Overview of the second field trip
- Strength and resilience was a key part of this field trip. A lot of steel and concrete was being used to build the tunnel.
- You met Russell Scoones to see what had to be done on site before the concrete was poured.
- Cole Meiring described how the tunnel is being built strong enough to withstand a 1 in 2,500 year earthquake.
- You met Htut Win and heard how the team is moving the Home of Compassion Crèche in one piece to become part of the National War Memorial Park.
- Historian Mathew Tonks talked about why the historic crèche is being kept as part of the Memorial Park.
- You saw how stormwater and groundwater is being managed.
- Katherine Heays shared her thoughts on what it is like working in the construction industry.
- You met Construction Manager Steve Croft who showed how all the teams within the Memorial Park Alliance are organised.
- You visited Mount Cook School and found out how the students have been part of this construction project.
What’s happening now?
The tunnel opened to traffic a month early. The first cars drove into the tunnel late on Sunday, 28 September 2014. The day before about 10,000 people walked through the tunnel during an open day.
It is called the Arras Tunnel. The name comes from a French town where the New Zealand Tunnelling Company served from November 1916 during the First World War. The tunnel is lined with poppies to sybolise New Zealanders who lost their lives during this war.
Building of the memorials, open spaces and walkways, which will be the Memorial Park, has started. The park will be open in time for Anzac Day 2015.
- Visit Park Designs & Development and click on Park drawings for images giving you an idea of what Memorial Park will look like.
- Also watch the National War Memorial Park 3D animation - a 5 minute overview of all four stages of the Memorial Park project (on YouTube).
More information on Arras
You can read more about the New Zealand tunnelling operations near Arras, France during the First World War:
- School Journal Level 4 June 2014: Underground Soldiers (PDF 2 MB)
- What New Zealanders left behind in Arras, France (WW100 site). The WW100 article has a map, photos and links to newspaper articles and a TV documentary.
- Wellington’s Arras Tunnel (NZTA Memorial Park site). Online PDF version of the brochure handed out at the tunnel open day on Saturday 27 September – covers the WWI Arras miners (pronounced Ah-RAHS with emphasis on the second syllable) and how Wellington’s Arras Tunnel was built.
See also: Memorial Park Alliance update, 5 September 2014 for more information about the Arras Tunnel and latest happenings around the project site.
