The construction of Western Sydney Airport's spectacular airport terminal is officially complete
Back in January, we got an exclusive sneak peek at Sydney's brand new airport – an architecturally spectacular new complex that's coming to life 41 kilometres west of Sydney's CBD. Now, construction on Western Sydney Airport's (WSI) state-of-the-art terminal is officially complete, and the airport is on track to start welcoming passengers in late 2026.
The initial design concepts by COX Architecture and Zaha Hadid Architects – awarded back in 2019 – have been brought to life through partnerships with Multiplex, Woods Bagot, Bechtel and WSI. Designed to honour its location on the land of the Darug, Dharawal and Gundungurra people, the new light-flooded terminal prioritises sustainable principles and new-age technology – and six years after the designs were confirmed, the terminal is officially complete. WSI (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport is the first new greenfield international airport to be built in Australia in more than 50 years, and its 24-hour licence is going to change the game – it's predicted to eventually welcome 80 million passengers every year.
At the unveiling of the new terminal, WSI CEO Simon Hickey cited the economic benefit that the airport has already brought – and will continue to bring – to Western Sydney, with almost half of the workforce that have brought the airport to life hailing from Western Sydney, and the more than $500 million spent by the airport with businesses based in Western Sydney.
'WSI has been the catalyst for billions in investment in the region and has helped create thousands of local jobs during construction and will bring even more opportunities across our precinct and the surrounding Bradfield City and Aerotropolis once the airport opens,' he said.
'Since the first sod was turned, nearly half our workforce has hailed from Western Sydney, with around a third learning on the job, so the region should be immensely proud of this new terminal as so many workers, businesses, manufacturers and suppliers have literally helped bring it to life. This is their legacy.'
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Time Out
2 days ago
- Time Out
The construction of Western Sydney Airport's spectacular airport terminal is officially complete
Back in January, we got an exclusive sneak peek at Sydney's brand new airport – an architecturally spectacular new complex that's coming to life 41 kilometres west of Sydney's CBD. Now, construction on Western Sydney Airport's (WSI) state-of-the-art terminal is officially complete, and the airport is on track to start welcoming passengers in late 2026. The initial design concepts by COX Architecture and Zaha Hadid Architects – awarded back in 2019 – have been brought to life through partnerships with Multiplex, Woods Bagot, Bechtel and WSI. Designed to honour its location on the land of the Darug, Dharawal and Gundungurra people, the new light-flooded terminal prioritises sustainable principles and new-age technology – and six years after the designs were confirmed, the terminal is officially complete. WSI (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport is the first new greenfield international airport to be built in Australia in more than 50 years, and its 24-hour licence is going to change the game – it's predicted to eventually welcome 80 million passengers every year. At the unveiling of the new terminal, WSI CEO Simon Hickey cited the economic benefit that the airport has already brought – and will continue to bring – to Western Sydney, with almost half of the workforce that have brought the airport to life hailing from Western Sydney, and the more than $500 million spent by the airport with businesses based in Western Sydney. 'WSI has been the catalyst for billions in investment in the region and has helped create thousands of local jobs during construction and will bring even more opportunities across our precinct and the surrounding Bradfield City and Aerotropolis once the airport opens,' he said. 'Since the first sod was turned, nearly half our workforce has hailed from Western Sydney, with around a third learning on the job, so the region should be immensely proud of this new terminal as so many workers, businesses, manufacturers and suppliers have literally helped bring it to life. This is their legacy.'
The Guardian
30-05-2025
- The Guardian
‘This is not a wellness retreat': four days on an Australian wilderness survival course
On our very first night in the bush, Gordon Dedman issued a warning: 'Fussy people die.' Dedman, a man with an apt name for a military survival instructor, is all muscle and green khaki. Sat by the fire, he addresses his students. 'This is not a wellness retreat. It is about getting out of your comfort zone.' I am in the Camden bush, on Dharawal and Gundungurra Country, for a four-day wilderness survival course taught by the consultant for TV's most gruelling show, Alone Australia. On the itinerary: knife work, knots, emergency shelters, fire lighting, water collection, plant identification, solar and celestial navigation, plus emergency signalling and rescue techniques. On my person: fresh hiking boots, gold hoops, perfectly low-rise cargo pants and a black tee. The last time I went camping was with school in year 9, in a tent set up about 50 steps from a cabin. Out of my comfort zone, indeed – this time I don't have a tent, or a toilet. After a short hike, we arrive at sunset to a large green tarp billowing gently. It's a military parachute, Dedman tells us. We gather at a semicircle of stools beneath the canopy. Dedman gets straight to it. The goal of 'survival' is to be found, he says. This is different to bushcraft, which has a direct relationship with nature and draws from the skills traditional cultures used to live in the wilderness. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Dedman's philosophy about the land and people's role on it is clear just a few hours in: 'Our existence here is based on the caring capacity of the Earth. 'But we live in a system of expanding expenditure … at total odds with nature. Something is very broken with our system.' We go around the circle of 15 students, introducing ourselves. Most of us are novices, mainly Sydney and Canberra-based men with office jobs looking to reconnect with the outdoors (participant Julian Carrick says he is here to 'soothe the soul' and 'see the stars') plus two parents, their eager sons and myself. Some students have dabbled in survival and bushcraft for years – including Karla Pound, a National Geographic expedition leader and contestant on the current season of Alone. We're not equipped for when things go wrong, she tells me. She says even during common occurrences such as power outages and floods, 'people don't know the first thing to do'. 'It is really important to have these basic, fundamental skills under your belt.' The parachute tarp becomes our base for the next four days, with classes held early in the morning and late at night. These hours are by design, to simulate the exhaustion and distraction one might feel in a real survival situation. Meanwhile our days are structured around practical skills. First, knives (I'm limp-wristed and slow), then knots (I actually catch on). We use both to set up our first emergency shelters – pitched plastic sheets strung up between two trees and secured with pegs we carved ourselves, totally open to the surrounds. These structures are called hootchies. I am slow to find a spot – too picky, terrified of sleeping near thick shrubbery. It's a justified fear, I'd say, given we are in the habitat of funnel web spiders, king brown and red belly black snakes. By the time I choose a location, the sun is setting. I fumble in the dark, trying to hold all my ropes and pegs in place. It is only thanks to kind peers – a physio and a former-detective-turned-teacher – that I am able to set up in time for dinner. 'The western world has a problem with food aversion,' Dedman says at meal time. So true. I'm hungry for the potato cooking under the bonfire coals we are sitting around. We waste so much, he says, we're disconnected from our food's sources. I nod when he mentions more sustainable protein alternatives to beef. Then he brings out a container of live meal worms. We are going to eat them, he says. I laugh. Classic Dedman! My head torch lights up the plump, yellow bodies writhing in the container and visceral anxiety floods my stomach. 'Fussy people die.' After several failed attempts, I get the worms into my mouth. They wriggle around my fingers. They thrash against my lips. They burst between my teeth, and the group applauds. I actually enjoy the taste. This will forever be my greatest feat. I am overcome with relief! But Dedman has leftovers. I was too hesitant, he tells me. I can will myself to do anything, he says. Eat more. I manage to eat a second squirming helping and then Dedman lets me be. Our next course: crickets. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion We are shown how to take one in our hands, efficiently break off its head, slide the body on to a stick and roast it over the fire. My throat is closing up at this point. The insects are jumping. My hands are shaking. A course instructor suggests I try breathing. 'It's twitching in the fire!' the 12-year-old observes. I realise if I'm actually caught out in the bush I'll likely perish because I can't catch, behead and eat a cricket. An instructor does it for me. Ever since being attacked by a swarm of seagulls on a beach, I've been a little jumpy around animals. I start overthinking my impending night's sleep – what if I wake up to a snake in my sleeping bag? But on a midnight walk to learn celestial navigation before bed, my thoughts are interrupted when we turn off our torches and look up. The air is crisp, the surrounds are silent and the sky glimmers. Fear is replaced by cool, calm peace. I have a great night's sleep. The next day we learn to make fire with our knife and a ferro rod, and purify creek water. While learning about local flora on a bush walk, Dedman throws impromptu challenges at us – five minutes to gather tinder and kindle and start a fire. All this skill-building has been working us up to the task of our third night – finding an ally or two, scoping out a safe spot and setting up an emergency base. I turn to my new friends Daniel and Damien and we set off, racing against our faux competition who have their sights set on the same campsite. We string up our reflective blankets at a tilt between two trees, light a fire, filter our creek water and prepare a hearty meal of kangaroo stew. We eat and chat beneath the night sky and I start to feel a little sad. This place is so beautiful and tomorrow I have to go home. 'I mean, just look around you,' Carrick, a peer on the course, said earlier in the day. 'This place is heaven right here. You don't need to look any further.' Dedman's lessons differ depending on the environment. Here are a few general takeaways for when you are lost or stranded. Mindset is important. Panic is dangerous and can affect those around you. You need to be able to plan, act and hold the will to live. Make sure you think through your survival priorities. The rule of threes is governed by what will harm you first: you can survive just three minutes without air, three days without water and three weeks without food. Follow the PLAN acronym: protection (first aid, clothing, shelter, fire), location (attracting, holding and directing attention), acquisition (of water, then food) and navigation (orientation, travel, direction). When going anywhere remote, ensure you can be found. Have a satellite communication device like an EPIRB (emergency position-indicating radiobeacon) on you. Also take stock of everything you have that can attract attention in the natural environment – shiny, bright and reflective materials. You can set these up between trees as a method of passive signalling, fly a bright flag at the end of a big stick, or make a ground-to-air sign with letters. 'V' is the international emergency distress symbol. A ground to air sign has to be 6m x 3m to be seen by a passing aerial vehicle or satellite. Search efforts are conducted in patterns. Aircraft will do a box search at the height they can see an animal move. A ground search will follow a track, a river, or man-made things such as telecommunication towers and windmills. Contour searches of mountains are conducted by circling. If you know these patterns, you can set your signalling to capitalise on where you will most likely be seen. Find more in depth advice on the Bushcraft Survival Australia blog. The three-day fundamentals module 1 course costs $855 for an adult, or $427.50 for a child (aged 12 and up). Bushcraft Survival runs courses around Australia, which can be booked online. The journalist attended as a guest of Bushcraft Survival Australia
Time Out
08-05-2025
- Time Out
A huge new metro station is being built beneath Sydney's CBD
In August of last year, the new stretch of the Sydney Metro City line opened, and Sydney went wild. The superfast driverless train system has transformed how Sydneysiders travel between the North Shore and the Inner West, but the Sydney Metro isn't stopping there. Once it's complete, the Sydney Metro network is due to comprise 46 stations – with the existing line extending all the way to Bankstown and a 23-kilometre line connecting to the new Western Sydney Airport. Alongside the new Western Sydney Airport metro line and the Sydney Metro City line extension, there's another major metro route currently under construction: Sydney Metro West. This 24-kilometre line – running from Sydney CBD to Westmead – is due to open in 2032, and construction has just reached a major milestone. Deep beneath the CBD, the excavation for the huge Hunter Street Station – which will be the final station for the new line – is now complete. This station is due to be the busiest on the Western Sydney line, which is expected to double rail capacity between Greater Parramatta and the Sydney CBD. According to Transport for NSW, the Hunter Street Station will see 10,000 people per hour move through it during the morning peak by 2036. As well as the subterranean metro station, the development of the Hunter Street precinct (in the heart of the CBD, with access points between O'Connell Street and Bligh Street and on the corner of George Street and Hunter Street) also involves the construction of Hunter Street Towers. The new world-class commercial and retail precinct will be formed by two towers, and will be directly connected to the station. Comprising a 58-storey building above Hunter Street Station East (between O'Connell Street and Bligh Street) and a 51-storey building above Hunter Street Station West (on the corner of George Street and Hunter Street), the development will support additional jobs and economic growth in Sydney CBD, with a direct link to the thousands of new homes set to be built along the Sydney Metro West line. Currently, though, Hunter Street is home to an enormous, fully-excavated cavern which is ready to start welcoming construction. The cavern that now sits under Hunter Street is 20 metres high, 28 metres wide and 180 metres long – with 240,000 tonnes of material (enough to fill more than 290 Olympic size swimming pools) successfully removed from the site. 'This station is going to such an important gateway to Sydney's west, getting people to Parramatta in about 20 minutes, and linking precincts like Sydney Olympic Park, Burwood, the Bays and the health district of Westmead,' says Minister for Transport John Graham.
