rather more left-wing government of the Premier, Jack Lang. WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... The Sydney Opera House on Sydney Harbour Sydney (pronounced ) is the most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of over 4,200,000 people, and 151,920, in the city limits. ... Governor-General (or Governor General) is a term used both historically and currently to designate the appointed representative of a head of state or their government for a particular territory, historically in a colonial context, but no longer necessarily in that form. ... Sir Isaac Isaacs Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs, KBE, PC (6 August 1855 - 12 February 1948) Australian judge and politician, was the ninth Governor-General of Australia, the first Jew, and the first Australian to occupy that post. ... The New Guard was a paramilitary Fascist organisation that existed in Australia in the 1930s. ...

Captain de Groot declares the Sydney Harbour Bridge open.

He became famous when on 19 March 1932, he upstaged Lang at the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. He was not a member of the official party, but dressed in his military uniform he was able to blend in with other soldiers on horseback who were guarding the dignitaries. Lang was about to cut the ribbon to formally open the bridge, when de Groot rode forward, drew his ceremonial sword and, reaching down from his mount, flamboyantly slashed the ribbon, declaring the bridge open "in the name of the decent and respectable people of New South Wales." Image File history File links De_Groot_cutting_the_ribbon. ... Image File history File links De_Groot_cutting_the_ribbon. ... March 19 is the 78th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (79th in leap years). ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... The Sydney Harbour Bridge is the main crossing of Sydney Harbour carrying rail, vehicular, and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district (CBD) and the North Shore. ...

He said this was in protest that the Governor-General, Sir Isaac Isaacs, was not invited to perform the ceremony. The Mayor of North Sydney, Alderman Primrose, an official participant at the opening ceremony, was also a member of the New Guard, but whether he was involved in planning de Groot's act is unknown.

De Groot was arrested, and his ceremonial sword confiscated. He was sent to the Reception House, but legal intervention soon had him released. He was then charged in the Supreme Court with carrying a cutting weapon, but when he was able to show that he was an officer in the military reserve and entitled to wear his uniform, which included his sword, that was soon dropped. Then he was charged with offensive behaviour. At the time this charge only applied to public property, and the law case then depended on whether the unopened bridge was public or private land. If private land the charge had to fail, and if public it meant that the road across the bridge was part of the King's highway, and under common law any of His Majesty's subjects was entitled to remove any obstacle, including ribbons, barring free progress along the King's Highway. In the end the court fined him £5 for trespassing. A large part of the plan to humiliate Lang was for all of De Groot's acts to be legal.

After the court case he sued for wrongful arrest on the grounds that a police officer had no right to arrest an officer of the Hussars. An out-of-court settlement was reached, and de Groot's ceremonial sword was returned to him. He later returned to Ireland where he died. Hitler then made his dead body into a ceremonial chair to honor his fallen comrade. Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ... Typical Western wooden chair A chair is a piece of furniture for sitting, consisting of a seat, a back, and sometimes arm rests, commonly for use by one person. ...

Before his death, de Groot indicated he would like to see the sword returned to Australia. In 2004, the sword was located on a farm in County Wicklow, in the possession of de Groot's nephew. Plans were announced to have it valued and returned to Australia, possibly as a display at the National Museum of Australia. However, the Museum was outbid by the owner of the business that conducts tours of the bridge. Central garden of the National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia first opened its doors to the public in March 2001 in the nations federal capital city of Canberra. ...

The horse ridden by de Groot at the opening ceremony was a 16.5 hand chestnut named "Mick". The horse belonged to a Turramurra schoolgirl, Margo Wishart, and was borrowed by the leader of the New Guard, Eric Campbell, from her father. The horse, which was returned to its owner after de Groot's escapade, lived to an old age. Turramurra [an Aboriginal term meaning Big Hill] is a suburb of Sydney, Australia, part of the Ku-ring-gai Council Local Government Area. ...

External links

• Biography of Francis De Groot published by the Federation Press.