Australian War Memorial cranes named by local kids

The Australian War Memorial’s two tower cranes have been named by Canberra school children, with “Duffy” and “Teddy” rising over the AWM Development Project for the next two years.

CAPTION: The cranes at the Australian War Memorial will be wrangled onto much of the heavy lifting on the Memorial’s $500million expansion over the next two years. AWM photo.

Duffy is named after Simpson’s Donkey because “Duffy is used to doing the heavy lifting” said Dakota of Neville Bonner Primary School.

The second crane will now be known as “Teddy”, after Teddy Sheehan VC, Australia’s most recent Victoria Cross recipient.

Teddy was named by Lara from St Gregory’s Primary School.

The two six-year olds entered a competition run by the Memorial and the ACT Defence School Mentor Program.

Duffy will be used by Lendlease on the New Anzac Hall site.

It will join Teddy, operated by Hindmarsh, which has been onsite since December 2022 to deliver the new C.E.W. Bean Building.

Australian War Memorial Director Matt Anderson was delighted to see the thought that went into the suggested names.

“To see names entered such as Poppy, Anzac and Biscuit, accompanied by the fantastic colouring–in done by the students made for a great day at the Memorial,” he said.

“The Memorial will be telling the stories of modern veterans and it is crucial to be able to involve the next generation in the process.”

As development continues, these machines will be used to move materials and machinery weighing up to 24 tonnes.

“The Lendlease crane has a 75-metre long horizontal arm and a maximum height of 21.8 metres above the Memorial’s dome,” said Executive Program Director Wayne Hitches.

The judging panel included veterans and representatives from Lendlease and Hindmarsh, all of whom were impressed by the creativity on display.

“We loved seeing suggestions like Mavrik and Unicorn. Lots of children suggested their own names or those of their grandparents who may have served in the Defence Force, which really warmed our hearts”, Hindmarsh Project Director Nadine O’Keeffe said.

Dakota and Lara’s entries for Duffy and Teddy will be displayed in Poppy’s Café, and they will be invited to a behind-the-scenes tour of Treloar Technology Centre with the Director.

The Memorial is modernising and expanding its galleries to tell Australia’s continuing story of service and sacrifice.

Over the past three decades, more than 100,000 Australians have served in war, conflict, peacekeeping, and humanitarian and disaster relief operations around the world.

 

 

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