Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said Else would be the name of the first Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) after Else Shepherd AM, who he described as a trailblazing engineer. The second TBM will be called Merle to honour Merle Thornton AM, who is known as a pioneering feminist.
The minister said both women had taken the lead to help better the future, and he added:
“Professor Shepherd has blazed the way for women entering fields such as engineering, while Mrs Thornton has been at the forefront of women’s rights and social justice issues in Queensland."
The idea to name TBMs after women is steeped in tradition. During the 1500s, miners looked to Saint Barbara, their patron saint, praying for protection when working underground.
TBM Else will be the first to arrive on the Woolloongabba site of the Cross River Rail project, where the machine will be put together in readiness for the launch. The components of TBM Merle will begin arriving in January. Their arrival follows a year of site preparation at 11 locations, and it will mark the start of tunnelling and construction.
Projects such as this have often gained great publicity, with flyer printing campaigns alerting local residents to planned works. To date, an estimated 2,400 people have worked on the major project.