The machines behind the Manuka Oval redevelopment
As the final siren sounded at Manuka Oval between AFL sides GWS Giants and Western Bulldogs on July 6, 2013, preparation was already underway to commence
the reconstruction of ACT’s premier sports surface just days later as part of a multi-million dollar face lift.
The objective was to demolish and then reconstruct the playing surface in just four months for the scheduled Prime Minister’s XI Cricket Match on 14th
January 2014, as well as the upcoming 2015 Cricket World Cup.
Evergreen Turf was selected as the project’s principal contractor and was faced with a number of logistical challenges to juggle several contractors and
their machines, including the offsite removal of over 20,000 tonne of existing site soil.
In association with civil contractors McMahons, the bulk earthworks were carried out in less than 25 days during the winter season, with the majority of
the soil excavated with tandem Hitachi 20 and 30 tonne excavators working together in conjunction with a fleet of up to 10 truck and dogs.
Earthworks were undertaken through the day and into the evening with over 180 trucks entering and leaving the site per day.
Approximately 3,000 tonnes of gravel was spread at Manuka Oval.
“Reliability and performance of machinery are the major factors when selecting sub contractors and for the Manuka Project… McMahons’ fleet had this
area covered extremely well,” said Dean Holden, the Chief Executive Officer of Evergreen Turf.
The new sand profile was constructed using tandem Thwaites 9 tonne dumpers, in association with Posi-Tracks bulk spreading the sand out before final levelling.
Evergreen Turf’s StaLok® Fibre Technology was used to reinforce the sand profile prior to turfing to increase the sand’s load bearing characteristics.
In the lead up to the project Evergreen Turf pioneered the development of a new fibre spreader unit, specifically modified for use with the StaLok® fibres,
and it was used on this project. The specifically engineered unit was designed and manufactured from the ground up in Australia. The unit enables the
accurate spreading of StaLok®, the unique light weight polypropylene fibre, evenly across the surface at pre-determined rates.
Unlike standard top dressing spreaders, the StaLok® fibre spreading machine enables the fibre to be dropped down and lightly raked into the surface in
one pass, ensuring uniformity of application.
The development, modification and testing of new types of machinery, specific to Evergreen Turf’s needs, is a continual pursuit to raise the bar in sports
turf construction.
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