The ATS is thrilled to announce that Dr Charles MacDonald is the latest recipient of our prestigious Allen Neyland Tunnelling Achievement Award.

Charles is widely recognised as a leading figure in the Australian tunnelling industry in both the private and public sectors. He has worked as a chartered civil engineer for fifty years, delivering projects in Australia, the UK, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia.

“Charles has demonstrated unwavering commitment to enhancing safety, quality, technical best practice and the further education of all participants within the tunnel construction industry,” says Richard Buckingham, ATS President.

“As a fine exemplar for all those coming through the industry today, we are proud and delighted to confer on him this prestigious award and thank him for his unstinting service to our industry.”

Richard presented Charles with the award via videolink at the ATC2023 Gala Dinner in Auckland Town Hall on 7 November and will be celebrated in person, and awarded his trophy (a metal enamel plaque mounted on a core of Victorian Harcourt Granite, symbolic of the achievements of Allen Neyland), at the St Barbara’s Day celebrations in Brisbane on 1 December.

The ATS Tunnelling Achievement Award was conceived to recognise outstanding contribution to the Australian tunnelling and underground construction industry and has been awarded at every Australasian Tunnelling Conference since the ATS was established in 1981.

Allen Neyland was a formative member of the Australian Underground Construction and Tunnelling Association (AUCTA), the forerunner to the modern day ATS. His contribution to the industry ranged from his early days on the Snowy Mountains Scheme, to the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop.

After a succession of recipients in the 1980’s the Tunnelling Achievement Award was renamed the Allen Neyland Tunnelling Achievement Award in 1993 following Allen’s untimely passing, in recognition of his service.

In 2021, the ATS commissioned Charles to reflect on his 50-year career that paralleled the 50 years of the ATS in our Special Edition Journal, which we’re taking the opportunity to publish again in full here:

Reflections on a career parallelling the 50 years of the ATS