ATS Chapters get together to celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Barbara in style

In December, ATS members from the NSW, Victorian and Queensland Chapters got together to pay tribute to St Barbara, the Patron Saint of Tunnellers.

Melbourne

The Victorian Chapter threw the net wide in their invitation to all local members to attend a celebration on Friday 2 December. Richard Buckingham, Chair of the Victorian ATS Committee, was one of the organisers and says the networking-focused event was held in the Melbourne offices of the John Holland Group.

“This was the first ATS Vic St Barbara’s Day event, so we aimed for a casual stand-up social event rather than a dinner to gauge interest from the community and the format proved to be well received by the approximately 80 attendees,” he says.

“It was a true celebration of the past year’s achievements on tunnelling projects within Victoria and the location couldn’t have been any better either. We all enjoyed the panoramic balcony overlooking the river and city.”

The organisers also took the opportunity to share some words about the recent passing of tunnelling legend Mike Wille. “The event was such a success because it provides an opportunity for us all to stop and reflect on a busy and eventful year and to reconnect with industry friends and colleagues,” continues Richard.

“I’d like to sincerely thank our 22 amazing sponsors, who made this event possible.”

Sydney

In Sydney, the event, of which David Clague was a key organiser, also took place on Friday 2 December with the highlight being a visit to the Sydney Metro Burwood North Station site. Due to the nature of the site, numbers were limited to 15 lucky ATS members who were given a briefing about the project followed by an inspection of the site, a blessing by a local Parish Priest and a Q&A session with the construction team. The event was polished off with food and drinks with the Acciona Ferrovial Joint Venture team members.

David was thrilled with how the event went and says St Barbara’s Day is a great reminder to all tunnellers about the importance of safety, in what has been historically a dangerous industry.

“St Barbara’s Day is a key event for the whole tunnelling industry as it brings to front of mind how we all should be looking after ourselves and our colleagues to make sure we go home safe at the end of every day,” he says.

“It’s also a wonderful opportunity to meet industry contacts and visit major infrastructure sites to learn how different projects are planned and run.”

A statue of Saint Barbara, the patron saint of miners and tunnellers, was blessed at a ceremony held at Sydney Metro’s Burwood North station construction site. Burwood North Station will strengthen the thriving business and retail centre to the south of Parramatta Road, and provide a new fast, frequent and reliable transport link for the community north of Parramatta Road.

Members of the Australian Tunnelling Society (ATS) pictured at Sydney Metro’s Burwood North station construction site. Burwood North Station will strengthen the thriving business and retail centre to the south of Parramatta Road, and provide a new fast, frequent and reliable transport link for the community north of Parramatta Road.

The excavation of the station box continues at Sydney Metro’s Burwood North station construction site.
Burwood North Station will strengthen the thriving business and retail centre to the south of Parramatta Road, and provide a new fast, frequent and reliable transport link for the community north of Parramatta Road.

The digging of a pedestrian adit continues at Sydney Metro’s Burwood North station construction site.
Burwood North Station will strengthen the thriving business and retail centre to the south of Parramatta Road, and provide a new fast, frequent and reliable transport link for the community north of Parramatta Road.

Brisbane

The ATS team in Brisbane also held a networking event where the focus was on recognising the achievements of tunnelling projects and their engineers around the country. Annalena Baier was one of the organisers and says the event was relaxed with a welcome by the ATS President, Harry Asche, and Queensland Chair, Morteza Ghamgosar. It also provided an opportunity to present Alan Robertson with the physical Allen Neyland Award, which hadn’t been available at the ATS50th celebration in October.

“As one of the most highly regarded events in the tunnelling calendar, the 35 attendees in Brisbane had a great evening, connecting with people we haven’t seen in a while,” says Annalena.

The evening was finished off with a lucky prize draw and speeches by the committee and sponsors. The event doubled as a fundraiser and raised $200 for the chosen charity, Retina Australia.

An interesting ingredient on the Brisbane menu

A huge thank you to all event sponsors

The ATS would like to thank the following sponsors who helped make our 2022 St Barbara’s Day events such a success: Acciona Ferrovial JV, Arup, APP, Aurecon, Bamser, Barchip, Bluey / Master Builders, CPB, CREG Australia, Groundhog, Grydale, GS, John Holland, Mapei, Metcalf Cranes, MJA, Multigrout, NOMA, Normet, SMEC, Surex, Sydney Metro, Tetra Tech, Tunnelling Solutions, We Build, and WSP.

 

The legend of St Barbara

St Barbara is thought to have been born in the mid-third century close to present-day Lebanon. Legend has it that when her father learned she had converted to Christianity, he had her tortured and eventually beheaded. Her martyrdom took place on the 4 December and as punishment for her murder, her father was struck by lightning and killed. It is this legendary association with lightning that gives Saint Barbara her contemporary connection to explosives and the tunnelling and mining professions.

Today, the legend still inspires tunnellers. In honour of St Barbara, every single TBM is given a traditional female name before use, and it is common, particularly in Catholic countries, for a small statue and shrine to St Barbara to be erected at the tunnel entrance.

In 2018, to make the event appeal to a more global audience, ATS Young Members were instrumental in helping to rebrand the day as #WorldTunnelDay, where tunnellers across the world are invited to hold events and share photos, video clips and messages on social media.