Bradfield scholarship winner Caitlin Hanrahan: Paving the way towards Sydney the super city

BRADFIELD scholarship winner Caitlin Hanrahan was inspired by the great engineer to create a vision to make Sydney a global 21st century metropolis.

BRADFIELD scholarship winner Caitlin Hanrahan was inspired by the great engineer to create a vision to make Sydney a truly global 21st century metropolis.

Ms Hanrahan, 20, believes Sydney has a golden opportunity to become a vibrant, affordable, sustainable and desirable place to live through multiple living districts instead of one single centre.

“The scholarship is an amazing opportunity and I am very excited,” she said.

“I use Bradfield as an inspiration in how he saw Sydney and urbanisation. When I am working on my idea I like to look at what he did.

“He was a visionary, providing for many generations to come, and had such an impact on Sydney today.

“With that in mind I, too, hope to have an impact on the city in 40 or 50 years time.”

Steve McCann, managing director and CEO of Lendlease, said the Bradfield Governors were very impressed by the nominees for the Lendlease Bradfield Scholarship for Urban Vision: “Particularly our talented finalists. Each of our finalists understands that to attract the best people and the businesses that will employ Australians in the new century we have to prioritise the sustainability, productivity and livability of Sydney.

“It has been great to see these emerging leaders take inspiration from Bradfield’s vision and use it to spur their own aspirations for Sydney.

“Congratulations to the impressive Caitlin Hanrahan for her well deserved win.”

Ms Hanrahan, who is studying for a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) and a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Sydney, said: “The scholarship will help me focus on my studies and also connects me to Lendlease, this massive company that does such great work.”

RAIL LINK TO OUR FUTURE

Bruce McDougall

SYDNEY’S second airport must be served by a rail link if the Badgerys Creek development is to succeed to its full potential, infrastructure guru Tony Shepherd last night told an audience of NSW’s most powerful leaders and businesspeople.

Speaking at the second annual Daily Telegraph Bradfield Oration, the SCG Trust chairman said it was crucial land connecting the new airport in Sydney’s west with the city was safeguarded as a matter of urgency.

“We must reserve the corridor (for a rail link) now … lock it in for the future,” Mr Shepherd, chairman of the Bradfield Oration Board of Governors, said during a panel discussion.

“It is essential that it (Badgerys Creek) is served by rail.”

Keolis Downer chief executive Benedicte Colin added the second harbour crossing was also a vital future project for Sydney and developing the city’s public transport system was paramount to encourage tourism.

“We need to make sure it is easy to find and understand,” Ms Colin told the packed room at Pier One.

Lendlease chief executive Steve McCann said it was a perfect time for Sydney to dream big.

“We have moved well out of second gear — I am proud of what is going on,” Mr McCann said.

Delivering the Bradfield Oration earlier, Premier Mike Baird said there were modern day parallels to the challenges faced by visionary ­engineer John Bradfield when he was appointed chief ­engineer of Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1914.

“Big projects will face resistance every step of the way but they are ­exactly what we need to put this city ahead of the curve,” Mr Baird said.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, via video, praised Bradfield as a visionary for Sydney and The Daily Telegraph as an advocate for the city.

The Daily Telegraph editor Paul Whittaker said a city-building opportunity “is in our hands and is now our pressing ­responsibility”.

“Already we are beginning to see the cogs of change grind out of their Olympics stupor: WestConnex, the rebuilt Sydney Convention Centre, the inner-city Light Rail project, the North-West Rail Link, the initial work on the Western Sydney Airport and the planned facelift for Circular Quay,” Mr Whittaker said.

“They are projects that are being built on Bradfield’s foundation of modern Sydney and must carry his flair and his foresight if they can rightly be deemed projects that ­position Sydney as a truly global, 21st-century city.”