Local school children came up with creative names for the cranes at the centre of the RPA Redevelopment

The two tower cranes supporting the delivery of the $940 million Royal Prince Alfred (RPA) Hospital redevelopment will officially be known as "Burbangana" and "Nightingale", thanks to the creativity of local school students. 

The redevelopment project team engaged local schools and staff, encouraging them to be involved in the project through the naming of the two tower cranes. More than 140 highly creative and imaginative entries were received from primary school children across the local area.

Maeve Shipp, 8, and Eden McMahon, 5, named the two tower cranes that will build the new East Tower at RPA. Maeve chose "Burbangana", an Indigenous word meaning "to take hold of my hand and help me up", while Eden selected "Nightingale", in honour of RPA’s nurses. 

The winners of the RPA Hospital Redevelopment’s "Name the Crane" competition were announced and the cranes were officially named at an event at the hospital on 10 April 2025. The winners and runners-up joined the project team for an afternoon of fun and adventure, touring the project site and getting a behind-the-scenes look at the redevelopment. Throughout the visit, the children were introduced to some of our project leaders and learned more about what it takes to bring a hospital redevelopment to life. 

The winning names will be displayed on the cranes while they help to construct the new 15-storey East Tower building, which will deliver contemporary and expanded hospital services for the community.