Two tower cranes supporting the delivery of the $438 million Shoalhaven Hospital Redevelopment will officially be known as “Larry the Lifter” and “Jane the Crane”, after being named by two local school students.
The ‘Name the Cranes’ competition received more than 100 creative entries from primary school children across the region, providing our community’s youngest residents the chance to engage in the Shoalhaven Hospital Redevelopment. 12-year-old Nowra Anglican College student Hugh Thirlwall who came up with the name ‘Larry the Lifter’ and 10-year-old Jack Bartlett from Pleasant Heights Primary School who picked the name ‘Jane the Crane’ were announced as the winners of the ‘Name the Cranes’ competition. Photo: Competition winner 10-year-old Jack Bartlett from Pleasant Heights Primary School with Liza Butler MP
Member for South Coast Liza Butler said the winning names, Jane and Larry, are now prominently displayed on the cranes, which stand 60 and 70 metres, and can be seen from all viewpoints across Nowra as they tower over the site. “Congratulations to Hugh and Jack and thank you to all students who submitted a creative entry. It was fantastic to see so many schools embrace the opportunity to help name our new cranes, which will be landmarks in the region as we progress construction of the new hospital,” Ms Butler said. Photo: Competition winner, 12-year-old Nowra Anglican College student Hugh Thirlwall with Liza Butler MP and Rhys Collum from John Holland.
“The cranes will be used to construct the new 7-storey acute services building, which will deliver contemporary and expanded hospital services and integrated health facilities for the Shoalhaven community. “The hospital redevelopment is transforming health services in the region and will help deliver better health outcomes for the community now and into the future, so to involve school children in the project in a fun and practical way is incredibly rewarding." The winning names, along with several runners up, were selected by staff at Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, representatives from construction contractor John Holland, project managers John Staff, and Health Infrastructure. Photo: winners and runners up of the ‘Name the Cranes’ competition
The Shoalhaven Hospital Redevelopment is progressing and expected to be completed in late 2026.