Constructing Careers

Victoria Cross Station will transform transport to Wenona. To coincide with National Skills Week, Year 9 received a sneak peek at its progress and inspiration from the women helping to build it.

Opening in 2024, Sydney Metro’s Victoria Cross Station will be located on Wenona’s doorstep, making travelling to the School a breeze.

A group of Year 9 STEM Elective and Science 1 students went underground in August, for a rare, personal tour of the future station concourse and platforms and to meet the key women involved.

The visit was facilitated by alumna Jessica Paterson (2003), the Development Project Director. They participated in a panel discussion featuring female construction workers from areas such as project management, architecture, finance, legal, engineering, and human resources management. The speakers demystified the industry, by sharing the paths they took from school to their exciting careers.

“I took away inspiration and value, but also respect for the people in charge - it was a lot larger and more complicated than I had expected,” says Sienna Hughes (Year 9).

Women currently hold only 13% of construction roles in Australia, five per cent of which are leadership positions. The National Association of Women in Construction is looking to change that, with a goal of 25% female representation by 2025.

“It is important for young people to see inspiring female role models across a broad range of industries, particularly in areas where females are often under-represented. After all, you cannot be what you cannot see,” says Wenona’s Director of Student Opportunity and Careers Education Miss Samantha McFetridge. The location of this project made the learning experience even more valuable and authentic, due to its proximity to the School.”

Victoria Cross Station is named after what in Sydney’s earlier days was an empty space in front of the North Sydney post office where six roads converged. It is being built by a crew of around 450 people per day in the largest excavated railway cavern in the country, 31 metres below ground level.

“I enjoyed getting to see all the work that is put into building and planning the station. It shocked me how many skills are needed. It was also interesting to see all the trades in action, carrying out all their different responsibilities throughout the site,” says Nikita Plunkett (Year 9).

The station will connect the existing Metro North West Line that runs from Chatswood through North Sydney to the CBD and on to Bankstown. The project also includes a three-storey retail and dining space and a 42-storey commercial office tower.