Forget Craney McCraneface: the judges of a public naming competition for the crane that's building Canberra's newest hospital gave a nod to Canberra's first inhabitants.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The two primary school-age winners both thought of the Ngunnawal people when casting their entry in the "name the crane" competition.
The result, "Galu", which is the Ngunnawal word for "crane", is printed in large letters on the side of the tallest piece of equipment at the University of Canberra Public Hospital site.
Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School student Peter "PJ" Woods and Canberra Girls' Grammar School's Charlotte Young came up with the idea separately, making them joint winners.
PJ, 7, searched for the local indigenous name for the bird on the internet.
"I like the Ngunnawal people and I wanted to respect them," he said.
Charlotte, 10, was surprised her entry was chosen.
"I had an idea in my head of what I wanted it to be, then I looked up the name on the internet," she said.
"I didn't expect it, it's really cool seeing it up [on the crane]."
Both winners received gifts, a personalised hard hat and high-vis vest for their efforts, as well as a chance to pour some concrete on site in the shadow of the crane bearing their name.
The competition was open to all primary school age students in the ACT and received about 60 entries.
A homage to the notorious public choice for an icebreaker in Britain, "Boaty McBoatface", was entered but did not make it across the line.
An ACT Health spokesman said there was no better way to involve the community in the construction "than by getting the young children to be a part of it".
"[The crane is] the most visible part of the site, certainly during the construction phase," she said.
Installed at the site in June, the crane will remain on site for most of the construction phase of the hospital.
The building is scheduled to be completed in 2018.
