General News
30 August, 2023
Centre on its milky way
DUGURRDJA or milky way is the name of James Cook University’s Cairns Tropical Enterprise Centre (CTEC).
Construction of the $50 million building next to Cairns Hospital started with a smoking ceremony, sod turning and the announcement of the health and innovation precinct’s Indigenous name on Wednesday.
A part of the FNQ Health Innovation Precinct, CTEC will house a multidisciplinary clinic, and facilities for clinical skills training, research and teaching and will complement the Cairns Hospital’s new 32-bed surgical centre in Cairns North.
JCU vice chancellor Simon Briggs said the facility was expected to to be up and running by 2025.
“This facility will give us a focal point for medical allied health training co-located with the hospital, so it will provide an important stepping stone for us in the provision and support for the training of the medical workforce that is needed in FNQ,” he said.
“Today (last Wednesday) is officially the start of our construction, creating a centre for clinical training, teaching and research aligned to the needs of our region and workforce. This is a landmark building, one that will help secure a healthier future for the people of Cairns and FNQ.
“We’re hopeful that the building will be operational in early 2025.”
Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service (CHHHS) chief executive Leena Singh said a team of engineers from Brisbane was being sourced for the construction of the precinct.
“We’re working through with our partners in Brisbane around acquiring some expertise in civil engineering to be able to bring that together and have a look at our site to make sure we choose the right site, CTEC and the surgical centre are both underway now,” she said.
“We’re celebrating JCU’s CTEC building today and next door we’ve got the surgical centre being built and we have hundreds of millions of dollars going to Cairns Hospital right now to contribute to the ideas, knowledge and innovation that will happen in this precinct.”
Gimuy Walubara Yindinji elder Henrietta Marrie AM said the name solidified collaboration with the Yidinji people.
“Dugurrdja represents the knowledge, the songlines and stories that flow through this country,” she said.
“We’re proud to be participating as partners in this project, so we chose a name that represents the coming together of knowledge.”
