Opera House Heritage listed

28 Jan 2007, 12:00 am   -   Source: AAP
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Sydney's Opera House has achieved World Heritage listing. (AAP)

Sydney's Opera House has achieved World Heritage listing. (AAP)

The Sydney Opera House has been added to the World Heritage list which includes the Taj Mahal, the Statue of Liberty, the Great Wall of China and Egypt's pyramids.

The Sydney Opera House has been added to the World Heritage list which includes the Taj Mahal, the Statue of Liberty, the Great Wall of China and Egypt's pyramids.

A meeting of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee in New Zealand today voted to add the Australian icon to the list.

UNESCO's Roni Amelan says the decision was made unanimously by the committee.

Mr Amelan says there was consensus it's a truly outstanding iconic building and a defining moment in 20th century architecture.

It was a case of third time lucky for the Opera House which has failed in bids to be included in the register in 1981 and 1996.

The Opera House is only the second piece of Australian architecture on the list after Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens were added in 2004.

Australia now has 17 sites listed including the Great Barrier Reef Kakadu National Park Uluru and fossil sites at Riversleigh and Naracoorte.

This was "a momentous occasion" in the history of Sydney, NSW Premier Morris Iemma said.

The Opera House was a "building which broke the rules" and had left its mark on the 20th century and became an icon, the premier told parliament.

He also praised the architect of the building, Joern Utzon.

"It's also about a man called Utzon, who gave us such a gift and whom we can never repay," he said.

"Today we share in Utzon's triumph and offer our humble thanks to the great man. Without his genius the crown of the harbour would not exist."

Mr Iemma said the Sydney Opera House was the ultimate people's palace.
 

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