New guardian watches over miners City Rail Link Mt Eden

Caryn Wilkinson Reporter from Community News

A new guardian will watch over workers preparing to mine the first 50 metres of tunnel at Mt Eden for the City Rail Link.

In the spirit of mining tradition, a statue of St Barbara, the patron saint of miners, was blessed in a dawn ceremony and placed in a shrine near the tunnel entrance.

Ceremonies like this have been repeated worldwide for centuries wherever people go to work underground, said Francois Dudouit, project director for City Rail Link's Link Alliance.

"St Barbara is their guardian and her presence gives assurance that they will be safe below ground."

A statue of St Barbara also watches over workers building the Karangahape underground station.

The saint was an early convert to Christianity who was discovered hiding underground and killed by her pagan father.

Work will start shortly mining the first 50 metres of tunnel at Mt Eden to accommodate the project’s Tunnel Boring Machine.

The machine will excavate the tunnel up to the new Aotea underground station in central Auckland.

Aucklanders will get the chance to see the Tunnel Boring Machine at a public open day being held at Mt Eden early next month.

More details will be announced in mid-November.