The crane names were chosen by Year 2, Kingswood Public School student, Vageesha Kalsara Gunawardene, whose entry was voted the most popular choice by staff from Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District (NBMLHD).
NBMLHD Chief Executive, Mrs Kay Hyman said the competition was a fun way to engage local school children in the hospital’s redevelopment.
“We received more than 150 entries from primary school children across our District. There were so many creative entries to choose from, making it hard to pick a winner,” Mrs Hyman said.
Vageesha, who has won a $1000 hardware gift voucher for his school and a replica toy crane to take home, chose Mulan after the legendary Chinese female warrior who was “brave and strong” and ‘Darug’ to represent the local Aboriginal nation.
Kingswood Primary School Principal, Ms Norma Petrocco was thrilled for Vageesha and happy to accept the $1000 hardware gift voucher on behalf of the school.
“We are going to let Vageesha help us decide what improvements should be made to the school using the $1000 gift voucher,” said Ms Petrocco.
The tower cranes are onsite at Nepean Hospital to construct a 14-storey hospital tower, as part Stage 1 of the Nepean Redevelopment. The NSW Government has committed $1 billion for a major expansion and upgrade of hospital and community based services, which will be delivered in two stages.
The Nepean Blue Mountains LHD staff also voted for the best coloured-in entry, which was awarded to 10-year-old Ella Johnson, from Penrith Anglican College. Ella has won a new set of colouring pencils.
A selection of the entry forms will be displayed in the hospital at South Block.
Stage 1 building contractor, CPB Contractors, who generously donated the $1000 hardware gift voucher for the competition, will install large signs near the top of the crane to display their names during the tower’s construction. Titan Cranes donated the replica toy crane prize.
When complete, the 14-storey clinical tower will feature an expanded emergency department, 12 operating theatres, 18 birthing suites, a neonatal intensive care unit, more than 200 overnight beds and a rooftop helipad.
Construction for Stage 1 is scheduled for completion in late 2021. Planning is underway for Stage 2 and construction will start following the completion of Stage 1.
