1932 was a momentous year for Sydney. The Sydney Harbour Bridge, an engineering miracle of the day was opened in March. In July 1932 the Australian Broadcasting Commission (now Corporation) was established, and with it the group of musicians that would become the Sydney Symphony.

The Orchestra consisted of just 24 players, who performed incidental music for radio plays, music for the dinner hour and broadcasts of concert repertoire. The first significant concert event in which the orchestra took centre stage occurred in 1934, when the renowned Irish conductor Sir Hamilton Harty visited Australia which led to calls for the creation of a permanent concert orchestra for Sydney.