Charles Darwin University opens new CBD campus after years of anticipation

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Charles Darwin University has officially opened its new campus in Darwin's CBD, with its law, accounting and IT courses set to begin classes there next month. The Danala campus, named after the Larrakia word for dillybag, has been hailed as a breath of fresh air for the city centre.

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00:00Finally unveiled, the vision for Charles Darwin University's new city campus is higher education

00:09that's accessible to more of the local community.

00:12This is really exciting.

00:13We've been waiting for this for a long time and here we are.

00:16There's a focus on community learning, art and science spaces to bring thousands of students

00:22closer to the city centre.

00:24Education's all about building aspiration from young kids through to adults.

00:27It's never too late to keep learning, start learning.

00:31So again, a facility that would facilitate community engagement with education was core

00:36to the ideal behind this project.

00:38This $240 million building is now officially open to the public who've been invited to

00:44see for themselves the results of eight years of hard work.

00:48The building's developers paying tribute to their workers persisting in all conditions.

00:53Even in the ground where there's no air and it's very hot, they're saturated at eight

00:58o'clock in the morning and they've got to work through until the end of the day.

01:00So hats off to all those hard working tradesmen.

01:03Not without controversy, the building design has gone through multiple iterations and the

01:08competition watchdog found its former architect tried to rig tender bids related to the project.

01:14There were also protests over the removal of two historic milkwood trees, but the site's

01:19boab tree, more than 100 years old, was saved.

01:23This whole building has been built around that tree.

01:25Why has it got that curve, that slope?

01:28It's so that the sun can get to the tree.

01:31Given the heritage of this site as the first primary school in Darwin and the tree was

01:35there then, to have that link to the future education for Territorians, I just think there's

01:39an amazing story sitting there and it's great that the tree has been there throughout all of that.

01:45The future of education in the Territory and a link to the past.

01:49For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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